What are some things that you do to encourage repeat bookings?

Hi Chris -

We do sitting in our home, so our situation is a little different. The number one thing I do is make sure to get a lot of good pictures while the owners are away, showing them all the fun stuff their dog gets to do. Frequent updates put them at ease, especially in the instances where they don't use sitters frequently. Then I put together a little goody bag to send the dog home with - sample treats, doggy bags/holders, and sometimes homemade treats. I always include a note saying how much we enjoyed having their dog stay with us and (for those dogs/owners we'd really like to sit for again) how much we'd love to watch their dog again.

That said, I've also only been sitting on Rover for a few months, and also only have one regular client. I have a full time job and my partner is a student, so we aren't trying to host dogs full time, but even if you are, a few months is still a short time to establish a strong client base. This is especially true considering most people don't use sitters all that frequently, and Rover, though growing rapidly, still isn't known to a lot of dog owners. If I were wanting to grow our business faster, I'd be making business cards, and leaving a few with clients after every stay--for them to keep and to give out to friends/family, and I'd be asking around at local pet-related businesses to see if you can put up fliers or if they ever recommend sitters to their customers. Booking new customers is the key to making repeat customers, and the more new customers, the more experience and expertise you'll have to impress them enough to ask you back.

Good luck!

I also only offer sitting in my home. I have only been with Rover since May of this year and I already have 3 return customers. Like the above answers I also send a TON of photos. I sometimes use a collage app with cute frames, backgrounds and clip art. I make it a joke, " I can get carried away sometimes". No one has ever asked for less photos. I also tell them to contact me even if I appear unavailable, exceptions can be made. At meet and greets I tend to greet the dogs first. One client told me " if you had not greeted my dog first the way you did, I never would have left her with you". I am honest, if there were any issues I let the owners know, having worked in Vets offices and boarding/daycare facilities I hated having to tell owners "everything was great" when the dog was aggressive with staff or other dogs. I as an owner would want to know what needed working on. The majority of owners appreciate your honesty. I always send home a report card after the first visit, detailing highlights of the stay as well as any issues. I decorate them with fun stickers. All my visitors this month (Dec) are getting their pics taken in a Santa hat and holiday collar which I will not send until Christmas day. It will be a great surprise I think. Hope that helped somewhat :-)