Wait till after the meet and greet to book - or book ahead?

The majority of the horror stories posted here usually come from people accepting jobs without a M&G. So I totally concur with Deb, do the M&G and then make a decision. Get the M&G done as soon as possible so you aren't holding a place for a dog that isn't a fit.

If the customer truly wants you, then they need to commit to boarding just as they have to commit to airline and hotel reservations. If they have to cancel, they'll get their money back according to your established cancellation policy. This is s a business.

IMO there are NO pros to booking any job right away without meeting the client and his/her dog.

I also agree with Deb about doing a tryout before committing to a long stay unless you have the time, energy and facilities to deal with problem dogs. Since you accept up to 6 dogs, I wonder if you have a kennel like arrangement. But I did a tryout for a sweet little Cavalier who had accidents every single day despite being outside constantly. Her owner was mortified at her behavior and I wished it would have worked out, but I can't imagine having to clean up a mess every day for 3 weeks. If you don't have a problem with it, then go right ahead.

Definitely & Always after the Meet & Greet!!

The reason to wait is at the meet & greet either of you may determine it's not a good fit for numerous reasons . Then, there's no harm done on the Rover & client payment end. The client is free to continue meeting with other potential people and finally book with chosen sitter. Rover doesn't have involved and frown upon you cancelling on them. (that's how it looks to them) and quite possibly the cancellation stat will hurt your search algorithm rank. If the client books someone else, they wouldn't be able to leave a review or rating based on that. If they can't find anyone and it goes down as you cancelled, they probably could leave you a miserable rating score & review.

To address what you want: How about you enter it on the calendar with a question mark Or in pencil if using paper format. At the meet & greet, you can tell them you have limited spaces so if they want to have you, it needs to be booked soon.

One more consideration (unsolicited): for a 3-4 week vacation, it would be in everyone's (theirs, yours, and the pets) best interests to book a shorter stay, like 1 night first, so all can get acquainted with one another. It helps work things out, reveals any issues that may need to be discussed, and solidifies that the arrangement will work well before they go away.