How do you handle last minute (less than 24 hour notice) bookings?

For last minute bookings or otherwise, I'll definitely take into account the pick up and drop off time and charge for daycare accordingly. I don't bother with it for long stays (more than 4-5 days) but it makes a significant difference in your earnings for shorter stays. I haven't ever charged more for last minute booking for overnight stays, but I do charge my full nightly rate for last minute daycare requests. I've had a couple people contact me within 24 hours of the stay starting requesting daycare (often people visiting from out of town, or people with family visiting from out of town, who want to do dog-unfriendly things for the afternoon). Rather than charge more, I just don't offer the discounts I normally would for daycare services.

The craziest one was a request that came in at 11 am for daycare the same day, and when I asked a couple follow up questions (thinking they must have a different date in mind, since the day was already nearly half over) I find out they want to drop their dog off around noon. They had a miscommunication about who was watching the dog while they went to a friend's wedding and didn't find out until right before they contacted me. In cases like that, I leave the rate set at my overnight rate (in this instance it was the puppy rate, too) since it really does impact my plans for the day and with so little time for a M&G I'm never entirely sure what I'm getting myself into. In the same case, they were also returning pretty late at night, which was fine with my schedule, but definitely warranted the overnight rate.

I understand wanting to charge more for certain last minute requests, but I think it would be hard to enforce practically speaking.

As for the Day Care charge, I charge a flat rate for pick ups after noon--which most clients wind up doing.

I don't usually do last-minute requests because: 1) I'm usually booked about 4 weeks in advance, and 2) I require a Meet and Greet for new dogs, and only do them on Wednesdays, Fridays, Saturdays, and an occasional Monday. At the bottom of my profile I mention that it's hard for me to accommodate last minute requests.

I do not take last minute booking for new customers because a meet and greet is required and that takes time. I would never want to take a dog in that my own dogs have not met since they would be uncomfortable. Part of the meet and greet is to make sure that my dogs get along with the guest dog. Normally that is never a problem but it's because I always allow a proper introduction. Also, I'm usually booked out 2 weeks in advance so last minute bookings just doesn't work since normally I would have guest dogs in my home and that would require for the new dog to meet the guest dogs as well. It's just too much hassle and it's an accident waiting to happen.

As for the extra time you will be staying with the guest dog, you can charge a daycare fee as others have already mentioned. Depending on the time of pick up you can charge a half day or full day of day care.

I've had a few last-minute bookings. In fact, one was just last week and was a return customer that wanted to drop the dog off within a few hours from the initial contact. As for rates, no, I do not charge any differently for last-minute bookings. In my opinion, this comes with being listed on a dog-sitting site and is what being a Rover may entail.

However, the "nightly" rate is only for a 24-hour period. When a dog stays beyond that period, the owner should be charged an additional amount based on the overage. Since you already know the dog will be with you all day and picked up after 5 pm, you are justified in charging either your full overnight rate or close to it because you do devote more time to a dog during the day. You can extend the stay on Rover to bill for the daycare charge prior to the dog's dropoff.

Like the answers already provided, I'd recommend yes, you most definitely should charge a day care rate for the additional hours beyond the 24 hour increment. And no, I would not charge more for a last minute booking. Although I do not accept last minute bookings often, as my experience has been there's not enough time for a proper meet&greet for me to learn about the dog and the dogs to get to know each other.