Is $80 expensive for a one night holiday boarding stay for two dogs (in Maryland)?

To find the answer to your question, you can search sitters in your area without signing in and see what other sitters are charging. There will almost always be sitters who will charge less (usually when first building clients), just as some charge more.

However, your holiday price for 2 dogs for 1 night appears to be $40 ($30 for 1st dog & $10 for add'l.dog) and other sitters near you appear to charge about the same within a few$, or if they don't discount the second dog might be $60. Also, your daycare appears as $20 1st dog & $10 for 2nd dog and times weren't mentioned to indicate if this stay was more than a 24 hour period. So, I understand this owner's reply because they probably expected you'd honor the holiday rate and didn't foresee paying more because it was last minute or understand that the holiday day care rate of $40 was being applied for both dogs if that's why it was $80 versus $40. The cost adjustments in your message were not explained. Whenever making cost adjustments, explaining it in a way the owner will understand smooths the process along. An example might be: This is for Rover 1 & Rover 2 arriving at 9 AM on 12/26 and going home at 5PM on 12/27. A day care rate of $20 per dog is included for the additional hours beyond the 24 hour period covered to provide insurance and Rover customer support for the entire stay.

In my area, over a holiday period, caring for two dogs for $80 is very reasonable. Many sitters, like me, turned down overflowing requests from dog owners that were willing to pay far more for great care.

Personally, we don't charge a daycare fee for a boarding client. Most of our clients are pretty quick about picking their dog up and show up in the morning. However, we cater more to the client and set up a time with them that they are able to come pick up their dog. I think the client saw that it was a holiday rate, which is already a higher rate than you normally charge and saw an additional $20 and maybe didn't understand where the $20 was coming from. If you typically do charge a daycare fee for a boarding client, I would maybe negotiate it based on the time of day they will be able to pick the dog up. They might book the stay and make an extra effort to get there earlier to pick the dog up if they know after a certain time the rate goes up. Just explaining your fees would help, I think. It may also help you get some repeat bookings.

I have pondered your question for several days. It would not be unexpected in my area to pay $80 for one night, especially around a holiday - in fact, I have done so at a large boarding facility (I have two dogs of my own).

That said, in my own Rover practice I have made a few choices:

1) I never charge for daycare in addition to my nightly fee. The price is the price regardless of what time a dog is picked up/dropped off. Sometimes I will even board a dog for free if a client's flight leaves early the following morning and it is more convenient for ME to have my guest arrive the night before.

2) Though I prefer one guest at a time, there have been a few occasions when an owner has requested boarding of both of his/her pets. In that case I typically charge about 2/3 of my nightly rate for the additional dog. (That is also what I look for when searching for a Rover sitter to take my own two dogs.)

There is no black and white answer here, but I have developed some nice personal relationships through Rover with people who feel they are getting a good deal and excellent care - care that is more about their pet than my money. Best of luck!