Traveling babysitter rate

[Anonymous]

I babysit for a family in DC on a weekly basis and get paid $15 per hour, they have asked me to travel with them in summer. My question is how much should I charge them. Charging them per hour would make the bill too high for them, so what should I do? As I would probably know anybody there, I would not really need a time off to go out, so I would probably be taking care of the child most of the time. It is a toddler. It would be about 2 weeks, and I was thinking telling them $1000 per week and I will be mostly on duty all the time (about 10 hours a day). What do you think, is it too high? I don't want to say something too low or too high. If you are a traveling nanny, how much do you get paid, how does it go? Parents, what do you usually pay? Your responses is greatly appreciated. Thank you.

[Anonymous]

I would say $150 per day sounds reasonable with 1 child. Trust me when I said you should negotiate 3/4 days off Bc after 14 days straight you are going to be exhausted. They may also want to take their child to do activities Alone. What sort of vacation are thy taking?

[Anonymous]

OP here- Not really sure about all the details yet, but I know it will be down south, may be beach, but I know they will have some friends, not sure if they have kids or will have their nanny with them or not, or if I have to also take care of those kids too. Just too many unknowns at this point, hopefully they will shed some lights on the whole trip as the summer get closer. I will definitely be a third wheeler at sometimes, and they are definitely the kind of people that forget the nanny and the kid when they have friends around (other than that, they are really nice people). $150 a day seems reasonable, but they asked for a weekly flat rate because they think it will be cheaper for them. So, if it is 150 a day, should I just say 1050 a week? What if they decide to give me a day off, how do I take that in consideration? I am not the kind of person who likes to wonder around alone in an unknown place, so I will probably stay in the house most of the time even if they give me a day off. So is 1050 a week good, or too high?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here- Not really sure about all the details yet, but I know it will be down south, may be beach, but I know they will have some friends, not sure if they have kids or will have their nanny with them or not, or if I have to also take care of those kids too. Just too many unknowns at this point, hopefully they will shed some lights on the whole trip as the summer get closer. I will definitely be a third wheeler at sometimes, and they are definitely the kind of people that forget the nanny and the kid when they have friends around (other than that, they are really nice people). $150 a day seems reasonable, but they asked for a weekly flat rate because they think it will be cheaper for them. So, if it is 150 a day, should I just say 1050 a week? What if they decide to give me a day off, how do I take that in consideration? I am not the kind of person who likes to wonder around alone in an unknown place, so I will probably stay in the house most of the time even if they give me a day off. So is 1050 a week good, or too high?

Don't give them a price until you know more details. You don't want to get locked into a price, then learn they expect you on duty 24/7, sharing a room with their kid, and their friends with 4 kids will be coming and plan to dump their kids on you too!

[Anonymous]

You need to ask lots of questions.
-where you will be (and what is nearby; shopping, restaurants, theme parks? Beach? Cabin in the middle of nowhere? You get the idea.)
-If you will have access to a car on off time
-If you'll have your own room
-If you will be watching other kids
-If you're flying, they should pay for your ticket
-if you're on duty, they should be taking care of your food.

It will be much easier if you discuss when you will have time to yourself, even if it's just to nap in your room.

Don't wait for them to bring things up! Ask them questions.

[nannydebsays]

Days off don't matter here, IMO. They want a weekly rate, give them just that. I wouldn't go lower that $1200 as your start point, and in negotiations, I wouldn't accept less than $1000. Frankly, less than minimum wage for 16 hours a day for 14 days is less than what you should get - OT ought to be factored in as well.

OP, before you agree to anything, get all of your questions answered. If you'll be caring for additional children, ASK how those parents will be paying you. (I'd go with $5 extra per hour per kid minimum.) Where will you be sleeping? What SPECIFIC days/times will you be off? What means of transportation will you have to use when off the clock? Make sure all your needs are paid for at all times. You shouldn't spend a single dime for your needs. If you "want" something out of the ordinary, it's on your bill though.

If they won't answer questions, then you CAN NOT give them a weekly rate. Period. Tell them you must know the details, take notes, and type up an initial agreement outlining all the info for you all to sign that includes the price you have set.

Then a month before you go on your work trip, take the agreement back out, go back over it, and make sure everything is the same. If they have made changes that will add to your workload, increase your price. Type up a new form, label it "Work Agreement for the week of X - X" and have it signed by all of you. (Add a clause that any change to the agreement will need your approval and will add to the fee you are paid.)

Then take the agreement with you on the trip, and stick to it. If you don't stick to it, you will wind up angry and burned out from working 24/7 caring for every kid birthed by any of their friends who come along.

So, basically, don't take less money than you'll be happy with if it all goes south and you end up working round the clock and caring for numerous kids. Only you know what that number is!

[Anonymous]

OP here. I found out a few more things about the trip. There will be only one child, and I will have my own room, they are also paying for the tickets and all the expenses as well. As far as the hours goes, it will be a combination of both days and nights, and the parents might be around often. They are also expecting me to go out often with the kid for a walk, and enjoy the weather. Most days the baby goes to bed at 8 pm, and usually sleeps through the night until 7 or 8. We haven't discussed compensation yet, but I was thinking now telling them $1000 a week, but as someone suggested, I might start at $1200 and then settle for $1000 if they want to negotiate. I will let you guys know what we will agree on. Thanks again for the advice.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here. I found out a few more things about the trip. There will be only one child, and I will have my own room, they are also paying for the tickets and all the expenses as well. As far as the hours goes, it will be a combination of both days and nights, and the parents might be around often. They are also expecting me to go out often with the kid for a walk, and enjoy the weather. Most days the baby goes to bed at 8 pm, and usually sleeps through the night until 7 or 8. We haven't discussed compensation yet, but I was thinking now telling them $1000 a week, but as someone suggested, I might start at $1200 and then settle for $1000 if they want to negotiate. I will let you guys know what we will agree on. Thanks again for the advice.

Those rates sound fine. Given that they seem to want a pretty flexible schedule, I think it would be prudent to include a maximum number of hours for whatever rate you agree on. Then you keep count of hours actually worked (any time you are responsible for the child and not free to go do something else), and if you approach the limit give MB and DB a heads up, and let them know any thing over that limit will be at your hourly rate. If they can't agree to any sort of set schedule before hand, this seems like the best way to protect yourself from suddenly having to work 24/7 for the week.

[Anonymous]

OP here. I have one more advice to ask you guys. I asked about the schedule, and they are not clear about that, what they told me is that I might be in charge of the baby totally every other day and that the other days, we will all be together, but they might ask me to keep an eye on the baby ( I really just assume that I will be in charge of the kid pretty much about 80% of the time). I was mistaken when I thought I will have my own room, I will share with the baby, so when my charge wakes up in the middle of the night, I am probably expected to wake up. My problem is that how can I tell them my rate is $1000 for a week? I don't want to offend or to think I am charging too much, but that seems fair to me. They seem to be happy and are planning every thing but did not bother again asking for my fee, so how can I politely bring it up? Thank you in advance for your input.

[nannydebsays]

Will you be happy being paid $2000 for 2 weeks of 24/7 duty? If so, TELL THEM, "I am looking forward to going on vacation with you. I will be charging you $XXXX for the 2 weeks, since it sounds as if I will not only be sharing a room with baby, but also will be "on call" around the clock."

If that small amount of money to work is insufficient for you to work 336 hours, then choose a different amount and TELL THEM your rate.

Best case scenario, they choose not to take you and you continue your current happy employment situation with them.

Worst case scenario, they take you, you get mighty resentful, and quit working for them.

[Anonymous]

You need to discuss rates ASAP before they book the trip! How old is the toddler?

[Anonymous]

OP, you need to be clear on what works and what doesn't for you. They are looking for you to be on call 24/7, but in their minds it sounds like they are not including hours when a) the baby is usually asleep or b) they are around and you are "just helping" (and let's not kid ourselves--just helping will likely mean that you are 100% responsible for the baby). Explain that you will regard any time that you are not free to leave as time "on duty." If you are sharing a room with the baby, and you can't just duck out for a midnight swim with no notice, then those hours count. If you are just helping out, but they would be mad if you wandered off down the beach because you wanted to sunbathe in quiet, then thise hours count. With that in mind, go over some ideas:

Come up with a reasonable rate per night for you to share a room with/be in charge of the baby. If that seems expensive to them, perhaps they could keep the baby in their room most nights and only have him/her share with you when they plan to go out late.

Come up with a reasonable "travel rate" for each hour that you will be in charge of the baby. It can be lower than your normal rate, as I think a bulk discount applies. Explain that on days when they want an extra pair of hands at the beach, your rate will remain the same. If they wish to reduce costs on those days, they can use you just during (choose hours most convenient for baby's schedule), and handle the rest of the day themselves.

[Anonymous]

Op here. It Didnt go as planned. I talked with then 2 days ago and let them know that my rate will be 1000 per week, and they were choked. They said they were thinking more in the range of 500 per week because they will only need me every other day during the day and every other night. They added they wanted to bring me because they liked me and it will be a vacation for me. I am pretty upset by this. I didn't add anything but said I will get back to them. The trip is in 4 weeks, and they have everything planned, but I am considering declining the offer because they really don't value my time. I am going to say no to all the prospective work for 2 full weekends, as well as cancel on some once and twice weekly job I do to go with them. First it seems ok because I thought I will be making a least $1000 per week. They added they cannot afford anything more than that. Now I feel a little bad because they bought the ticket ad everything. What will you do if you were in my shoes.

[Anonymous]

$500 is better than nothing. You aren't caring for this kids the entire time. Why would you except $1k anyway? You will have some free time.

[Anonymous]

If I were you I would have talked to them months ago like everyone told you to do. It would be unbelievably selfish for you to not go at this point. They already bought the ticket!!