Vacationing with Temp Family and...

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
Vacations are expensive. Childcare is expensive. You are right. But if families that are going to 5 star hotels for vacation have to be cutting corners to save money and cheapening on the childcare then it means they cannot afford said vacations. Either Vacation in a different place or take care of your children yourselves, hire a local sitter for your night outs on vacation, etc.
The only way this would have been reasonable is like a pp mentioned earlier and it makes much more sense. That they booked this vacation a long time ago and later decided to bring someone and the hotel is fully booked, hence the need of a different hotel.

or like most Corporate workers who travel- they accumulate a ton of hotel points from business travel during the year, and use all those points to go on a 1 week vacation/year at the 5 star hotel. That's how over 20 of my working friends manage to take a nice vacation every year. They are not paying/can't afford $600/night for a hotel room, and don't have enough points to book an extra hotel room for the nanny.
And yes, I routinely fly Coach while my boss flies first class, and stay in 3 star hotel, while he stays at the Ritz or Peninsula.
So, I am shocked that a nanny would be "offended" to have to stay at a more reasonable nearby hotel/motel. It's a job. Get over it. (However, meals and transportation should be paid for, just like they are for corporate travel- and you should tell your employer that)

+1, this is a job and they provided housing. This is not your vacation.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
Vacations are expensive. Childcare is expensive. You are right. But if families that are going to 5 star hotels for vacation have to be cutting corners to save money and cheapening on the childcare then it means they cannot afford said vacations. Either Vacation in a different place or take care of your children yourselves, hire a local sitter for your night outs on vacation, etc.
The only way this would have been reasonable is like a pp mentioned earlier and it makes much more sense. That they booked this vacation a long time ago and later decided to bring someone and the hotel is fully booked, hence the need of a different hotel.

or like most Corporate workers who travel- they accumulate a ton of hotel points from business travel during the year, and use all those points to go on a 1 week vacation/year at the 5 star hotel. That's how over 20 of my working friends manage to take a nice vacation every year. They are not paying/can't afford $600/night for a hotel room, and don't have enough points to book an extra hotel room for the nanny.
And yes, I routinely fly Coach while my boss flies first class, and stay in 3 star hotel, while he stays at the Ritz or Peninsula.
So, I am shocked that a nanny would be "offended" to have to stay at a more reasonable nearby hotel/motel. It's a job. Get over it. (However, meals and transportation should be paid for, just like they are for corporate travel- and you should tell your employer that)

That's fine if you want to use your points to pay for your vacation.... but if you have to save money by putting the nanny on a motel blocks away, you can not afford a travel nanny and you should be considering hiring a sitter from the hotel you're staying or make other arrangements.

[Anonymous]

Yet another reason we always hire someone local. That person lives there year-round, and isn't trying to vacation with us. She's just there to make some money.

I have to pay my nanny her regular salary anyway. The local person is way cheaper than paying my nanny's room and board + travel, even if there's no overtime. I understand that people like having their regular nanny, but this woman was a temp anyway.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Yet another reason we always hire someone local. That person lives there year-round, and isn't trying to vacation with us. She's just there to make some money.

I have to pay my nanny her regular salary anyway. The local person is way cheaper than paying my nanny's room and board + travel, even if there's no overtime. I understand that people like having their regular nanny, but this woman was a temp anyway.

I don't understsnd to why you even need a nanny on vacation. Isn't the point of vacations to spend quality time as a family? Your accessory children for your Christmas card photo.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yet another reason we always hire someone local. That person lives there year-round, and isn't trying to vacation with us. She's just there to make some money.

I have to pay my nanny her regular salary anyway. The local person is way cheaper than paying my nanny's room and board + travel, even if there's no overtime. I understand that people like having their regular nanny, but this woman was a temp anyway.

I don't understsnd to why you even need a nanny on vacation. Isn't the point of vacations to spend quality time as a family? Your accessory children for your Christmas card photo.

Because my kids are young and are asleep by 8. Then DH and I go out for a nice dinner. That's primarily when our nanny watches the kids. She also watches them until 10 am half the mornings so that DH and I can sleep in. Half of what we need vacation for is sleep

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:They're staying in a 5 star Resort. I assumed I was staying in the same hotel. Nope. I helped them settle and unpack and then DB told me he was going to drop me off at my place. I'm at a motel a few blocks away. It's not like a disgusting bed-bug ridden hotel, but it's clearly not The Langham. I'm offended. They sent me a schedule of when they wanted me to work, and I assume I'm suppose to walk. Never offered to pick me up or anything. I'm just with this family for a few weeks and we don't know each other well. They pay me well, but this makes me just want to leave. I've traveled with several other families before and I always stay with the family. I'm included, at least to an extent. Just feeling sorry for myself.

Kick them out from your life,this people doesn't deserve you..

[Anonymous]

We have four. When we had babies who napped in the morning, a sitter would stay at the house with the baby and then bring her/him to the beach. Then the sitter could hang out with the baby, or another kid or two ...

Now that they're a little older, the sitter can play on the beach with the toddler while we go out in the waves with the older ones. Or, I can take the two oldest windsurfing while DH hangs at the beach with the younger ones and she gets the kids' lunches ready.

Or, sometimes she just follows the little ones around for a bit so DH and I can swim, too.

I can't wait until they're old enough to do like a PP says and have a sitter come to take them to the beach at 8 while DH and sleep in.

Then she goes home, and we hang with everyone the rest of the day. This year is the first year the kids are sleeping well enough for me to consider a nice dinner out, but we'll get a sitter for a couple of those, too.

In all, we pay this sitter $500-$600 for the week (total of about 30 hours max). It's less money and considerably less hassle than bringing another adult with us, even though our nanny would love to travel.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We have four. When we had babies who napped in the morning, a sitter would stay at the house with the baby and then bring her/him to the beach. Then the sitter could hang out with the baby, or another kid or two ...

Now that they're a little older, the sitter can play on the beach with the toddler while we go out in the waves with the older ones. Or, I can take the two oldest windsurfing while DH hangs at the beach with the younger ones and she gets the kids' lunches ready.

Or, sometimes she just follows the little ones around for a bit so DH and I can swim, too.

I can't wait until they're old enough to do like a PP says and have a sitter come to take them to the beach at 8 while DH and sleep in.

Then she goes home, and we hang with everyone the rest of the day. This year is the first year the kids are sleeping well enough for me to consider a nice dinner out, but we'll get a sitter for a couple of those, too.

In all, we pay this sitter $500-$600 for the week (total of about 30 hours max). It's less money and considerably less hassle than bringing another adult with us, even though our nanny would love to travel.

$500-$600/week? Believe me, your nanny does not want to travel with you!

[Anonymous]

Chill. The pp said $600 for a local babysitter.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yet another reason we always hire someone local. That person lives there year-round, and isn't trying to vacation with us. She's just there to make some money.

I have to pay my nanny her regular salary anyway. The local person is way cheaper than paying my nanny's room and board + travel, even if there's no overtime. I understand that people like having their regular nanny, but this woman was a temp anyway.

I don't understsnd to why you even need a nanny on vacation. Isn't the point of vacations to spend quality time as a family? Your accessory children for your Christmas card photo.

Because my kids are young and are asleep by 8. Then DH and I go out for a nice dinner. That's primarily when our nanny watches the kids. She also watches them until 10 am half the mornings so that DH and I can sleep in. Half of what we need vacation for is sleep

Lazy and uncaring on your part.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:They're staying in a 5 star Resort. I assumed I was staying in the same hotel. Nope. I helped them settle and unpack and then DB told me he was going to drop me off at my place. I'm at a motel a few blocks away. It's not like a disgusting bed-bug ridden hotel, but it's clearly not The Langham. I'm offended. They sent me a schedule of when they wanted me to work, and I assume I'm suppose to walk. Never offered to pick me up or anything. I'm just with this family for a few weeks and we don't know each other well. They pay me well, but this makes me just want to leave. I've traveled with several other families before and I always stay with the family. I'm included, at least to an extent. Just feeling sorry for myself.

No, they sent you a schedule, you need to clarify how they are doing transportation. You are working, ergo, they are paying for transportation. If it's far enough for you to have a ride to the motel, it's far enough that transportation is required.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Dear nannies: You ARE the "help." You are NOT your employer's financial equal. Either you don't have the intelligence, work ethic, and hutzpah to go get yourself a more lucrative career or you enjoy being just a nanny for one of many valid reasons (you like the kids, you like the more flexible days, etc.). But your boss is your boss and is not obligated to treat you like their peer just to salve your ego. You are there to do a job. Do it well and they will realize that tou have a unique and amazing skillset and will value you for it. Spend your time complaining that they don't hand you peer-status on a silver platter and you will always be thought of as a glorified babysitter.

Sorry, but I'm not JUST a nanny. I choose to do this work, and my employers value me for my skillset (a skillset that they don't have).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Update.

I found out this family won't be paying for my meals but that my hourly wage included my meal and activity money.

I called the agency that placed me and they pulled me.

Glad my agency has my back.

Wow. Why didn't you have all of this in writing?!

[Anonymous]

Don't bite back to the troll people. It's what they came here to achieve. Don't let them have their twisted bit of fun

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is a tough one, especially in this country, with so much history of segregation, separate entrances for "help," etc. If you were at a 4-start hotel next door, it would be hard to complain, although they would hardly win best employer award. But putting you up at a motel demonstrates either that they are tone deaf when it comes to social manners (best case scenario), or that they enjoy the fact that they have help staying outside of their fancy venue (worst case scenario).

If this were me, I would provide great childcare service but would definitely speak up about how the arrangement made me feel and I might ask them how they arrived at the decision. Let them think about this while on vacation. *evil grin*

Why wouldn't you assume they'd done it to save money? That seems like the no brainer explanation to me. Vacations are expensive. Bringing a nanny is extra expensive. People can be well enough off to manage both but not so well off that the money doesn't matter. Trying to save money isn't evil and the parents shouldn't feel badly about it.

Vacations are expensive. Childcare is expensive. You are right. But if families that are going to 5 star hotels for vacation have to be cutting corners to save money and cheapening on the childcare then it means they cannot afford said vacations. Either Vacation in a different place or take care of your children yourselves, hire a local sitter for your night outs on vacation, etc.
The only way this would have been reasonable is like a pp mentioned earlier and it makes much more sense. That they booked this vacation a long time ago and later decided to bring someone and the hotel is fully booked, hence the need of a different hotel.

Or stay in the motel, too, that way you can afford to be a decent employer...