Anonymous wrote:Why on earth would you expect anything extra? Won't the kids be sleeping anyway?
If suddenly, there were only a handful of families looking to hire sitters/nannies, while simultaneously there was a large influx of individuals competing for those jobs, what would you expect to happen to the rates? People would fall over themselves to get those handful of jobs, meaning to be competitive their rates would have to be quite low. I'm sure you understand that equation well enough, as MBs are frequently seen referencing the realities of economics and market driven rates. Much to their, and your chagrin, those principals also work in the reverse. On New Years Eve, there are suddenly a multitude of families looking for a sitter for the same night at essentially the same time, while simultaneously, most sitters are unavailable. Due to increased competition, parents are willing to pay higher rates to reserve an available sitter, and sitters can charge significantly higher rates for her suddenly more valuable time. Its simple economics, right?