How do house sitting hour rates work?

Each sitter can set their own rates and policies for what is covered, so there are many very different ways of addressing this issue. Whatever you decide, you need to communicate to client before booking to avoid misunderstandings, possibly negative reviews, and potential non payments.

First, I’m going to tell you how I think more clients prefer to look at housesitting. The rate should be all inclusive for what the dog needs for each billable 24 hours. If that means you need to raise your rate, then you should do so and include what you need for the inconvenience of uprooting yourself and basically staying in someone else’s home to make sure their dog gets fed on schedule, walked, and whatever else is needed. Seeing that your daycare rate is $40, and walk rate is$20, I would think that your housesitting rate might be somewhere between $75 to 120. In that calculation you have to figure out your local market competition, and what you have to offer. Some sitters will use their home as a base, and still do dog walks, work remotely, or leave to take care of their own personal things etc.

The other approach, which I find distasteful is, Some sitters charge on an A La Carte basis, stating they will be with the pet during hours of _am/pm to _am/pm (might be an 8-12 hour period) and if they need additional walks they book those walks separately.

Addition Now that I see you have 5 dogs, I don’t know If all inclusive housesitting works for you unless someone else is caring for your pets while you’re away. One way that I’ve seen sitters price all the carte is they will state “I will be in your home between the hours of blank and blank. If your pets need additional walks Outside that time,I can return for my walk rate.” Some sitters will agree to arrive late night, give dog a before bedtime walk, sleep there, feed dog& do a morning walk, and then any additional walks in between during the day are charged separately. Some sitters do not sleep over and actually have different hours that are there with the dog during the day. Whatever you choose to do it’s just very important to make it clear to the client to ensure they’re not confused. Some Clients want a sitter to sleep at the home. Some clients don’t care if the sitter sleeps at the home.

If you do a quick Search of Sitters who offer House Sitting in Miami, change the price filter to $40 or more, you’ll see hundreds appear (20 per page and at the bottom there were well over 20 pages). You could easily choose $50 or $80 or $100. I’d suggest read those sitters’ profiles to get an idea of what they are offering that way you’ll have a better understanding of your local competition and what others offer. Keep in Mind that with Rover sitters are dependent on ... (more)