An important element of any job: money. What to set as your rate for in-home child care is already a regularly wondered question—so what about Adventures? Here’s your go-to guide on how you can determine what you’ll charge for any of the Adventures you lead.
What Makes An Adventure Different?
Adventures are all about the one-of-a-kind experiences that child care providers can create for kids.
They’re Unique
What’s planned for Adventures is a bit more planning than the typical job of looking after a child while their parents are out.
They’re Enriching
From beginning to end, Adventures are packed with enriching activities (whether the child realizes it or not) that make the parents feel good about being away.
They’re Exciting
Adventures are a fun combination of what both sitters and kids are interested in.
Pricing Your Adventure
The price of your Adventure is based on two things: your hourly rate and a surcharge you set. That way, you’re being compensated as you typically would be for your child care services, as well as the extra things that go into making your Adventure happen.
Hourly Rate
Your babysitter profile information is connected to your Adventure. When you’re creating an Adventure, you’ll see the lower end of your hourly rate to help calculate your Adventure surcharge (see below). However, your rate range will be shown in the final Adventure details that parents will see. This allows for the simplicity of calculating your rate, but still gives you the power to negotiate your base rate.
If you don’t have a babysitter profile created yet, do that first. Here are the current typical babysitting rates.
Adventure Surcharge
In addition to your hourly rate, you can (but you don’t have to) add a per-child surcharge that’s specific to the Adventure you’re creating. This surcharge factors in things like:
- Materials
- Prep Time
- Specific Expertise
When considering how much your surcharge will be, be sure to think about the value for both you and the parents who will book you. Make sure you’re being compensated for purchases you would make and the effort you put into making the Adventure happen, but also think about things from the perspective of the parent paying: does the value they and their child get match what they’ll pay?
If you’re having trouble balancing value and price, consider how you can adjust the details of the Adventure or reach out to our Sittercity team for another perspective.
Be Prepared To Explain Your Rate
As you may have already experienced with other jobs, parents will be curious to fully understand why the care you provide is priced the way it is. Be prepared to discuss this seemingly uncomfortable topic with clear, professional reasons.
Also, be prepared with what your negotiation policies are. You may already have some personal policies for how you handle payment format and cancellations, but think about what you’re willing (or not willing) to do if a parent wants to negotiate the price you listed for your Adventure.
At the end of the day, pricing your Adventure isn’t an exact science, but rather something that takes thoughtful consideration. The beauty of it as well is that you can always go in and edit it later. It’s all about finding the right balance of making sure you’re being compensated for what you’re worth and offering options that parents are willing and able to pay for.
