Holding a Spot Until November??

[SunflowerMama]

So I have an interview this weekend with a mama due this summer and she's looking for childcare beginning in November. She's very serious about finding a place now and paying whatever is necessary to hold her spot until November.

What do you guys do in cases like this? Do you ever hold a spot that long? I'm full now but a spot opens up June 1st when one dcb will be leaving b/c his mom is a teacher and he will be going to school next year.

I guess I could take a non-refundable deposit to hold the spot and then advertise a summer-only opening or something until September.

I just know that when we were pregnant and thinking about daycare I changed my mind daily and I just don't want her to be all gung ho and then I never see her again.

What do you guys think?

[lilrugrats]

I may be the oddball here, but if she wants you to hold a spot from June-november I would have her pay a fee each week, non refundable of course, to hold the spot. At least half if not full.

I would not even hold a spot that long unless I was paid for it. I would tell her things in the daycare business change often and for her to call you in October if she still needs care. I would just explain that it would be a spot she is paying for and will be hard to fill for a few months.

Good luck!

[lilrugrats]

Oh yea do you have any 4 or 5 year olds that might start kindergarten in fall? Maybe they could take that spot?

[nannyde]

I haven't found anyone willing to pay a fee to hold the spot for any length of time.

I don't do interviews this far out. I've found that whatever arrangements they make usually change as the start day draws nearer. They find cheaper care, they find someone free for some days and just need you one or two, they move, change jobs etc. Life happens.

If they are trying to get into a Center they do need to start early and pay a deposit but not really in home day care. They could start looking the week or two before start date and be perfectly fine here. Day Care providers are a dime a dozen where I live.

If you have some sort of provider shortage then maybe it would work.

Some newly pregnant Moms want to start parenting before the kid is born. They want to "do" something being a Mom. Interviewing day care is a parent task and one of the few things they can DO besides buy stuff. They have a lot of time to do this. Don't get into the trap of interviewing someone so they have a chance to interview and do "Mom" before the kid is born. It's time consuming and IME rarely nets a kid.

I've never had a kid start my day care who's parents interviewed anywhere NEAR this far out. I've only had one family that paid for a spot to hold it and that was only because they had free gma care for two months that they didn't count on. Finding a client who will actually PAY anything substantial for a slot on a weekly basis would be very tough here. It doesn't take long into the Mommy world to realize that they have their choice of a zillion providers and can interview for free as many times as they want. They don't have to pay anything to hold a slot so they go that route.

Just don't interview for the sake of interviewing her. You will run into a LOT of to be Mommies who will want that with no real intentions of any kind of moeny being passed between you.

[Daycare Mommy]

Wow. November? Really? I'm assuming this is for a newborn? Generally speaking I'd charge at least half to hold a spot for more than 2 weeks... but I so wouldn't be comfortable taking that money all the way from here to November though...maybe that's just me though? What if she decides a few days into care, that she doesn't like it or her child is a screamer and you just can't watch him. I wouldn't be comfortable terminating during the trial period (or any time within 6 months or so) for any reason because of the amount she's already forked over. Not a position I'd put myself in.

For people looking for care months in advance like that I tell them they're welcome to come interview, but to please interview around and keep the names and numbers of several providers they like and call closer to the start date since I can't guarantee that I will have an opening that far in advance.

But like you said, maybe you could get a summer kid? Then maybe you could start charging her a holding fee after that child goes back to school. That might not be so bad.

[MarinaVanessa]

To hold a spot I generally charge $50 a week to hold a spot. I've never had anyone want to wait that long however and if it were me in your spot and since the spot is not opened yet I'd have her pay once the spot was open and with the understanding that I could fill that spot until November (once she needed care) with either a temporary child (like a summer child) or drop-in or something.

A holding fee is just that, a holding fee and is generally unrefundable. It is a fee to hold the child's spot until the child needs care. I'd still have her pay a deposit equal to that of two week's care at the same time that she make her first holding fee payment. Think about what it is that you want to do because that is a long wait and if you can't find someone to take the spot on a temporary basis then you'd be losing out on $$$.

[DBug]

I just added someone to my wait list who has a baby that's 3 weeks old -- Mom wants care for March 2011. I told her my reservation fee (half-rate with a certain percentage of free care), and that when a spot came available, if she wanted it she'd need to pay. She seemed just fine with that, which means it's fine with me!

I require reservation payments in advance, they're non-refundable, and there's a $100 fee if the reservation is cancelled. If parents are okay with all of that, I am too. And even if they do end up cancelling, the fees they've paid up til that point have held that spot for them, so I'm not worried about whether it should be refundable or not.

But, whatever you do, make sure you've got a contract for it!

[momma2girls]

I did a really nice thing for someone- I held a spot for 9 months for a family for only 2 week deposit. I had an opening at that time, they signed the contract and handed over the 2 week deposit. In the meantime I have had probably 30 or more emails and phone calls for that one opening. I lost out in a ton of money like over $5,000.00!!! I will never do this again!! I regretted it after I received the first phone call. From now on I changed my contract to 1 week per month- so this won't happen again!!!!!

[SunflowerMama]

Originally Posted by Iowa daycare

I did a really nice thing for someone- I held a spot for 9 months for a family for only 2 week deposit. I had an opening at that time, they signed the contract and handed over the 2 week deposit. In the meantime I have had probably 30 or more emails and phone calls for that one opening. I lost out in a ton of money like over $5,000.00!!! I will never do this again!! I regretted it after I received the first phone call. From now on I changed my contract to 1 week per month- so this won't happen again!!!!!

This sounds like what I might tell her. If she wants me to hold the spot the deposit (2 weeks) would be due and she could hold the spot monthly for the rate of 1 week...or maybe even 2 weeks.