I've been looking into the pricing of daycares here in Seattle and one thing was surprising to me - for some reason all daycares have huge waitlists, with some parents reporting they've spent up to three years trying to get a spot. There are also "waitlist fees" if you want to get on the waitlist in the first place.

Now, the fact that there aren't enough daycares in major metropolitan areas is well known and this doesn't surprise me. But why would daycares choose to use long waitlists instead of just raising the prices until supply meets the demand? I mean, other service providers generally don't force you to wait in line for years and just vary the pricing based on the number of customers.

So I was hoping that Daycare members could resolve my question and explain the reasoning behind such policies. Is it to ensure that no spots are ever vacant? Is it to avoid a backlash from angry parents? Is it to help out struggling parents who would be priced out otherwise?

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