So, I just got an email today from an expecting mom needing care to start in September for a 3 month old. My question is would you hold a spot for that long? How much would you charge to hold the spot? Have any of you ever had any luck holding a spot for that long and the parents agreeing to pay to hold the spot without any issue? I'm tempted to tell her to check back a couple of months before she is due. I'm also considering charging a 50% holding fee per month to hold a spot. What would you do? As a group daycare we are allowed 4 infants and we've only filled one spot.

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She either pays to hold the spot or she calls back and takes her chances. I have had people do that and find out finding care quite difficult for infant spots.

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Since you've got more than 1 spot open I'd hold it at a discount with the understanding that if the other spots fill and there's a chance you could fill the last spot she'll have to pay the full amount to keep reserving it.

The only time I've held a spot that long was when I first opened. I held 3 spots for free for a teacher family over the summer and the week after school started they left for another program. Lesson learned the hard way.

If you're not sure about making them pay, sit down and figure out how much income you're giving up by holding the spot for free, or even at a discount. That usually stiffens my backbone!

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If i have an opening currently, i tell them they can either take their chances and call closer to the time care is needed, or pay half the months rate each month until start date. If i dont have an opening currently and the time they need care i will have an opening, then i only charge 2 week deposit. I feel weird charging for a spot i dont have open.

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I would not hold a spot for that long. I will hold a spot for a month but no longer. I charge a weekly holding fee of half of my weekly FT rate per week which they pay up front along with their 2 week security fee and first week plus turn in a contract. Most clients don't want to pay it and would rather wait and I'd rather not hold it anyway so I can usually fill my infant spots pretty quickly.

I've had it happen to me too many times where even after paying the 2 week fee, first week and holding fee the mom changes her mind and ends up staying home. Then it's a battle explaining that their holding fee is a fee and non-refundable and so is their 2 week security fee. It's a hassle.

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Since you have the three spots available that would make things different for me. You can go one of two ways. Hold the spot and charge (either discounted or in full depending on if you think this will scare them away). Or you can tell her you will not charge so long as there is no interest in the spot but if there is and your spots fill up and you are down to one remaining that you will call her and she will either need to start paying at that time in full or lose the spot to the next person interested.

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Thanks for the advice everyone! So, I went ahead and emailed her, and gave her two options. She can wait til she gets closer to her due date and check back, or pay a 50% holding fee of our normal rate per month. If we didn't have the 3 openings then I probably wouldn't of offered to hold the spot for that long. We will see if I hear back from her.

Its funny because I haven't had hardly had any inquiries for infant care in the last few months, and then all of a sudden this past week I've had 4 people asking about infant care. One of them is coming for an interview this weekend, so fingers crossed!

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So, she emailed me this morning and said she would check back with me closer to the due date.

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Not surprised. I wouldn’t want to pay for a spot for that many months even at half rate. Parents these days think they need to start looking for care the minute the stick turns pink. So far I’m 0-2 in holding spots. One child was born with a heart condition they didn’t foresee and his care needed was too intense for group care. One I don’t feel too bad about as they are family and grandma decided to stay home. While I was technically holding the spot for them.. it wasn’t yet open and still isn’t due to current ages. (Was going to start when one of my 1 year olds turns 2). So I have some time to fill it when that happens. I can only see myself holding a spot again for a currently enrolled family and nothing more.

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I see the reverse here. People call around looking for care usually only a few days or a week before it is needed.
Infants spots are hard to come by here. The calls are also usually trying to negotiate prices on something that is hard to get as it is. I can see not wanting to pay for a spot that far in advance but they may realize they might get stuck without a spot if they wait too long.

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Same here!

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Yeah, I'm not really surprised either. I thought I would offer the option to pay to hold the spot because you never know, and she said we are very close to her place of work. So, hopefully she will check back this summer.

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Daycare in general is hard to come by in this town. Even the underground daycares stay “full” and charge basically the same. I get so many calls from barely pregnant women. I am unsure how asking a family to pay to hold a spot here would go over. No one in the area that I know of does this but I will see how things go if/when I have an infant opening. I’m finding that I prefer to take them at a new 2 if I can swing it and leave the infant spots to already enrolled families. Funny how that happens, I thought for sure when I started I would prefer the under 2 crowd.

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