Daycare.com Forum
Daycare Center and Family Home Forum>Place Holding Fee?
woods 11:29 AM 05-31-2013
Do you guys charge a fee to hold someones spot for 3 months? I have someone looking for childcare for a child thats not going to be born till the end of June. They want to start at the end of august or begining of september.
Blackcat31 11:35 AM 05-31-2013
For me, this is my income and how I pay my bills.
I can't afford to give families breaks in rates due to their personal situations.
If a space is open, whomever pays for it first, gets it.
I don't hold spaces without payment.
I only have a certain number of infant spaces available and in my area they are pretty hard to come by so I would NEVER offer to hold a space unless it was paid for.
That's what works for me.
I can't afford to give families breaks in rates due to their personal situations.
If a space is open, whomever pays for it first, gets it.
I don't hold spaces without payment.
I only have a certain number of infant spaces available and in my area they are pretty hard to come by so I would NEVER offer to hold a space unless it was paid for.
That's what works for me.
TheGoodLife 11:57 AM 05-31-2013
I did that with one of my first families, and they ended up telling me a week or two before they started care that DCM decided to stay home with the baby (I had been watching DCB 1 day a week and had held the FT baby spot from Oct.- March) Now I will only hold a spot for up to 2 weeks unpaid, then must be paid at 1/2 rate.
MarinaVanessa 01:16 PM 05-31-2013
I don't hold spots for longer than 30 days. In order for me to hold a spot for 30 days the following is required of the client:
Without all of these I will not hold a spot for anyone. Whoever completes the requirements first and returns them to me gets the spot.
If they decide not to bring their child after all they don't get back the holding fee or the deposit but they can choose to have their child come for 2 weeks (what the 2 week deposit covers).
- I need a signed contract with the schedule that they want and the start-date.
- $100 holding fee. It is non-refundable and not used towards child care. It is a fee to hold their spot.
- A deposit equivalent to two weeks' worth of child care (to be used towards their final 2 weeks of care).
- A completed packet of paperwork (licensing paperwork and my own required paperwork)
Without all of these I will not hold a spot for anyone. Whoever completes the requirements first and returns them to me gets the spot.
If they decide not to bring their child after all they don't get back the holding fee or the deposit but they can choose to have their child come for 2 weeks (what the 2 week deposit covers).
earlystart 08:04 PM 05-31-2013
I charge 50% of the weekly tuition as a holding fee. I wouldn't do it for 3 months though. The longest I did it was for a month and a half because it was a family member of a current kid. If you think you won't otherwise be able to fill that spot and really want this family then collect the full 2 week deposit now (which would go towards their last 2 weeks of care), require a weekly holding fee (or monthly) - whatever you want to charge - and get all the contract and paperwork signed now. State that the holding fee is non-refundable and will not go towards tuition. Put all of the terms of the holding fee info and start date in the contract that they sign.
Laurel 05:53 AM 06-01-2013
Originally Posted by woods:
Do you guys charge a fee to hold someones spot for 3 months? I have someone looking for childcare for a child thats not going to be born till the end of June. They want to start at the end of august or begining of september.
I got this idea from another provider so now do it.Do you guys charge a fee to hold someones spot for 3 months? I have someone looking for childcare for a child thats not going to be born till the end of June. They want to start at the end of august or begining of september.
"Thanks so much for wanting me to care for your new baby in 3 months. If you leave a deposit equalling one week's fees, you will have 'first refusal' for my next opening. That means if I get another call from someone wanting care before then, you can choose to "enroll" right away at regular rates and the spot will be yours when your baby arrives. If you choose not to enroll in that case, your name will go at the top of my waiting list for the next opening and your deposit will be refunded in full. If you find care elsewhere, the deposit will be non-refundable."
This way the parent can reserve the spot well in advance but they only have to pay for it, if it means you are turning away another paying client. If the slot is empty anyway, the parent does not have to pay.
I have the above statement hanging by my phone.
Laurel
Patches 08:40 AM 06-01-2013
Originally Posted by Laurel:
I got this idea from another provider so now do it.
"Thanks so much for wanting me to care for your new baby in 3 months. If you leave a deposit equalling one week's fees, you will have 'first refusal' for my next opening. That means if I get another call from someone wanting care before then, you can choose to "enroll" right away at regular rates and the spot will be yours when your baby arrives. If you choose not to enroll in that case, your name will go at the top of my waiting list for the next opening and your deposit will be refunded in full. If you find care elsewhere, the deposit will be non-refundable."
This way the parent can reserve the spot well in advance but they only have to pay for it, if it means you are turning away another paying client. If the slot is empty anyway, the parent does not have to pay.
I have the above statement hanging by my phone.
Laurel
The only thing that I don't understand is the deposit part. So, if you call them and offer them the spot and they refuse, you will give them their deposit back but keep them on the waiting list but if they find care elsewhere, they don't get their deposit back....but didn't they already get it back...or am I reading this wrong?I got this idea from another provider so now do it.
"Thanks so much for wanting me to care for your new baby in 3 months. If you leave a deposit equalling one week's fees, you will have 'first refusal' for my next opening. That means if I get another call from someone wanting care before then, you can choose to "enroll" right away at regular rates and the spot will be yours when your baby arrives. If you choose not to enroll in that case, your name will go at the top of my waiting list for the next opening and your deposit will be refunded in full. If you find care elsewhere, the deposit will be non-refundable."
This way the parent can reserve the spot well in advance but they only have to pay for it, if it means you are turning away another paying client. If the slot is empty anyway, the parent does not have to pay.
I have the above statement hanging by my phone.
Laurel
mamac 10:10 AM 06-01-2013
Originally Posted by Patches:
The only thing that I don't understand is the deposit part. So, if you call them and offer them the spot and they refuse, you will give them their deposit back but keep them on the waiting list but if they find care elsewhere, they don't get their deposit back....but didn't they already get it back...or am I reading this wrong?
I think if they refuse the spot and choose to not pay full price for the current opening before their baby is born they can wait until they actually need care for their child. (in 3 months) If there is no opening, they will be put on a wait list and their deposit will be used when they enroll when a spot becomes available. If they choose to look for another provider, the deposit is forfeited.The only thing that I don't understand is the deposit part. So, if you call them and offer them the spot and they refuse, you will give them their deposit back but keep them on the waiting list but if they find care elsewhere, they don't get their deposit back....but didn't they already get it back...or am I reading this wrong?
I hope I got that right.