Holding Fees

[Daycare Momma]

I've been asked if I would consider meeting with someone who is looking for care for their child for June but my space is available in March. They said they would consider paying to hold the space if it's a good fit. I've never held a spot for that length of time and I'm just wondering if anybody else has and if so what's a reasonable holding fee/scenario.

Thanks!

[Lee-Bee]

I think a few variables come into play in deciding the holding fee.

The key one...can you afford to hold the spot for the 3 months at less than full price?

Do you expect you would otherwise be able to fill this space for March? If you are fully confident you can and you will therefore be losing income charge more than if you are not sure it would be filled anyways. For example, many daycares in Ontario are struggling to fill the over 2yr spots so if you have a 2 yr old that wants that spot 3 months from when it opens you might be wise to secure then for a low holding fee...just to ensure you eventually fill it! If it is an under 2yrs spot and you can fill it really fast then there is less risk of it remaining empty if you try to charge a high holding fee. Frankly I am not sure i would lower the fee at all for an under 2 space with the market right now.

The other thing is...how much do you like this family! Because lets face it...some families are worth their weight in gold and are worth losing a few months fees and other families, well they just aren't!!

I would interview the family and tell them you have a few interviews right now...after you meet everyone you will be in touch with your holding fee should they be the best candidate. Hold off until after you have met them to tell them the fee so you can get a feel for how worthy they may be of a discount to try and secure them!

[Suzie_Homemaker]

I charge 100% of fee if they want hold place. They welcome to use it once they start pay.

[mickyc]

I had 2 spots unexpectedly open up in October last year. One filled quickly and the other one sat open. I met with a great family who didn't need care until mid February. I offered the spot to them at $250 bi-weekly until they needed it (I charge $300bi-weekly regularly). They loved my daycare but didn't want to commit to prepaying that far in advance for something they weren't going to use. Understandable. So end of November my spot was still open! I had no interest and other providers were struggling to fill spots too. I emailed the family asking if they found care yet and again offered the spot with payment to begin January 1st. They took it! So they have paid me $250 bi- weekly since January 1st and start full time mid February.

Sometimes you just have to do what fills the spot. I charge all my families $25 a day (instead of $30) when given 1 months notice of their holidays so I just thought of it as the same. They are paying for my time but no food or craft supplies are being supplied.

[Van]

I too had a spot available in March and a family paid a holding fee of $500 a month then they started in the May of that year so June is the next month
This family sound very nice go for it and take them with holding fee starting March

[BlueRose]

This is my holding fee:
If you need to start care later then the date a spot becomes open, there is a holding non-refundable fee

To hold a spot for more than one (1) month [more than Twenty (20) business days the fee is $400/month/spot.

There are two payment options:
A) Pay in full on the first of each month
B) Pay in two payments of $200 on the first (1st) and fifteenth (15th) of each month.

A contract MUST be signed with a start date and the enrollment fee MUST be paid, in order to secure the spot.

[Daycare Momma]

This is my holding fee:
If you need to start care later then the date a spot becomes open, there is a holding non-refundable fee

To hold a spot for more than one (1) month [more than Twenty (20) business days the fee is $400/month/spot.

There are two payment options:
A) Pay in full on the first of each month
B) Pay in two payments of $200 on the first (1st) and fifteenth (15th) of each month.

A contract MUST be signed with a start date and the enrollment fee MUST be paid, in order to secure the spot.

I like this idea but just wondering if the holding fee is refundable. IMO it shouldn't be refundable since we are essentially losing some income while holding the space.

[Crayola kiddies]

I like this idea but just wondering if the holding fee is refundable. IMO it shouldn't be refundable since we are essentially losing some income while holding the space.

It says non refundable in blue roses post

[Daycare Momma]

It says non refundable in blue roses post

Ooops, I didn't see that. My bad! In any event I totally agree with that. It just makes sense. Thanks for the suggestions ladies.

[BlueRose]

I like this idea but just wondering if the holding fee is refundable. IMO it shouldn't be refundable since we are essentially losing some income while holding the space.

It is non-refundable. All my fees once paid are non-refundable.

[5 Little Monkeys]

I've never really had to do a holding fee (that I can remember, I have a terrible memory lol) but I guess if I did, I would just charge them my holiday rate which is $10 less per day.

I don't think it's unreasonable to expect full pay though. It's not your fault that they don't need care when your spot opens up. It's a chance they can decide to take but you shouldn't have to loose out on money