Space holding

Hello every. So I was contacted by a parent asking about my open spot as of December 1st. They were hoping I would hold the spot for them till August or September 2014 as their child will be a year old then and were hoping I would either hold it for them or better yet just have one open at that time. They asked if I take a deposit to keep it open or not. I've never had this happen before and financially I can't keep a spot open for ten months just to help another family out. What are your policies on holding spots. Length of time, what or if you charge a monthly rate or full fees. Thanks in advance.

I will hold a spot with a deposit for up to 3 months. I don't like to do this but it is slim pickings here for kids. I would tell them that that is simply too far away for me to hold anything. I explain how I am limited in my numbers, therefore need to keep my spots full, etc. If they offered to pay full price for the spot to hold it until September, why yes I would :) Doubt that would happen, though.

I have found that openings for September fill fast so I wouldn't consider holding it for nothing. I'll be able to fill it then anyways.

I normally charge $250/month to hold a spot that has a starting date of more then 4 weeks in advance but I wouldn't hold a spot for that length if time for that little bit of money ..... In centre care when a spot becomes available you either take it and start paying or turn it down .....simple ..so it depends on your financial situation .....if you are not needing to fill the spot right away then you could offer it to her for half the monthly fees (payable on the first of each month ) plus a two week deposit and the signed contract (now) the half monthly fees go to nothing but holding the spot and the two week deposit is applied to the last two weeks of already commenced care...in other words if in say June she decides to go to another daycare all the money she has paid so far is non refundable. Then I might think about it because it would be like having a pt kid with no work and no expenses (food, crafts, ect)

No way! I offered a family a spot at $20 a day once (my regular fee is $30) and they didn't want to pay to hold it. Why would you give up money just to hold for one specific family. I say tell them they can pay so much a month to hold the spot or wait and hope for the best. I certainly wouldn't do without to accommodate someone else. Don't forget they also may end up stiffing you in the end too. Oh I found a daycare closer to our home or we got into the center that we wanted etc. When I was opening up and booked families 6 months prior to me opening I had that happen. The lady went on and on in our interview too about wanting to make sure that I would stick with it once I opened and then she was the one who ended up getting into a center and cancelling out on me. I got her deposit but I still had to find a replacement last minute after I had passed over a lot of families.

I have had parents ask me to hold a spot for a month or two but never 10. Either way, I would treat it the same. I offer that they can pay my holiday rate (so $400 a month vs $600) to hold the spot until they need it. They have the option to send their child before than if they want and they just need to pay regular fee for those days. This way, my spot is filled but less a child for awhile and I'm still making money but not spending money on the child yet.

I have had one family consider it but than the dad decided he didn't want to pay for something they weren't using. Understandable, no skin off my back. I filled the spot and they found a different, cheaper daycare a week later. About a month later the mom told me that the other dcp fell through and she wanted my spot. I had to tell her my spot wasn't an option anymore and she was quite disappointed. (and annoyed with her husband I think lol)

It would all depend on your area too. I have had other families decline the offer to pay the holiday fee and take a chance on finding another dcp closer to their needed start date. Sometimes it works out for them and sometimes it doesn't. There are lots of hdc's in my city though.

The most I will hold a spot is 3 months, there is a deposit and it is held for 50% of the fee. (All non refundable of course) If they are looking for any farther in advance I tell them to check back about 60 days closer to the starting date they need.

I will hold a spot for them but require a deposit. If someone else contacts me and wants the spot I'm holding, I will let the family know and if they want to keep the spot they need to start paying half the fee.

I wouldn't hold a spot for more than a month or two unless they want to pay for the spot. I especially wouldn't do it right now with all the changes to daycare that are coming down the pipes...what if you hold it until September and then find out that child will put you over your ratios with the new law?