I don't hold spots. Simple. I do give all current families or previous families first pick at any spots I have.

I recently started charging a "holiday fee" (similar to 5LM) so if someone was interested in a spot that they were not going to be using they would pay $25 a day instead of my regular rate of $30.

I had 1 mom on mat leave that continued to send her oldest to me while she was off. When a spot came open 2 months before she needed the spot for the baby I told her I had one open and asked if she wanted it. She said she did. She began paying me for it as soon as it became available (not when she needed it).