|
FAQs | |
|
|
How do you select your sitters? The process starts with an online application. All candidates must be experienced babysitters with at least three child care references, at least 21 years old and CPR certified. One of the company owners personally interviews the candidate and contacts each reference. Then, for U.S. applicants, we conduct an identity and criminal background check via a Denver-based international workplace security company. For international applicants, we review the background check conducted during their visa approval process, or similar reliable documentation. Candidates provide us with a copy of their CPR certification document, photo id and emergency contact information. Many of our applicants are referred by existing sitters. What are the sitters like? We have a diverse group, but they all share a love for working with kids. Our sitters range from 21 year old college students to our 60+ “Grandmother Squad.” Most are female, but we have some males too. Many have been babysitters since they were young. Our team includes teachers, mothers and grandmothers, day-care instructors, nurses, E.M.T’s, ski instructors and patrollers, and many sitters who have undergraduate and post-graduate degrees in education, child development and related fields. How do you select a particular sitter for my family? We pride ourselves on selecting a sitter that is a perfect match for your family’s needs. The more you tell us--and the more time we have to work with--the better we can achieve that goal. For example, we have sitters with a wealth of experience caring for infants. We have other sitters who are perfect for rambunctious older children. Tell us what you are looking for and we will find the right sitter for you. What will we know about our sitter prior to the appointment? We will send you an email that includes the sitter’s name and a summary of her child care qualifications. For the great majority of our sitters, we will also send you their picture. Your sitter will call prior to the appointment to introduce herself and to confirm the dates, times, location of the appointment, parking arrangements and other details. Do you have sitters who have experience with special needs children? Yes, many of our sitters have cared for special needs children. Please contact us early and be sure to discuss your family’s needs with us when you submit your booking request. Do you have sitters who speak languages other than English? Yes. We have sitters with varying degrees of familiarity with a variety of languages, including A.S.L. Call or email to discuss your family’s needs, and reserve early. How far in advance should I book? We recommend you book as far in advance as possible, as soon as you are reasonably certain of your dates, times and other details. Sitters are in high demand, particularly during holiday weeks. It’s best to book several weeks in advance for any holiday period, especially daytime and weekend appointments. If you are requesting the same sitter for multiple appointments, it is very important to book well in advance. Remember that you may modify or cancel a reservation up to 8 days before the appointment without losing your deposit. We will always try our very best to find a sitter for you at anytime, even on very short notice. If we are sold out for the time you request, we can put you on a cancellation wait list. How do I request a sitter? You may submit an online booking request or give us a call. To submit a request online, just go to “Reservations” on this website, click on the word “HERE” and complete the form. Your booking request will be processed securely by our encrypted server. What if I am not yet certain of some of the details of our appointment? Book early anyway. When you are more certain of your plans, you may modify or cancel your appointment up to 8 days out. May I have the same sitter for multiple appointments? We always try to give you the same sitter for multiple appointments. It’s better for the children and also for the sitter. We are better able to achieve that goal if you book well in advance. What hours are sitters available? Sitters are available anytime. Morning, afternoon and evening—even overnight with sufficient notice. Most evening appointments begin after 5:30 p.m., but we will work to find a sitter for you anytime you need one. Is there a minimum or maximum age for the children? We have many sitters who are experienced in caring for very young infants. We have provided babysitters for children as young as four weeks. We understand the concerns of parents of infants. If we don’t have an appropriate sitter for your young one, we won’t book the appointment. The upper age range is typically in the mid-teens. However, we have provided companion sitters for older children and adults with special needs. We are just visiting for the day. Do you have a facility where we can drop off our children? No. Our sitters come to the client's lodging location only. I have a reservation for tomorrow, but I haven't heard from my sitter yet. What should I do? First, double-check your cell phone voicemail. Also check your email. Your sitter has probably tried to call and leave a message. Some cell providers do not have a strong signal in the mountains. You may need to use a land line to check your voice-mail inbox. If that doesn’t work, please call our office and we will check with your sitter. Our sitter was great! May we schedule another appointment with her? Please call our office and we will check if your sitter is available for another appointment with your family. If she is not, we will do our best to schedule another great sitter for you. What activities are available to my children during the appointment? Our sitters bring age-appropriate activities for the children. They are also great at making up games for the kids to play in any setting. Off-site activities are possible with parental permission and depending on the weather. Please note that sitters do not drive children in any vehicle, but many activities are available by foot or public transportation, including resort shuttle buses. Activities can include hikes, bike rides, pool and hot tub visits, museums, rec centers, snow play, skating and sledding. Sitters cannot ski or snowboard with children due to resort area regulations. However, many of our sitters are ski/snowboard instructors and can offer private lessons through the resort. Ask about that possibility when you book. How might the altitude of the resort area affect my children? All high country visitors are subject to the effects of altitude and children are no exception. Infants can be uncomfortably gassy and experience earaches. All children (and adults) are susceptible to dehydration in the mountains. Sleeping patterns can also be altered. Our sitters are alert to these possibilities. Can you send us a sitter if our child is ill? Our sitters cannot care for a child who is acutely ill and/or may have a contagious disease. It is not unusual for visiting children to have a runny nose in the mountains, but if your child has a fever and/or productive cough, we cannot provide you with a sitter. Please discuss any such situations with us in advance. If a sitter arrives to find an acutely ill or possibly contagious child, she cannot complete the appointment. With clear written instructions and parental authorization from a parent, sitters may administer simple medications for conditions that are not acute or possibly contagious. Is there paperwork to fill out at the time of the appointment? Yes. Your sitter will ask you to complete and sign a Medical Authorization and Service Agreement at the beginning of the appointment. Your signature on the unaltered document is required. At the end of the appointment, your sitter will complete a Verification of Payment form to document the balance due. Your signature is also required on the payment form. Can the sitter feed our children? Absolutely. If the kitchen is stocked, sitters can prepare simple meals for the children. Some sitters even like to include the children in meal preparation, cookie baking, etc. Sitters can also coordinate restaurant or room service meals, if you prefer. Can the sitter bathe the children and put them down for bedtime? Certainly. Just give the sitter clear instructions and authorization to bathe the children. Do I have to provide food for the sitter? No. If an appointment goes over a mealtime, sitters will bring their own food. Of course, you are welcome to provide food for your sitter if you would care to do so. How many children may be present during an appointment? It depends on the ages of the children and any special needs considerations. Be sure to mention this information when you submit your booking request or call. For a larger group, or if there are multiple infants, you may need more than one sitter. May pets be present during the appointment? Please check with us about that at the time you submit your booking request. It's usually not a problem if a friendly dog or cat is present, but we do have to make sure your sitter is not allergic. (Please see important information regarding cancellation, change and no-show charges below, under the heading "Cancellations and Changes") How is the charge determined? Clients are charged an hourly rate based on the number of children present. Please see the “Pricing” page on this website for details regarding current rates. A deposit is charged to your credit card prior to the appointment and credited towards the balance of the babysitting fee. What if we come back earlier or stay out later than our scheduled time? It is never a problem if you want to come back early, although you are charged for the four-hour minimum. If you think you are going to return later than your scheduled time, please call your sitter and let her know as soon as you can. It’s usually not a problem, but sitters will sometimes have a “hard stop” at the scheduled time because they have another appointment or commitment. Please don’t return late without checking with your sitter first. How do I pay the balance due at the end of the appointment? At the end of the appointment, most clients prefer to take advantage of the 5% discount included in our posted rates by paying the sitter the balance due in cash or by check payable to the sitter. If possible, please let us know in advance if you will want to pay the balance due with your credit card. Credit card payments are not discounted and the total will be adjusted accordingly. For multiple day reservations, it’s best to pay your sitter at the end of each appointment. Do I tip my sitter? Most clients choose to tip their sitter. Tips are always appreciated and go exclusively to your sitter. A typical gratuity is 10-20% of the total charge. Do you charge an agency fee? No. Resort Sitters does not charge an agency fee. We will charge a deposit to your credit card to hold your reservation, which is credited towards the total babysitting fee. Are there any extra fees? Activity expenses for the children and the sitter, such as ice-skating, meals out, museum admission, etc., are the responsibility of the client. Please give the sitter money in advance for requested activities, or reimburse the sitter at the end of the appointment. Sitters will park in a free lot if it is reasonably close to your lodging location. Many properties will allow a sitter to park for free if requested by the guest in advance. Please discuss parking options when your sitter calls prior to the appointment. The client is responsible for any parking expense incurred by the sitter. Is the hourly rate less if my children will be asleep during the appointment? No. The sitter is responsible for staying alert and keeping the environment safe, even if the children are asleep during some or all of the appointment. (overnight appointments excepted) May other children be present without charge if the sitter is not responsible for those children? If our sitter is the only adult present, the hourly rate will be based on the total number of minors present during the appointment. If another responsible adult is present during the entire appointment, and is solely responsible for the other minors, the hourly rate may be based only on designated children. Please discuss this with us in advance. May children come and go during the appointment, under parental supervision? If so, how does that affect the rate? Yes. Parents may, for example, take older children skiing, and then drop them off with the sitter during the appointment. The sitter will adjust the rate accordingly.
Is there a charge for a canceled appointment? Yes, there are two important cancellation policies. You may cancel any appointment with more than 7 days’ notice without losing your deposit. The deposit is non-refundable if the client cancels the appointment for any reason with 7 days or less notice prior to the scheduled beginning of the appointment. Second, if a client cancels an appointment four hours or less prior to the scheduled beginning of the appointment, for any reason, the client will be charged the four-hour minimum at the hourly rate for the number of children on the scheduled appointment. Client no-shows are considered cancellations with less than four hours notice. If the client is not present at the appointment location when the sitter arrives at the scheduled time, the sitter will make a reasonable effort for a half-hour to contact the client by phone or, if available, through the front desk of the lodging property. If the client cannot begin the appointment within that half-hour period, the appointment is considered a client no-show and the client will be charged the four-hour minimum. Is there a charge for a change to an existing appointment? Yes. Any change to an existing appointment within 24 hours of the scheduled beginning of the appointment, including start time or number of children, will result in an additional $20 charge. A request to move an appointment to a different day is a cancellation of that appointment, not a change, and will be subject to the applicable cancellation fee. How do I cancel or request a change to an existing appointment? Call and/or email our office as soon as possible, even after hours. If it is a requested cancellation or change less than 24 hours prior to the appointment, please also call your sitter directly. What if our scheduled sitter gets sick, becomes unavailable, or can't get to our location due to inclement weather or other problems? This happens very rarely, but is sometimes unavoidable. If a sitter has to cancel an appointment she and or the company will contact you as soon as possible to explain the situation. We will arrange a substitute sitter if one is available. If no sitter is available we will, of course, refund all Resort Sitters’ charges with our sincere apologies. We will also help you contact other agencies to see if they have an available sitter.
Do you provide sitters for groups and events? Absolutely. We frequently provide multiple sitters for weddings, parties, company events, family reunions, military family retreats and similar events. We would be happy to help with your group child care needs. Where does the group babysitting take place? Usually in the meeting or banquet rooms of the lodging property where the group is staying. We can work directly with your group, or through your lodging property group sales office. We can also arrange group babysitting in a private residence. What activities are provided for the children? Resort Sitters provides babysitters, games, activities, toys and age-appropriate DVD movies. Enhanced activities may be arranged. The lodging property provides the space, a/v equipment, blankets, pillows, “pack-n-plays” as well as all food and beverage service and housekeeping. What is the charge for group babysitting? Please contact us to discuss your group babysitting needs and we will give you a price quote. At a minimum, we need to know the date and location of the event, child care hours and the number and ages of the children attending. How do I make a reservation for a group or event? Call us or send an email.
|
|
Resort Sitters | Summit 970.513.4445 | babysitting@resortsitters.com Visit our other locations: Vail Valley | |
.gif)
