Bringing a sitter on vacation

Samiantha101

Has anybody brought a babysitter on vacation with your family? While we have nothing in the works, it's something I've considered for awhile now. How did you work out pay, ie a flat rate vs. an hourly rate? Obviously, we would pay for hotel costs and airfare. Did you also pay for their meals? How much time did they actually watch your kids for? Anything else to be aware of?

KayteeGee

We haven't quite hired our nanny yet (some vacillation about whether we were going to do a nanny and daycare or one or the other -but I digress).  One thing we had talked about was bringing nanny to Hawaii with us, we would pay for travel/hotel (she would stay in the room with the kids), we would pay for food (whatever the bill with the kids, and then probably a per diem) and we would pay her full salary. That seems to be what's done in my circle.  I feel like it'd probably be a sweet deal for her because we'll want to do a lot just the four of us.

litzo27

Several of my coworkers do this regularly. My understanding they pay for hotel/air plus 80-100% of the regular salary. I have thought about it but would not do that because
- I actually like to do most things with the kids so wouldn't use her all that much.
- Most hotels/resorts do have babysitting services. We just stayed at a hotel in the finger lakes which did 5-10pm organized kids activities with craft/play/movie/dinner in a special playscape and had in-room babysitting services available. This would be MUCH cheaper.
- I would feel like I can't really relax. I love my nanny but I don't want to vacation with her.

[Deleted User]

Our friend's nanny declined joing them on her vacation.  She wanted a vacation away from them (think if you had to vacation with your boss and coworkers).  Keep in mind she may not want to go.  

Virgo17

Do you have any relatives or friends that might be interested?  For example, I have a couple of cousins that are 18 and 20 years old and would probably be up for this.  You could bring them along as an extra set of hands and maybe go out a couple of nights after LO is in bed.  I'd probably give a flat rate of $200-$250 on top of paying their way for the trip.

itsmevkb

My younger sister watches our children so not technically a "nanny" but we have invited her, and her children, along on two of our vacations.  For us it wasn't so much about having someone else to watch the kids while we went off alone, but more so to help with them.  Vacationing with four kids is a handful.  We paid for all the expenses and then her regular weekly salary.

BeckyP005

I'm a nanny and travelled all the time with them. Couple times a yr. I got payed my regular salary and got additional $ for nights and extra on the weekend. They payed for airfare and all meals. Some gifts too.

When kids were younger I was always with them. Did go out few times at night if I wanted. When they were older like junior high they were allowed to take friends to Nantucket and I would still go! Mostly to do laundry and cart them around. Lots of downtime This yr was first time I couldn't go.

I'm still with the family lol. One is in college and other is a senior in HS! Guess more of a house assistant now.

mexicolombiana

This is my dream.  To take a vacation and have a nanny with me so I can go out with my husband at night and so she can help out while we're on a beach or something so I can snorkel the day away. 

It's just a dream though because we wouldn't be able to afford it. 

Samiantha101

Please let me clarify that I don't have a nanny. My daughter is in daycare, so there isn't an instance of my nanny having to use her vacation time with me. Also, family is not an option for us. We have almost none to speak of. I am not really comfortable in using a hotel sitter service, as I wouldn't know these sitters at all. Maybe when my kids are older, I'll entertain the idea of them. Thanks for all the input thus far. Again, I don't have a trip to speak of in the works, rather just gathering ideas.

emberlee3

I fantasized about bringing a nanny on vacation this summer, but I ended up hiring one of my younger cousins for some babysitting since it was a family reunion.

aliandchris

Totally ask one of the daycare teachers your daughter is very fond of to do it! Pay wise, if I were to do this, I'd obviously cover flight and hotel (personally I'd try and stay at Marriott timeshare kind of place and would want the sitter to have her own private room/studio connected to our 2 bedroom unit). That way, she could watch the kids in our unit while my husband and I went to dinner and then overnight, have her own space. But I'm sure many people with kiddos who don't sleep well would like the sitter to share a space with the kids. Clearly I've thought about this because our parents are usually our go to people for vacations and some day, they may not want to be If it was like a Saturday-Saturday vacation, I'd probably offer 3 nights off, the ability to order food during the day on our account and $1000 flat fee for pre-determined help during the days. But my kids are 1 and 2 so I'm sure if you only have 1 or they are older, the responsibility, therefore pay is less.

rockychryslerb2010

We've done this twice and it is a fabulous way to travel.  You get to spend time with your kids, plus spend some quality alone time with your SO.

The first time we did it, E was about 10 months and we took our nanny to Hawaii with us.  It was great to have an extra set of hands on the flight and airport.  We paid for airfare and hotel, gave her money for her meals and Ethan's meals.  She probably worked close to 5-6 hrs a day, sometimes more, sometimes less.  She would stay back at the hotel while he napped and would watch him in the evenings so we could go out to dinner.  We also did a few hikes that were pretty aggressive, and E stayed back at the house with the nanny just because I wasn't comfortable taking him into some of the more rigorous hiking areas.

This  spring we did a small trip to Savannah and brought our nanny along again.  We did one or two activities per day as a family, and she stayed with him at the hotel for naps and in the evenings so we could do dinner.

For me, the hardest thing for our Hawaii trip (the first time we did it) was remembering that she wasn't on vacation, but was there working.

thedash

I think this works great as long as you find someone who is a good fit. Our regular babysitter is awesome and we love taking her on trips with us. But we are very comfortable with her and don't mind having her around all the time when we're on vacation. We are heading to a nearby beach for four nights and bringing her along over Labor Day weekend. She is sharing a room with the kids. The room has two double beds but the baby is still in a pack and play. The condo only has one bathroom but we've traveled together quite a bit now so we feel more comfortable sharing a smaller space for a short trip.

Having her is really helpful when the toddler needs to pee or the baby needs a nap. It seems like one of us is constantly running back and forth between the beach and condo. The 3:2 ratio at least gives us each a chance to take a break! We probably won't go out to dinner just because bedtime alone with our 1 year old and 3 year old is really annoying. We may head out for a drink after they are asleep one night though.