£300 for a sitter to watch ds over night?

[Spuddybean]

DP and i are getting married in beginning Jan. We would like DS to be watched overnight in the hotel so we can have a shag drink.

The hotel room for a sitter costs £130, which is fine. I contacted an agency who have said the sitter charges £9 per hour, also fine. But then the agency have said they charge £50 fee on top, erm not so fine and that we have to pay 'expenses' - and i'm not really sure what that entails. Room service for dinner i suppose, which is fine. But what else? taxis to and from the hotel?

Anyway, this then means it will cost more than £300 Does this seem reasonable?

It depends how good your new husband is in the sack, I suppose

£300? Blimey.

That all seems a bit excessive. Can your DS not stay with the GPs?

Wow I should go into the babysitting business. That's a lot of money.

Can family not babysit for the one night? I'm sure someone would go without a drink for you. It could be their wedding present to you and your DH?

Is that the Sitters agency? I'm registered with them (to work) and didn't realise they charged anything more than the fee per hour. Whereabouts are you, OP? How old is your child?

Can a friend or relative have him for you?

Could you find a nearby childminder it would be at least a third of that price? I don't do overnight care due to limited space in my house but my friend who is also a childminder only charges £20 a night for 7pm - 7am

If other wedding guests are staying at the hotel could you put one of them in charge ? a teenager would probably do it for £100.

How much is a room in the hotel for the night?

When my cousin got married they brought their own babysitter and booked her a room for the night.

Where are you getting married? I'll do it for £100- CRB checked etc!

It's about standard for a hotel sitter here. We had different rates written into our (live out) nanny contract for overnights, but hotel sitting services are always expensive. Have you not got parents that could do the later shift, and have him in their hotel room, so you just ay for an evening rate instead of an overnight? The sitter could use their hotel room for the evening shift, and they could pay and dismiss the sitter when they got back to the room - midnight ish? Depends what sort of party ya got goin'!

How old is your ds ? Would he not feel quite unsettled in a strange room with a stranger?

When dh and I got married my mum took dd aged 8 home with her and she stayed there overnight. Would that sort of thing be an option ?

The room costs £130, the OP says. It's all very well offering to do it for £100 but if it costs a fortune to get there, it won't be worth it!

(My assumption is that you want him at the party for a bit?)

haha! soontobeburns - you haven't met my family!

There isn't a hope in hell my parents wouldn't get shitfaced and dp's parents aren't coming. Sis and her brood are staying at m&d's in west london. There is no room for ds with all of them and they would be at the 'do' till midnight anyway.

The agency is LikeMinders.

The wedding is in Westminster and the hotel is St Johns Wood.

that is an insane amount for 1 night!

i agree with others, ask friends and family who are already staying over at the hotel or pay for someone you trust to stay.

Haven't you got a friend with a nanny or childminder you could ask? Or a friends teenager, especially if your in the same hotel

DS will be 4 months old. No one else is staying at the hotel, everyone is traveling by tubes across london.

The only friends and family we have will be at the wedding. Don't know anyone with children or teenagers (wouldn't leave ds with a teen tbh)

We are having a rushed budget wedding in a london boozer. It's not the kind where everyone stays at a hotel.

It's not £300 for the babysitter, it's £300 for a babysitter + a hotel room. Two costs there. If she was babysitting in your house you wouldn't have the hotel cost to content with, I presume?

£9 per hour for a babysitter in St Johns Wood isn't that much if you take into account that London living wage is £8.55 an hour.

That's St Johns Wood for you. I used to live there, and every single quote we got for everything from cleaning to building work had what I called the 'St Johns Wood' premium attached. General view seems to be that if you can afford to live there/get married there, you are fair game.

Ask a friend. I'd mind a friend's child so they could have a 'drink' on their wedding night without question.

I live near there. I'll do it. Seriously! Experienced with babies, qualified, CRB checked and I can get references. Message me if you want.

Everlong, i think lots of people have to. if i was going back to work we would have to. He will be sleeping and we will be in the same hotel/just next door, the agency staff are all professionals so i'd rather that than a friends teen.

A four month old! With a stranger no way. Can't you just leave them to sleep in buggy then have in your room, they are hardly going to know what you are doing. I've travelled to the other side of the world with a 4 month, they are very portable.