DogVacayReviews of dogvacay.com

I have been using DogVacay for a little over 3 months now and have had a great experience so far. I've met many wonderful dogs and dog owners and my own dog is very happy with the new friends. Concierge has been very fast at resolving any issues. The two times I have called, I was able to speak to a person straight away instead of listening to voice recordings and being put on hold for an hour. The support was great, and this was a huge factor into my continuing to use DogVacay because I want to know that in case of emergency, I'll get the support I need right away. I use the android app and it was a little glitchy at first but with the update, I've been able to use it with no issues and have been able to communicate with people and book easily on my phone. The one improvement I can think of is better screening-both guest and host dogs. I want to know that the dog(s) my dog is interacting with is really up to date with vaccinations, is spayed/neutered, and doesn't have any aggression issues. I realize that each dog is different and some sitters are willing to sit dogs with aggression problems or sometimes the owner isn't even aware of any problems, but any effort to mitigate a dangerous situation would be great. I think any additional fees or hassle would be worth the peace of mind. Otherwise, I'm very much enjoying the service of being able to have my dog watched by someone insured and not having to worry that he'll get stressed by being stuck in a kennel all day.

I am a sitter with DogVacay and have truly enjoyed being able to set my own dates of availability and rates for clients. I have been thoroughly impressed with how busy I have been and the great people and pups I have met! These are great factors when considering whether to be a sitter. There are also a few factors that aren't as great but need to be mentioned. There are fees associated with this work - DogVacay takes a whopping 15% of your charges from you as their usage fee. Once you take out another 30+% to cover your paying taxes, etc., that doesn't leave much for income. I personally think this fee is high and it should only be 10%. Additionally, they provide an insurance policy for clients, but make sure you read the fine print. While the dogs you board are covered and that is wonderful, lots of things (and people) are not. Be careful that you fully educate yourself so you know what is and is not covered. Ultimately, it is a business and must be run as such. While there are pros and cons to all work, I do recommend DogVacay.

I love being a DogVacay host because it has proven to be a great way to supplement my income. Both the web site and the app have a few quirks that need improvement. I find the app difficult to use, especially when trying to send an owner a picture of their pup. Often times I will send the picture to them directly without going thru Dogvacay because it's so much easier that way. I also do not like how you arbitrarily assign them a phone number when you send me text notifications. Why not use their real number? I have their real numbers in my address book.

Really happu with support and work on upgrading website and apps to be more user friendly. Disappointed in the lack of communication with hosts regarding fees for users. I was not prepared when guests told me some were being charged 3% fees that I was not told about. And it seems that some pet parents are being charged and others aren't.

The only thing I would like to see changed is when you pay. The dog goes home. The next day you send a request for review. The day after you send an email that there is money in paypal. Why not put the money in paypal on the day the dog is dropped off rather than several days after the dog goes home. When we have dogs for two or three weeks at a time, it's a long time to wait to get paid. Otherwise, I'm good. I have had great dogs and great customer service when I need it. Karen

I charge customers by the number of calendar days a dog stays, whereas DogVacay charges by the night. So if a dog comes at 8 am and leaves at 5 pm the next day, I only get a one day pay out of 2 days of work, or I end up doing custom quotes to everyone. When a boarding request comes in, I would like to be able to enter the number of days before submitting it to the customer.

So far I love the experiences I've had with DogVacay. However, there are a few little things or glitches that I think could be improved to make the site perfect. First is the dog review process for Hosts. I've had multiple review requests for the same dogs (repeat customers) and I don't feel like I need to review the dog again. Also, I have no incentive to actually do these reviews. I think if I am spending my time to fill these out, I should be able to see what other hosts have written about that dog (if applicable). Second is bookings. I am marked as full even if I have dog(s) leaving that day. A dog shouldn't be considered "here" on the day it leaves. Also I have had people message me for dates that I have marked as unavailable. They shouldnt be able to message me if they are only interested in dates I am not available. Third, I should be able to set how many dogs I want to accept on specific days. For example, I have family coming into town for a week and they are bringing their two dogs, so I should be able to change how many dogs I am willing to accept from 4 to 2 while my family is here. And lastly is rates. There should be more options to specifically set rates. For example puppy rates, holiday rates for specific days only, second dog rates, etc. I feel like the majority of my customers are having to get a custom quote from me because the site doesn't allow a specific enough rates. I've even had some customers say that they almost didn't message me because it was too expensive, but realized that it actually wasn't that much when I sent them the Custom Quote. If all these changes could be made, this site would be perfect.

Love the exposure I get to new clients thru DogVacay however I feel that they charge too much in fees since they take 15% of the sitters fee plus upcharge the client 5% as well. I think thst is just greedy to charge the client in addition to the sitter.