What is the platform fee and what does it cover?
What the 20% platform fee covers and why it's there.
The Village Co charges a platform fee of 20% on each booking. This is separate from your sitter's hourly rate.
What it covers:
Our concierge matching service - a real person finds and introduces your sitter, not just an algorithm
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Sitter vetting - every sitter is ID-checked, reference-verified, and background-checked before they join
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Village Sitter Insurance - $2 million liability cover on every booking
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Platform support - we're available before, during, and after your booking if anything comes up
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Secure payments via Stripe
Where does the money go? Your sitter receives their full hourly rate. The platform fee goes to running The Village Co, so we can keep the community safe, supported, and high-quality.
Is the platform fee refundable? The platform fee is non-refundable. If a booking is cancelled, any refund of the sitter's rate follows our cancellation policy, but the platform fee is not returned. In exceptional circumstances (platform error or a safety concern raised with our team), we may choose to waive the fee at our discretion.
Questions about a specific charge? Email support@thevillageco.nz.