Au Pair Chatter

Au Pair in America just announced the following promotion…

New Families: Apply by May 31st & save $350 PLUS receive a $100 Marriott TravelCard!

Apply by Sunday, May 31st, 2009 and we will waive the $350 application fee.  Plus, when you match with an au pair, you will receive a $100 Marriott TravelCard for use on all Marriott services.  You may choose to decline the $100 Marriott TravelCard and apply the $100 value towards your program fee.

To qualify, you must be a new Au Pair in America family and your au pair must arrive by December 31st, 2009.  Learn more about this special offer for new host families by contacting Alex Ramirez at (800) 928-7247 ext. 5161 or at aramirez@aifs.com.

Recently, Terry and I have discussed a trend we have seen in recent months.   We have been surprised and saddened by the lengths that some of our competitors will go to in order to get more business.   In an industry built on the concept of providing cultural exchange and childcare, we still hold those as high priorities.   Some of our competitors seem to have a different focus.   We personally prefer to deal with ethical people who have moral standards, especially on something as important as the safety and care of our children.   We may be naïve in believing that those things matter to people, but we think they should.   So, we decided to post a list of the things we will and will not do.

Here’s our list:

• We will continue to keep taking care of our host families and au pairs as our main priority and marketing to new families as a secondary focus.
• We will promote Au Pair in America using honest, ethical methods.
• We will encourage our host families and au pairs to refer people to Au Pair in America, based on their own positive experiences.
• We will continue to allow our au pairs to bring their friends from other agencies to our meetings and will welcome them and treat them just as our own au pairs.

• We will not lie to people.
• We will not misrepresent ourselves or our intentions in order to obtain competitor’s host family information.
• We will not pose as reporters in order to obtain access to a competitor’s host families and market to them.
• We will not ask our au pairs’ friends to give us their host family’s contact information or their agency’s cluster list.
• We will not make misleading statements about our competitors.
• We will not violate the terms of online forums and pose as satisfied customers, rather than agency representatives.
• We will not violate the terms of websites such as Craig’s List by posting ridiculous numbers of listings and cross-posting.
• We will not take another agency’s original ideas, copy them and promote them as our own.

We spend the majority of our work time providing great service and support to our host families and au pairs and genuinely care about them having a positive outcome in the au pair program.  We are saddened that people would try to lure them away, with the promise of discounts and services, which may or may not be accurate.

When one of these competitors was confronted by a third party whom she had lied to and used to get the private information of host families and au pairs,  her reply was, “that’s just business.”  Well, that’s not how we do business.  At the end of the day, we want to feel good about the work we do and know that we haven’t done anything that we should feel ashamed of.

From time to time, I receive inquiries about a Summer Au Pair Program. So, why don’t we offer a summer au pair program? Here are the main reasons.

#1 Cost Compared to Standard Au Pairs

Agencies that offer summer only au pairs have an average weekly cost of $365-$390 per week. That is $30-$55 more than our standard au pairs. Over the course of the summer, that is $480-$770 more.

#2 Building a Relationship

When an au pair arrives, you spend time getting to know her, showing her how you do things in your family, getting her settled in and helping her registering for classes. It makes more sense to invest that time and energy into someone who will be with you for 12 months or even 24 months (with the extension program option.)

#3 Year Round Value

Most families who use an au pair for summer childcare, use another form of childcare during the rest of the school year, such as before and after school care. Before and after school care costs an average of $100-175 per week, per child.

A family with two kids in school might be spending:

Before and after care $200-350

Occasional babysitting $50-100

Total $250-450 per week, per family

If the same family applied to the Au Pair in America program, they would be spending:

45 hours of flexible childcare $335 per week, per family

30 hours of flexible childcare $264 per week, per family*

*EduCare is available for school aged children and limited to certain geographic areas.

#4 Year Round Convenience

Benefits of Au Pair versus Before/After Care:

• Flexible scheduling
• Care for your children on sick days and school holidays
• Children being cared for in your own home – no more rush to drop off and pick up
• Au Pair can drive your children to extracurricular activities
• Au Pair can help with childcare related housekeeping and childrens laundry
• Enrichment of language and culture

That’s why I think that families who are considering summer only au pairs may want to look into the full year program.

If you are coming to this blog, chances are you are interested in the au pair program.  It is a win-win situation for many families and au pairs, but you have to make sure it is a good fit for you.

Are you…

• looking for flexible, affordable child care?
• comfortable with someone new living in your home?
• able to work within the State Dept. regulations (maximum of 10 hours per day and 45 hours per week)?
• able to clearly communicate your expectations with your child care provider?
• planning to treat your au pair as you would want your daughter treated?
• offering a private bedroom for the au pair?
• interested in the cultural exchange benefits?

If you answered yes to these questions, you might make a great host parent.

If you have questions, please post them here or in the Ask Away section and we will be happy to answer.

I have found that these are some of the most common reasons host families select Au Pair in America.

EXPERIENCE

• APIA is the first and most experienced au pair program.
• Our Community Counselors average 9 years with APIA.
• Our Stamford Office staff average 7 years with APIA.

SERVICE

• Our Community Counselors get paid to provide service and support to host families and au pairs. Some other companies pay their local coordinators based on recruiting new families.

WORLDWIDE RECRUITING

• We have the largest applicant pool in the industry, recruiting in 55 countries on 5 continents.

PROGRAM OPTIONS

• Three different options to meet your needs: Standard Au Pairs, EduCare and Extraordinaire.

PEACE OF MIND

• APIA introduced the child care industry’s first Childcare Protection Plan which allows host families to receive a substantial refund and the option to keep their au pair, if one host parent loses their job.

As counselors, we come across certain mistakes that people make time and time again.  So, we are going to blog on some of those mistakes and simple solutions to save you the possible headaches and keep your au pair experience positive.

Look for those under the Host Families and Au Pairs tabs.

Au Pair in America is proud to introduce a child care industry first: the Au Pair in America Child Care Protection Plan.

Check out the details here: http://www.aupairamerica.com/fees/protection_plan.asp