How much to charge boarders?

cbsp

Tue, May 07 2019, 10:05 pm

I boarded in someone's attic many years ago. They really only wanted a school girl who would be going home for the weekends and yontif (and no summers!) so they could use the attic for guests and married children and go to camp in the summer. I was no longer in school but figured I could make it work. They allowed me to board with them as a Chesed (for pay, but I truly had nowhere else to go at the time so yes, it was indeed a Chesed)

It was extremely difficult on my part and I think it was difficult on theirs as well. Their idea of away for the weekend meant that I'd return Sunday evening - I couldn't always find a place for Shabbos, Motzai Shabbos, and Sunday (I didn't drive so I was dependent on mass transit or rides).

But the biggest problem (and the reason I'm writing) is what happened when I got sick. No one wanted a sick guest for Shabbos yet I had nowhere to be. Can they stay for Shabbos if need be? Where will these boys get food if they're not in whatever program is providing for their needs? What if they oversleep? Have a snow day? Can't get to school? Have a study day? Etc...

Will you need to set boundaries? Curfew? No girls allowed? No smoking (fill in with whatever nefarious activity you wouldn't want)?

Will you be providing wifi? What if they take advantage of your download /upload services and your provider throttles your speed in response?

How are they doing their laundry? Will you need to schedule your loads around theirs? Will their 2am loads wake you up?

Could be none of the above is applicable, just food for thought

yo'ma

Wed, May 08 2019, 9:59 am

I don't know how much to charge, but you don't forget you want to make a buck or two. After you figure out how much they might cost, you have to add to make some money. Also are these siblings or friends? If siblings and the parents are paying, I think that makes a difference on how to charge. Just my opinion.