Meow! How Can We Help?

For reservations shorter than 7 days:

Reservation earnings will deposit into your sitter earnings balance 48 hours after the reservation ends.

For reservations longer than 7 days:

Reservation earnings will be pro-rated; earnings will be paid 2 days after the first 7-day increment, and the last earnings will be deposited on the last day of the booking. Please note that when reservations are modified, the earnings schedule is recalculated. The exact dates when earnings will be processed can be found on the earnings schedule.

For reservations canceled within 48 hours of the start date:

Reservation earnings will be immediately deposited into your sitter earnings balance the moment a client cancels.

For reservations canceled within 24 hours of the start date:

Reservation earnings will be deposited 2 days after the reservation was scheduled to start.

Sitters can request a payout manually or set their account to Autopay, which is paid out on alternating Fridays once your Available to Payout balance exceeds $100. We currently offer Venmo or PayPal as our sitter payout methods.

The holiday surcharge applies to the 3 days prior to a federal holiday, on the federal holiday, and 3 days after the federal holiday. To set your holiday price adjustment, go to Rates & Availability > Holiday Price Adjustment (the default is 30%).

You are allowed to change your holiday price % at any time, this is never set by Meowtel HQ. Our standard sitter commissions apply to your holiday surcharge.

For example, let's say a customer books you for December 25-26:

1. Your base rate is $25: $25 x 2 visits = $50
2. Your holiday surcharge is 20%: $50 x 20% = $10

The total price which will be subject to sitter commissions is $60.

Should you have any questions about the holiday surcharge, please email [email protected].

Here are the date ranges for which the holiday surcharge applies in 2024:

1. January 1-4: New Year's 2024
2. January 12-18: MLK Day
3. February 16-22: President's Day
4. May 24-May 30: Memorial Day
5. June 16-22: Juneteenth
6. July 1-7: July 4th
7. August 30-September 5: Labor Day
8. October 11-17: Indigenous Peoples' Day/Columbus Day
9. November 8-14: Veteran's Day
10. November 25-December 1: Thanksgiving
11. December 22-28: Christmas
12. December 29-31: New Year's 2025

Here are the date ranges for which the holiday surcharge applies in 2025:

1. January 1-4: New Year's 2025
2. January 17-23: MLK Day
3. February 14-20: President's Day
4. May 23-May 29: Memorial Day
5. June 16-22: Juneteenth
6. July 1-7: July 4th
7. August 29-September 4: Labor Day
8. November 8-14: Veteran's Day
9. November 24-30: Thanksgiving
10. December 22-28: Christmas
11. December 29-31: New Year's 2026

We have a 4-tiered approach to sitter commissions. Sitters who consistently provide excellent service and win over more repeat clients will benefit most.

For sitters in California, please see this article.

Our commission structure is based on your total reservation earnings with each client:

1. Tier 1: 30% commission for any client from whom you have earned $0-$299.
2. Tier 2: 25% commission for any client from whom you have earned between $300-$999.
3. Tier 3: 20% commission for any client from whom you have earned between $1,000-$2,999.
4. Tier 4: 15% commission for any client from whom you have earned over $3,000.

These commission tiers apply to a sitter's base rate and holiday surcharge. For example, if your 20-minute rate is $30 and your holiday surcharge is set at 30%, a 20-minute visit on December 25th with a brand new client will result in you taking home $27.30:

1. Base rate: $30.00
2. Holiday surcharge: 30% x $30 = $9.00
3. Total price: $39.00

Meowtel's commission @ Tier 1: 30%

Your Earnings: $39.00 - ($39.00 x 30%) = $39.00 - $11.70 = $27.30.

Tiers and commissions are calculated using earning data from all past/completed reservations. The moment a sitter accepts a reservation request, including any reservation modification requests, is when the tiers and earnings calculations take place for the new reservation. Any other reservation taking place with the same client before, during, or after this reservation does not impact the original calculation.

Here’s an example of what this could look like:

- On Dec 1st, client places Reservation #1 starting on Feb 1st, with planned earnings of $100 in Tier 1

- On Dec 20th, client places Reservation #2, starting on Jan 1st for 10 days, with planned earnings of $300 in Tier 1

- Reservation #2 is ending before Reservation #1 started and the sitter is now in Tier 2

- Reservation #1 will still be in Tier 1, as it was accepted on Dec 1st, when the sitter was in Tier 1

Tips are not counted towards client earning calculations since they are already commission-free. You can always check up on your commission tier progress with each client by taking the following steps:

1. Visit your Clients screen on Meowtel.com or in the mobile app

2. In the upper right corner, sort by Earnings or double click on the Earnings column to re-sort the table

3. Your clients will be sorted from highest to lowest earnings

Disclaimer: Meowtel is not a tax advising entity and therefore cannot provide any counseling regarding taxes or income reporting.

You are an independent contractor and are obligated by law to report any Meowtel earnings to the IRS. For tax reporting purposes, Meowtel will send you a Payouts Summary email by the end of January.

For the 2023 Tax Year:

-If you reach $20,000 in gross payouts AND you had over 200 payout transactions during the reporting year, a 1099-K form will be issued to you by PayPal or Venmo. Even if you don't receive this form, you are still required to report your Meowtel earnings on your income tax.

Please Note: The IRS has delayed the implementation of the $600 reporting threshold for payment transactions for goods and services. For the tax year 2023, the IRS will continue to use the reporting threshold of total payments exceeding $20,000 for goods and services and more than 200 transactions. Some states have lower reporting thresholds. Read more about this delay here.



Learn more about IRS Form 1099-K.

For our customers, nothing is more frustrating than having to negotiate for every little aspect of the service. We never recommend that you haggle or negotiate price.

Your set rates should be the "all-in" rate for the average customer you have. This will vary depending on city, the cat's health, and the requirements of the customer, but below are some real-life examples to help you set your rates.

Examples:

You service customers in Downtown Los Angeles who have cats with special needs

• Metered parking is $4.00/hour
• Gas is $6.00 per gallon and it takes you 15 minutes (2 miles) to get there
• Your kitty clients require pills, injections, and sometimes topicals so most visits are 45 minutes long

= Base rate: $40/45min visit, +$4 for parking each visit, +$1.50 for gas = $45.50 per 45-minute visit

You service customers in Brooklyn who typically have healthy cats

• Subway fare is $2.75 one-way

= Base rate: $27/20min visit, +$5.50 for round-trip subway fare = $32.50 per 20-minute visit

You service customers in central Austin who tend to have 3+ cats, but you live in the suburbs

• Metered parking is $2.00/hour
• Gas is $4.00 per gallon and it takes you 20 minutes to get there without traffic, 50 minutes with traffic

= Base rate: $35/45min visit, +$2 for parking, +$1 for gas, +$10 for a commute premium = $48 for a 45-minute visit

On Meowtel, sitters set their rates based on visit duration, not based on the number of pets in the home. Our recommended visit duration for the number of cats in a household is as follows:

• 1 cat: 20min, 45min, 60min, or Overnight
• 2 cats: 20min, 45min, 60min, or Overnight
• 3 cats: 20min (twice per day), 45min, 60min, or Overnight
• 4 cats: 45min, 60min, or Overnight
• 5 cats: 45min, 60min, or Overnight
• 6 or more cats: 60min or Overnight

Every client will have a slightly different situation. If medications are required, we always recommend at least a 45min visit. If there are other pets in the home (fish, a dog, a rabbit), then you probably want to advise the client to book a 45min visit as well.

If you need any guidance or have questions about discussing visit durations with clients, please call or text 1-844-MEOWTEL.

If a sitter is trying to charge you extra for each pet, please let us know; this should never be the case on Meowtel.

Please visit your Sitter Dashboard > Payout & Earnings.

The discount will kick in for the entire reservation.

Absolutely! Every client can tip you right through the Meowtel App by visiting their completed reservations screen and clicking the Tip Sitter button which appears after the reservation ends. Our sitters keep 100% of their tips, we do not take any commission on tips sent through Meowtel.

Clients can also get very creative with the types of tips or gifts of appreciation they give sitters. Our sitters have been known to be tipped in:

• Cat accessories
• Soap
• Socks
• Gift Cards
• Wine
• Cash
• Flowers
• Earrings

...the list goes on! You may always accept one of these non-traditional tips or even a cash tip, but all reservation payments from clients must go through Meowtel.

When a client tips you, you'll always receive an email notification and you may visit your Payouts & Earnings screen to view the details of each tip.

Payments outside of Meowtel (e.g. cash, check, Venmo, etc.) for cat sitting services violate our Terms of Service and we do not honor or provide insurance coverage for these reservations.

One of the most common ways this happens is when clients wish to add visits on to an existing reservation. If a client wishes to add extra visits they must make a new reservation or modify the existing one. Information on modifying a reservation can be found here.

Tips outside of the Meowtel platform are allowed, though Meowtel can only report tips that are sent through our payment system. More information on tips can be found here.

If we identify that a sitter-customer agreement was made outside of Meowtel, we may opt to suspend or terminate your account and the client's account. You will always receive notice via email if the status of your Meowtel account changes.

Always report outside payment requests to us by sending an email to [email protected] or calling/texting 1-844-MEOWTEL.

We take all customer complaints very seriously and we will always ask for documentation from both parties to make an objective assessment of what may have occurred during a reservation.

When we receive a customer complaint, here's what you can expect:

1. We'll send you an email containing a few questions about the situation and to request full documentation from your end (photos, videos, SMS screenshots).
2. The Meowtel chat room between both parties will be used as our primary documentation method to investigate any claim.
3. We'll place a hold on your earnings for the reservation until the case is fully reviewed and a resolution can be provided to both parties.
4. If you are found to be at fault, your earnings will be adjusted accordingly to reflect any missed time, missed visits, missed visit updates, or general poor service.

We expect our sitters to act professionally during a complaint escalation and to send in all requested documentation in a timely manner. Otherwise, a sitter's full earnings may be canceled and credited to Meowtel's account to the extent they offset the damages caused by the sitter.

To prevent a customer complaint from being escalated to us, here are some tips:

• Excellent customer service comes down to communication. Always let the client know what's going on, if you're running late, and be detailed in each of your visit's updates.
• Proactively schedule Meet & Greets with new clients by offering them a few dates and times that work for you.
• Follow the client's instructions to a T and take lots of photos and videos to prove you're following exactly what they asked for!
• Never, ever let a kitty go outside. They can get spooked and run off in the blink of an eye, resulting in a very stressful situation for everyone.
• Leave the client's home just as clean or cleaner than you found it. Tidy up on the final visit which might include sweeping/vacuuming the litter area and taking out the trash.

For more tips to be the best sitter you can be, visit our blog posts for sitters.

Due to California's unique legal landscape, Meowtel does not take a sitter commission in California.

When setting your rates, you’ll notice a base rate and a display rate. The base rate is what you earn for each visit and the display rate is what is charged to the customer, which includes our 30% service fee.

Sitters can change their rates and what they earn per visit at any time and to any amount.

Learn more about Customer Fees in California.

There are no upfront fees to join Meowtel. We have a competitive sliding commission structure to cover operational costs and provide marketing and support services to our community. You can review our Commission Structure.