Babysitting in St Barts: childcare during your stay

A dinner for two, an evening with friends, a few hours to yourselves: on holiday too, you sometimes need someone you can trust to look after the children. Here is how to book a babysitter at your villa in St Barts, what you get to choose yourself, and how to prepare the evening so that you leave with nothing on your mind.

Two ways to book

Babysitting comes in two options.

The first is one hour of childcare on a weekday, at the time you choose between 8 am and midnight. It suits an appointment, a nap to keep an eye on, the time it takes to run an errand.

The second is a set evening of five hours. It is made for a dinner that runs on or for a cocktail party: you know the length in advance, and you do not have to watch the clock.

Do you need half a day, or something that fits neither option? Write to us from the help button on the site before you book, and describe what you need.

At your villa or your hotel

The babysitter comes to wherever you are staying, your villa or your hotel. The children stay in a place they already know, with their things and their habits.

When booking, you give the address and directions for reaching you. For a villa, a few details save time: the gate, the track, the person to ask for on arrival.

You choose who looks after your children

Once your request is sent, the babysitters who are free at your time are notified. You get an email as soon as one of them offers, and you choose freely who to trust with your children. Nobody is assigned to you.

The providers listed on My Concierge are vetted.

Your card is registered when you book, but nothing is charged before you choose. The final price is the one set by the person you pick.

Preparing the evening

The booking note is there for the essentials from the start: names and ages, bedtime, an allergy, what is and is not allowed on a screen.

After confirmation, the babysitter messages you. That is the moment to agree on the rest:

• the meal, if they are to give it;
• the bedtime routine, the story, the night light;
• the number where you can be reached during the evening;
• what to do if a child feels unwell.

On the day, keep ten minutes with the babysitter before you leave. The children get to know them while you are there, you show them around the house, and you leave having seen how they get on.

One detail matters more than you might think: before the babysitter arrives, tell the children who is coming and what time you will be back. An evening they were told about goes better than one they discover at the last minute.

Special cases

A baby, several siblings, an evening that has to run past midnight: these situations call for a conversation before you book. Write to us from the help button on the site and describe what you need.

Cancelling

Cancellation is free up to 48 hours before the booking starts. After that, or if nobody is there when the babysitter arrives, the service is not refunded.

If your plans are still uncertain, it is better to book early and cancel in time than to look for someone on the day. And if no babysitter can answer your request straight away, our concierge takes it over and gets back to you; your card is not charged until someone is confirmed.

While the children are looked after

The evening is yours. Some people go out, others stay at the villa and do nothing at all, which is also a way of being on holiday. In that case an in-villa massage is booked on the same principle, for the hour when the children are asleep. Our article on how an in-villa massage works explains what to expect.