As well as using Bubble to make ad-hoc, individual babysitter bookings, parents can also use Bubble to send "Repeat" requests, if they’re looking for sitters on a recurring or block-booking basis.
For example, if a parent is looking for someone for a few of weeks over the holidays, or if they need someone to do school-pickup every Tuesday, they can upgrade to Bubble Plus and use the Repeat feature to find sitters interested in this type of work.
Sending a repeat request
From the homepage click on the Book a sitter search bar at the top.
Select Repeat from the Services screen, or if you're already in a One-off request page toggle the top to Repeat.
Tap "How often do you need help" and choose between "Regular schedule" or "Multiple dates"
Regular schedule when you need a regular series of bookings at the same time - for example every Wednesday and Thursday at 3pm
Multiple dates is when you have a few different dates in mind but need more flexibility on the times and cadence of those
As with all requests, detail what's needed, who the booking is for and add any specific sitters
Send your request to local sitters, who can then review the details and apply if they can help. We always send these requests as one big booking to them, but they may apply with a Counter-offer if they can't do some dates.
Managing applicants on a repeat request
Note that applicants may apply with a counter-offer if they can only do some dates.
You will see this in a message when they apply. You can always change the dates and times of the booking if you decide to go forward with sitters who counter offer.
As with other applicants you can browse through who has applied, but on repeat requests because it is for a number of dates we give you the ability to formally Shortlist them at the bottom of their profiles.
You can shortlist as many applicants as you want. Doing this allows you to call them directly from the message before confirming the booking.
3. When you’re ready to confirm the bookings with your favourite sitter, click Book now from their profile and we'll create the bookings in the background.
Some FAQs about repeat bookings
1. How do I go about interviewing my shortlisted sitters?
When you're viewing the profile of an applicant, you can "Shortlist" them. At this point, it’s up to you really how you go about interviewing them. You can use their mobile number in the app to contact them, schedule a face to face interview or even a Skype call if you prefer. Whenever you’re ready to confirm your choice, just go into the app, select the sitter on your request page and confirm the booking in a tap.
2. Do I need to pay the sitter for this interview?
That’s up to you, though we always do encourage parents to pay a sitter for their time. Much will depend on how long you want to meet them for, how far they need to travel and what they might be giving up work-wise to attend. Each scenario is different though, so we feel it’s best left to the parent and sitter to decide this between themselves.
3. How do I pay the sitter for the sits we agree to do?
You pay them via the app. Once your bookings are confirmed, each sit within your job will be created in the app, and you’ll be free to edit, amend or even cancel each individual sit as you see fit. Once the sits are confirmed they’ll work like a normal sit on Bubble. The timer will track the length of the sit and you’ll be able to stop it and pay for it in a tap at the end.
4. What if I want to change the details of the job?
It’s very simple to do this. You can either edit the details of your request prior to it being confirmed in the app, or once your sits are confirmed, you’ll be able to go in and edit each individual sit that’s been booked. As always, we always advise you to double check with your sitter first before editing the details of any job that you’ve created, just to make sure they’re OK with any new timings or dates you want to suggest.