Holiday Nanny or Babysitter in Bangkok: A Guide for Visiting Families and the Hosts Who Welcome Them

Every host with a family-sized villa gets the same message a day after check-in: "Do you know a babysitter?" Every parent travelling with a toddler has the same wish by day three: one dinner, somewhere with tablecloths, without the toddler. Holiday childcare in Bangkok is easy to arrange and easy to arrange badly. Here is how it works, what it costs, and how hosts can offer it without turning into an agency.

The three formats

Evening sitter. Four hours in the hotel room, villa or apartment while the parents go out. ฿1,800–2,400 for a vetted sitter, typically 18:00–22:00 or 19:00–23:00. Same-day bookings are usually possible until early evening if the agency has someone free.

Day nanny. Eight hours, outings and pool included, so parents can see the city or work. ฿2,500–3,500 a day, or ฿14,000–18,000 for six days with the same nanny — the arrangement most families settle into after the first day works.

In-villa chef. Not childcare, but the other message every host gets. A chef cooks dinner at the villa for ฿5,000–8,000 for six plus ingredients, or the whole week's dinners for around ฿30,000. It is the single thing guests mention most in reviews.

CareRova's StayCare rates are ฿1,900 for the evening sitter, ฿2,900 a day and ฿15,900 for six days for a holiday nanny, and ฿5,900 for an in-villa dinner for six.

What "vetted" should mean on holiday

The temptation on holiday is to accept whoever the concierge or the host's cousin recommends, because the alternative is not going out. Three questions before any sitter walks in:

1. Has she had a police background check? A Thai criminal-record check is standard for any serious agency and should be stated in the confirmation.
2. Were her references called? Not listed — called. Ask who by.
3. Does she hold child first-aid and CPR? For any child under five, this is non-negotiable.

A real agency answers all three in the booking confirmation without being asked, along with the sitter's photo and experience. If you are booking through a hotel concierge, ask them which agency and ask for the same message. A sitter who arrives with nothing in writing is a stranger in a hotel room with your child.

Hotels and serviced apartments

Most Bangkok hotels stopped employing in-house sitters years ago; the concierge phones an agency and adds a margin. You can book directly and often for less, and the agency will notify the front desk with the sitter's name and ID so she is expected. Tell the agency the hotel, the room number and the children's ages and bedtime. Sitters are used to hotel rooms: the parents' number, the room-service menu and the door chain are the whole briefing.

Villas and Airbnbs

Villa stays are where holiday nannies earn their keep — a pool, a garden and a kitchen make a day nanny's job easy and a parent's afternoon free. The practical points: send the villa's location pin and gate code to the agency the day before, agree whether the nanny takes the children out (most do, on foot or by Grab, with your permission) and what she can feed them, and leave a phone number that works locally.

For hosts: offering care without the risk

Hosts want to say yes to the babysitter question and do not want to become liable for the answer. The clean way is a booking link from a vetted agency dropped into the welcome message: "Need a sitter, a holiday nanny or a chef for dinner? Book vetted carers here." The guest books and pays the agency directly, the host quotes the rate and carries nothing. CareRova's StayCare gives hosts exactly that — a link, the rates in a message, the sitter's checks sent to the guest before arrival — and 10% off every booking for hosts with three or more units or hotel partners. Hosts already using CleanRova for turnovers can bundle the two on one invoice.

Guests remember the villa where someone got them a sitter by 6:30. They write it in the review, by name. That is the reason to offer it.