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Travellers seek care for homes
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With the start of Spring Festival next week, travellers are becoming more and more concerned about who will take care of their homes, water their flowers and feed their pets.
However,a domestic service companyin Yangzhou, East China's Jiangsu Province, is already created with trained housekeepers for the holiday.
"The first group of 54 housekeepers were booked within two or three days of our advertisement on January 1. More than 250 people have called, but we only have enough employees for 50 businesses," said Chen Xunqiang, manager of the Bangbang Domestic Service Company.
According to Chen, all the housekeepers are local laid-off workers who have received training in domestic emergencies, caring for flowers, pets and other requirements set by the customers. Among the 50 customers, about 30 are private families and the other 20 are enterprises.
"Our family is going away to my hometown and won't be back until the middle of next month. I feelrelievedto know that a professional housekeeper will take care of my home and shop while I'm away," said Tu Zhiyong, a private business owner and customer.
Tu told China Daily that he considered storing his treasures in the local bank. "But on second thought, it is cheaper and moreconvenientto hire a temporary housekeeper."
Currently, the Bangbang Company charges about 100 yuan (US$12.5) for a day's service.
According to Chen, six localreal estate companieshave also booked his doorkeeping service.
"All the staff leaves for the holiday, and it isinconsiderateand expensive to ask anyone to stay. Hiring a doorkeeper makes everything much easier," said the manager of the Kunhong Real Estate Company surnamed Yang.
In Shanghai, holiday travellers looking for nannies to watch their pets left at home find help in pet shops and pet training bases with special services.
Xinba Pet Training Base offers five-star services for pet guests.
Dogsentrustedthere can play on the vast lawns during the day, and sleep in a cage in a large room at night.
Dogs boarded for more than 15 days will receive a free set of services including bathsevery other day,nail trimmingand ear cleaning.
A large dog costs 80 yuan (US$10) per day, while a small one only costs 60 yuan (US$7.5) a day. Variousdiscountsare provided for dogs staying longer than a week or longer than a month.
Dogs at the Shanghai Jialiang K-9 Dog Company have the opportunity to enjoy VIP services for 140-160 yuan (US$17-20) a day. These rooms are big and equipped with air conditioners.
Some small pet shops in Shanghai are also offering the service, but dogs are usually locked in a small cage, with less care.
(China Daily)
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Updated: 2006-01-24 16:37
