Thesuper-richusedtobecontentwithacleaner,agardenerandadriver—butnownowealthyhomeiscompletewithoutadognannyandsocialmediamanager.AsthenumberofUKbillionairesrises,sohasdemandformoreunusualdomesticstaff.Dognannies—whotakepetsforwalksandtothevets,orstayaslive-inpetcarers—haveseenaboomininterest.
NinaCole,founderofNina’sNanniesforPets,said:“Wehaveclientswekeepallyeararoundbecausetheyhavetoflyoffforbusinessatshortnotice,”shetoldtheMail.“Wealsohaveclientswhouseusforholidaysorwhoarehospitalized.Wetrytobeaffordableforeverybody,notjustthewealthyendofthemarket.We’vecertainlyseenanincreaseinbusinessinthelastcoupleofyears.I’mhavingtoturnworkdownbecausewehaven’tgotthelive-insitterstocope.”
Nina’sNannies,basedinDunstable,Bedfordshire,charge￡29adayforalive-inserviceforonedog,plusanagencyfeeof25percent.Othercompanieschargebetween￡23and￡50anightasabasicrate,whilelive-innanniescanearnupto￡50,000ayearfora50-hourweek.
OnedognannytoldTheTimesherrolewas‘likehavingafull-time,live-ingovernesstomeettheneedofyourdog.’Shesaid:“Iwasbasicallythedogs’closefriend.Iwouldtakethemforwalks,feedthem,hangoutwiththem.Whenmyclientsweretravelling—andtheytravelledalot—Iwouldmoveintothefamilyhome.”
Prestigiousfamiliesarealsohiringsocialmediamanagerstosupervisethecontentpostedonlinebytheirteenagechildren.SocialmediaconsultantKerryRegosaid:“It’sthe‘higherups’atcompaniesthathaveregularlycontactedmetohelpthemunderstandkeepingtheirchildrensafeonline.Postinglocations,informationaboutpersonalsecurity,detailsaboutwealth,andeventradesecretscanbeinnocentlyspilledtomillionsoffollowers.Thisisanexpandingareaofgrowthforsocialmediamanagers,watchingthedigitaltrailsweleavebehind,asonlinebodyguards.”