Travel Nanny Pay Standards: Why Travel Is Not a Discount or a Vacation

I recently posted in a travel group addressing travel nanny pay standards because I am seeing far too many families attempting to structure travel positions below legal and professional norms.

The responses were revealing.

Some said, “You’re only worth what someone is willing to pay.”

Others said nannying is “unskilled.”

Someone suggested travel creates gray areas because there’s no HR department or union.

Another implied that you “crawl before you ball.”

There were even comments suggesting that when you’re in another country, different laws apply.

Let’s address every single one.

Travel Nanny Pay Standards Are Based on Law, Not Opinion

Domestic employees in the United States are covered under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).

Travel nanny pay standards require:

• Hourly compensation

• Overtime at time and a half after 40 hours

• Payment for qualifying travel time

• Employer-covered work-related expenses

These are not “industry preferences.”

They are wage and hour obligations.

No HR department does not eliminate wage law.

No union does not suspend overtime requirements.

Private household employment is still employment.

Travel Is Not a Perk. It Is Work.

This is where the biggest misconception lies.

When a family goes to Europe, a resort, or on an extended vacation and brings their nanny, that is not a vacation for the nanny.

It is your vacation.

She is working.

She is:

• Managing children in airports

• Navigating jet lag and schedule disruption

• Supervising in unfamiliar, high-risk environments

• Working longer, unpredictable days

• Remaining “on” while the family relaxes

Covering her flight does not convert work into a benefit.

Providing a hotel room does not make it a perk.

If she is there because you require childcare coverage during travel, she is performing labor.

Travel does not reduce compensation. It increases responsibility.

“You’re Only Worth What Someone Will Pay” Is Not a Standard

That argument confuses desperation with compliance.

An individual nanny may choose to accept lower pay in a difficult season. That is personal survival, not a professional benchmark.

Travel nanny pay standards are not defined by who is desperate enough to accept less.

They are defined by legal and ethical employment practices.

If wage law disappears whenever someone is willing to undercut themselves, then the entire profession collapses.

Travel Nanny Roles Are Not Entry-Level

The “crawl before you ball” comment misunderstands the nature of travel positions.

Travel nanny roles require:

• Proven travel experience

• Professional references

• Background checks

• Certifications

• Discretion and often NDAs

• High adaptability

Families hiring for travel do not select inexperienced candidates.

You are hired because you have already demonstrated competence.

There is no “crawl into it” phase.

Calling It “Unskilled” Is Incorrect

Skilled labor is defined by responsibility and liability.

Travel nannies manage:

• Child safety across international settings

• Emergency scenarios without infrastructure

• Transportation

• Time zone disruption

• Behavioral and developmental regulation

• Long, undefined hours

Families do not vet extensively for unskilled labor.

They vet because the role carries risk.

Childcare is high-liability work.

International Travel Does Not Void U.S. Wage Law

Temporary travel abroad does not eliminate U.S. employment obligations for a U.S. employer.

If a nanny is employed under a U.S. household payroll structure, wage and hour laws still apply.

You cannot suspend overtime because you crossed a border for two weeks.

Travel increases compliance responsibility. It does not erase it.

Flights and Hotels Cannot Be Deducted from Pay

Work-related expenses are the employer’s responsibility.

You cannot:

• Reduce hourly pay because you purchased airfare

• Lower wages because the nanny “gets to see the world”

• Treat accommodations as wage replacement

• Offset overtime by covering meals or lodging

Travel is a business expense when it is required for the job.

It is not part of the nanny’s compensation package.

The Pattern That Needs to Stop

There is a recurring assumption in travel groups that:

• Travel is a perk

• Experiences substitute for pay

• International settings create gray areas

• Desperation determines standards

None of those are accurate.

Travel nanny pay standards exist because travel adds complexity, instability, and extended labor.

Professional care requires professional compensation.

Not discounts.

Not loopholes.

Not “it is what it is.”

Structure.

Compliance.

Respect for the role.

Final Thought on Travel Nanny Pay Standards

This is not about attacking families.

It is about correcting misinformation that weakens a profession.

When families treat travel like a benefit instead of labor, it shifts cost onto the nanny.

When people excuse underpay with survival logic, it normalizes instability.

Travel nanny pay standards protect both sides.

Travel is not her vacation.

It is yours.

And if she is there working so you can relax, the compensation must reflect that reality.