Hogaru – find a cleaner in Bogota
I was contacted recently by Gonzalo from Hogaru.com, who told me about the origins of the business he set up with his partner here in Bogota, which I think many people living in Bogota might be interested in! He moved to Colombia from Spain in 2013, and wanted to hire a cleaner. I’ve heard many people complaining about how difficult it is to find a reliable, competent and trustworthy nanny or cleaner in Bogota, and Gonzalo encountered exactly the same problem. Beyond this, he found paying his first cleaner’s social security contributions complicated, and was shocked by the lack of job security these women face, particularly as many are single mothers.
Hence, Hogaru.com was born; an on-demand cleaning service in Bogota, Cali and Medellín. Hogaru selects, trains and formally hires all of their cleaning ladies.
By formally hiring the ladies, the company commits to paying them the minimum wage plus their social security (health insurance, pension and work liabilities), a bonus of at least one month’s salary per year, and other benefits such as small loans with 0% interest. Hogaru also provides their employees with a uniform and a smartphone so that they can always be contacted and can contact the office when they need to.
The service is targeted at expats mainly, and is gradually becoming well-known throughout Colombia. In terms of price, clients pay 60,000 pesos for an 8-hour service, or $45,000 for 4 hours if you buy at least 8 days of service. For one day, the prices are 72,000 or 55,000.
For more information, visit the website, or contact Gonzalo directly at gonzalo@hogaru.com.
the other thing i worry about is the site is only spanish and not able to be access by English speakers.could u please help me with their english websites?
Hi, I recommend contacting Gonzalo, the Director, directly – he speaks English – gonzalo@hogaru.com.
If you need any help with translation, I can help too!
All the best.
do you have recommendations for finding a nanny?
Hi Naomi
This is such a great info and blog! Congrats and thanks!
You wrote this entry in 2015, I wonder if you’ve had feedback from people who used Hogaru?
All the best
Kelly
Hi Kelly, thanks for your comment, I’m glad you like the blog! I have just posted in one of the expat Facebook groups to ask if people have any experience with Hogaru, and I got the following mixed comments – I hope this is helpful! (btw “empleada” is the word for “maid” in Colombia, in case you didn’t know :))
“My experience with them was so so. The maids were frequently late or wouldn’t show up and then I would have to contact them and then they would try to work something else out, etc. it was very frustrating that they had my money and weren’t making sure the work was happening, etc. It was a so so experience and would do in a bind if a person were in between help but not a good long term solution imho.”
” I’ve been using Hogaru for over a year now and have had a pretty good experience with them. Mine never missed a cleaning and only showed up late a couple times by a max of a half hour because of really bad morning “trancon.” But in such cases, Hogaru would call me and notify me. The best part was actually when my assigned empleada couldn’t come, Hogaru would call me and notify me the day before and set up a different one to come. The only down side with using this type of agency is that empleadas are constantly coming and going. So as soon as I would teach one everything and after many weeks she would finally know exactly how I liked my apartment cleaned, she would resign from the company and Hogaru would send a different empleada. This happened about 5 times. You get to see a wide range of different working styles, and who’s diligent and who’s not.. However, overall, I would recommend this company as in the end, they certainly get the job done!”
“You do not have to deal with all the legalities of having an empleada which can get complicated in Colombia. Also, if you are away for a chunk of time, you don’t pay which I happen to like as we are often away for a few weeks at a time. Only challenge is they don’t take your keys so you need to be home to let them in.”
Thanks so much Naomi!
These comments do give me an idea about Hogaru services. I will try them and let you know about my experience.
This sounds like a great site, I will check it out.. I have an apartment in bogota I would like to put on airbnb rather than be empty but haven’t because I don’t know anybody there that could clean between guests.