Choosing a care home facility, home care service, or a retirement property is a big decision in the lives of many aging adults. Not only is the price a factor, but also the facility’s location, the level of service they provide, and their reputation.
Making a choice can be confusing and stressful for many seniors and their loved ones, but it doesn’t need to be. Comparison sites like Lottie and others are designed to help patients find the best home care options for their unique needs. This includes in-home care services and retirement properties as well.
Before you register with Lottie and start exploring your home care options, keep reading. Below you’ll find an in-depth Lottie review to answer all of your questions about the company, including what it is, how it works, and if it’s worth your time.
About Lottie
Lottie is a digital marketplace designed to connect care seekers in the UK with the best care homes and facilities at fair prices. Lottie is free for retirees and families to use. Simply enter the type of care you want and your postal code, and Lottie will generate a list of suitable facilities and services that meet your criteria. The company also prides itself on offering hands-on experts to help guide the decision-making process and act as advocates for the patient.
Lottie places a heavy emphasis on technology. If you’re not tech-savvy, you may have a hard time navigating the website. However, Lottie’s cutting-edge approach to pairing care seekers with the right services is streamlined and simple, once you get the hang of it. Elderly patients and their loved ones can craft a dream care package based on their personal needs and preferences. Caregivers and partners who register with Lottie may enjoy higher bed occupancies, a simpler booking process, and more enquiries.
In addition to using data and technology to create perfect pairings, Lottie also has a team of personal and friendly advisors with ample experience in both home care and the property market. This is one thing that sets Lottie apart, since some users are searching for retirement properties and facilities, not advanced home care. Using an interactive chat feature, Lottie’s professional team helps customers research care facilities, discuss specific requirements and fees, and oversee all contracts, paperwork, and legal processes.
According to the website, other benefits of using Lottie over other comparison sites include
- Saving money by finding the best rates and exclusive offers
- Finding quality home care and properties in less time
- A stress-free experience
- Personalized care and results
- Peace of mind knowing that Lottie only lists the best care homes, home care services, properties, and developments
Lottie claims to help care seekers get results 400% faster than other comparison sites. They offer a four-step process that looks a little something like this:
- Personalize your search (input your budget, needs, predicted move-in date, and location)
- Compare care homes, facilities, and properties
- Request and schedule a viewing or visit
- Let Lottie’s personal advisors guide the registration process
Lottie’s website also has an Advice Hub, a FAQs page, user-friendly navigation menus at the top of the page, and a long list of areas where care seekers can fine-tune their search based on location. Lottie’s shortlist feature provides a quick snapshot of care homes and care providers that meet a certain set of criteria.
Lottie Services
Lottie focuses on helping elderly adults and their families find the best facilities and locations for their needs and budget. These range from care homes and in-home services to retirement properties. Here’s a closer look at these individual services.
Finding Care Homes
Care homes on Lottie are listed in several different categories based on the individual’s care needs and location. Some categories include residential care homes, Dementia care homes, nursing care homes, and respite care homes. Care seekers can also search care homes based on popular locations including Essex, London, Oxford, and Suffolk.
The more details and information that registered care homes input, the more categories they’ll be included in. For example, if your facility offers dementia care as well as respite care, it will show up in both of these categories. This increases visibility and the likelihood that more care seekers inquire about your services. If you have care homes in several different locations, be sure to add all of these locations separately with the appropriate contact information for each.
Home Care Services
Home care services are listed on Lottie based on location and providers. There’s also a section where potential patients can learn more about home care and how it works. Care seekers can learn more about what in-home care looks like, what services are available, and how much it will cost. Personalized home care can get quite costly depending on the patient’s medical condition and the necessary level of care. Funding advice and options are also available.
Lottie provides a breakdown of the average home care costs in the UK to give care seekers a better idea of what they’re up against.
The average home care cost in the UK are as follows:
- £28 per hour (average cost of domiciliary care)
- £1,596 per week (average cost of live-in care)
- £244 per night (average cost of overnight waking care)
- £187 per night (average cost of overnight sleeping care)
These prices and averages are subject to change based on the caregiver’s experience, the level of care being given, the demand for care, and the changing trends in the industry as a whole.
On this same page, Lottie also provides a list of trusted providers and partners to choose from. These include some of the best and most well-known home care agencies in the area, ranging from non-profit organizations and large establishments to small, family-owned businesses and independent providers. Care seekers can choose the type of home care service they want and Lottie will pair them with the most suitable match.
Lottie also works in partnership with Curam – a search engine that allows families to browse a selection of over 8,000 vetted caregivers. You can also send carers direct messages and conduct your own interviews to guarantee that all of your most important questions are answered. Once you make a final decision, you can also book the caregiver and pay them directly on the website or via the app.
In this section of Lottie’s website you’ll also find a breakdown of all the possible services available from household support and personal care to specialty services. These include domiciliary care, respite home care, and live-in care. Care options and services are broken down into specific categories like personal care, household support, companion care, and moving and handling.
By providing in-depth knowledge to care seekers and their families, they can make the most informed decision based on their unique situation. As a care provider, being added to Lottie’s database means gaining access to thousands of potential patients, increased visibility for your services, and the ability to craft a profile that caters to your target audience.
Retirement Properties
For those individuals who are at retirement age but don’t require around-the-clock care or assistance, Lottie offers services for finding retirement properties and communities based on location. Under the Retirement Living tab, you can choose from retirement housing, communities, or villages.
You can also learn more about retirement living and get both financial and emotional support and advice from Lottie’s team of professionals. This free marketplace lets you enter all of your requirements and details and then generates a list of the most suitable retirement properties. Lottie helps retirees throughout the entire process, from finding the best location to contacting the facility and even helping with the move-in process.
Lottie has registered over 200 retirement properties with an emphasis on independent living, accessibility, and affordability.
Other Features of Lottie
Lottie is more than just a search engine for care home facilities, retirement communities, and in-home services. The website also prides itself on offering plenty of hands-on advice and information. Here are some of the platform’s notable resources that help guide this delicate decision-making process.
Advice Hub
Care seekers and retirees often have a lot of questions about all aspects of the search process from finding facilities to understanding the payment structure and what services are offered. In addition to a dedicated team of professionals helping patients navigate the website, Lottie also has an Advice Hub chock full of information.
Here, you’ll find a variety of guides and how-to articles including retirement living guides, support for Dementia patients, care home guides, and home care service guides. Lottie also offers location guides, a section for current news and events, tips for offering your aging loved ones support, and data insight.
Lottie News
Under this tab you’ll find articles on recent events, success stories, and interviews with real patients, home care staff, and family members. Lottie News helps put a face to the name and also showcase the company’s success and reach.
Fees and Funding
Paying for elderly care or retirement plans isn’t always easy. Not only are fees and contracts difficult to understand but some patients don’t know what funding opportunities or financial aid services are available. Lottie offers guidance and support for navigating the financial side of the home care search. Lottie can help break down the cost of in-home care vs entering a facility while also providing different options for retirement communities, villages, and more.
Care seekers can explore various topics that help breakdown fees and funding in a clear and concise way. You’ll also get added information about what funding is available and how financial assessments work.
Dementia Support
Dementia impacts over 55 million people worldwide. A debilitating and heartbreaking condition, many aging adults facing this condition need specialized care. But a dementia diagnosis impacts loved ones just as much as it does the patient themselves. Which is why Lottie offers support for both dementia sufferers and their families.
Lottie’s Dementia Support page provides advice, tips, and personal stories surrounding dementia and dementia care. These articles are crafted with care and compassion in the hopes of providing patients and their loved ones with valuable guidance. Topics include how to care for someone with dementia, what to expect as their condition deteriorates, and contact information for additional support and services.
Retirement Living Guides
For those aging adults that are still independent and looking forward to starting the next chapter in their lives, Lottie’s retirement guides can help. Transitioning from a traditional career to retired life is a major decision for most people. These guides can help prepare you for the future by discussing the best retirement age, how to prepare financially, and tips for adjusting your lifestyle and mindframe. Users will also find reviews and insight on the best retirement communities, villages, and other housing options.
Real Lottie Reviews
One of the best ways to learn more about a service or product is to read reviews from satisfied and dissatisfied customers. Because Lottie serves a wide range of industries and customers from patients to providers and everything in between, their online reviews are varied and diverse.
Here are some glowing reviews and less-than-flattering feedback on Lottie as a digital marketplace for connecting care seekers and care services.
Such an amazing service, where the customer care team goes above and beyond to help and reassure. Thank you! – Emily
The care home you recommended for my mother proved to be excellent.
And everything went smoothly. The management and care staff are efficient, kind and most helpful. Thank you very much for your suggestion, and for all the support. – Ms. Anita Five
Lottie came to my rescue again, when I was struggling to find a respite bed for my mum. Within 24 hours of speaking to them they had supplied the names and contact details of two nursing homes and mum’s respite was sorted, I can’t thank Lottie enough. – Yvette Hockley
Very helpful person on the phone. Suggested several care homes and made appointments. The list of questions was excellent. – Alan Walton
A quick response to my query. Helpful that Lottie followed up promptly with emails and contacted homes for me. – Sharon Harper
I had to contact Lottie directly to register as a care provider. It took them a while to get back to me and the fees were confusing to understand. – Lucy K.
Even after 4 weeks on the platform, I didn’t see any uptick in my business or the number of inquiries I received. I’m not sure it was worth the investment for me. – TJ
Of the dozen or so calls I got, only one of them turned into a legitimate lead. I think I spent more time answering questions from Lottie’s staff than I did speaking with potential clients or registering new patients. – Kelli
The Pros and Cons of Lottie
Before you decide whether or not to utilize Lottie’s services, check out these pros and cons.
Pros
- A wide variety of services and providers to choose from
- A team of experts and advisors to guide the process
- Other resources and information available
- Advanced search filters by location, price, and type of service
- Plenty of free tools for users
- Personalized and customizable searches
Cons
- An overwhelming website design for some users
- Difficult for providers to register
- Stiff competition among home care providers and care facilities
Explore What Lottie Has to Offer
Lottie is one of the largest comparison sites for home care, care home facilities, and retirement communities in the UK. In addition to easy-to-use search features and filters, Lottie also has a highly-rated customer service team and plenty of guides and resources to help aging adults and their family members prepare for the next stages of life.
Take some time to explore the site yourself and see if Lottie’s services are right for you, your loved ones, or your growing business. Be sure to consider alternative comparison sites as well on your journey to a safe, secure, and healthy future.
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