Care home referrals: pricing and referral types explained

Last updated: April 14, 2026

Overview

Understanding Lottie enquiry referral types, and their associated costs. This article explains the main referral types, how they work, and what you'll be charged for each.

1. Direct call

A direct call occurs when a potential care seeker calls you directly from your Lottie listing. These are care seekers who have found your home on Lottie's platform and have chosen to contact you by phone.

Cost: £100 + VAT per qualified call

2. Concierge call

A concierge call happens when our Care Experts have spoken with a care seeker through our care concierge service. Our experts vet the enquiry to ensure it meets qualification criteria, then will call you directly or connect the care seeker to you.

Cost: £100 + VAT per qualified call

Benefits:

  • Pre-vetted enquiries from our Care Experts

  • Higher quality leads that have already been qualified

  • Care seekers who have received guidance and are ready to progress

3. Information request

An information request occurs when a care seeker submits a request for additional information (brochure, pricing etc) directly from your Lottie listing page. Lottie will send the care seeker this information and then send you their contact details.

Cost: £50 + VAT per information request

4. Shortlist

A shortlist referral is the outcome of Lottie's guided wizard. When a user completes the wizard, their answers are used to generate a curated, matched list of care providers — and that list (with the user's details attached) becomes a referral: a qualified lead sent to matching providers.

The wizard is a multi-step form that collects everything needed to match someone to the right care.

Care Home shortlist questions:

  1. Who is care for, and their age

  2. When they need to move in (urgency)

  3. Permanent or respite stay

  4. Location (postcode)

  5. Daily living needs (bathing, dressing, medication, mobility, continence)

  6. Specialist needs (dementia type, nursing requirements)

  7. Nice-to-haves (activities, facilities)

  8. Funding type (self-funded, Local Authority, NHS)

  9. Weekly budget (optional)

  10. Contact details (name, email, phone)

Important: Care seekers can opt out of provider contact; they still get a shortlist but providers aren't notified.

Cost: £25 + VAT per shortlist lead

Frequently asked questions

Q: What are the definitions and costs of the different referral types? A: Lottie offers these care home referral types: Direct Calls (£100 + VAT) when care seekers call you directly from your listing; Concierge Calls (£100 + VAT) when our Care Experts vet and connect care seekers to you; and Information Requests (£50 + VAT) when care seekers request more details about your service; Shortlists (£25 + VAT)

Q: What makes an enquiry "qualified"? A: A qualified enquiry meets Lottie's standards for being a genuine care seeker with legitimate care needs. For details on what can be disputed as unqualified, please refer to our Enquiry Dispute Process article.

Q: Will I be notified for all referral types? A: Yes, you'll receive notification emails for all enquiry types. If you are not receiving them, Admins can update your notification email mapping in Found.

Q: Can I dispute any of these referral types? A: Yes, all referral types can be disputed if they meet the qualifying dispute criteria outlined in our Enquiry Dispute Process. This includes cases such as spam, human error, duplicate enquiries, or enquiries unrelated to care.

Q: How do I track which referral type each enquiry is in Found? A: Each enquiry in Found in Reports > Lottie Insights > Enquiries will indicate its referral type, allowing you to see at a glance whether it was a Direct Call, Concierge Call, or Information Request. This helps you track the performance of different enquiry types.