Top Tips for Hotel Travel with (or without) Children
Hotels are meant to be a place to feel home away from home during a getaway and recharge between attractions on a trip. Nevertheless, hotels are still very public places. We never know who slept in the bed last, or when the carpet has been deep cleaned.
Housekeeping staff, front desk workers, and even staff managers share all the shocking secrets kept from guests, and all the corners cut to save hotels time and money. They share their savvy hacks to help customers stay stocked with fresh towels, and even how to score a room upgrade! Next time you book a vacation, you’ll know all the tips, tricks, and which foods to avoid at the breakfast buffet!
Check the amenities
When travelling with children in particular, extras like a kitchenette and access to laundry facilities can make the world of difference in reducing stress levels. Having consistent access to a kitchenette makes it easy to quickly prepare snacks, bottles and baby food - Not to mention cleaning of bottles, teethers, dummies and toddler table wear. Young children often eat dinner or breakfast before standard restaurant opening times, so having access to alternate meal options outside these times if often essential.
Seasoned parents do not need to be sold on the advantages of having access to laundry facilities. Children can be unpredictable. Whilst you might bring enough clothing for the duration of your stay (plus some spares - because kids!) you never know when you're going to need do an emergency wash of your child's much loved comfort item (because they almost always choose the one toy that you can't get more of!).
Be Respectful toward Hospitality Staff
It should go without saying, but it's important to be nice to hotel staff. Making unreasonable demands and talking down to hospitality staff is not going to work in your favour. Treating the staff kindly, and showing some respect works every time and more often than not will ensure you get the best service.
The hospitality industry is all about interpersonal skills, and for night shift workers the job can be lonely. A smile and a short conversation go a long way! Some kind interactions can make a hospitality worker’s day, and can even earn you some free stuff. But whether or not you get your freebies, it’s still nice to be kind to others.
Check the accomodation layout
When travelling with children it is a good idea to consider what the evening routine will look like whilst on holiday. If your child is used to sleeping in a darkened room with their white noise machine, it might be confusing to see people in the room with them after bedtime. Similarly, it may not be particularly enjoyable for most parents or even older siblings to sit in silence in the dark because it's your baby or toddler's bedtime.
Consider booking accommodation with the option of interleading hotel rooms or even a small apartment with a living space that is separate from the bedroom(s).
It's best to use the Hotel's Official website. This actually preferred to calling to book over the phone. There's actually a discount for booking online, not over the phone.
Whilst many hotels may provide a cot or portacot, there is no guarantee what condition or age these will be. Many hotels issue their cots and portacots on a first come, first serve basis which means there is no guarantee of availability.
Instead, arrange for delivery of a cot or portacot, along with any other baby gear you may need to the concierge desk of your hotel or resort. You'll have everything you need on arrival, and by choosing an external service that specialises in offering safe, late model baby gear; you'll have one less thing to worry about.
Items like a box of toys, baby bouncer or high chair can be particularly helpful to have in a hotel room for your child for when you take a break between site seeing and visiting attractions.
Avoid third part booking platforms
Expensive hotels aside, avoid using third party booking websites when placing your reservation. These are the websites that are known to advertise that they will show you the cheapest option from a range of hotels.
They MAY show you a better rate, but you won't really save as much as you might think
If any of the following applies:
- anything relating to your booking has to be changed
- Something goes wrong
- You need to cancel
- You need to change your dates
- You need to checking out early
- Your reservation is missing or didn't go through
- Anything that involves money
You will have to go through the third party provider. The prblem with this, is that it's not uncommon to be given a bit of a run around with the external provider sending you back to the hotel (Who won't be able to do anything).
To put it simply, if you use a third party booking site, all the hotel does is provide the room.
some hotels may match it, BUT, and not any 3rd party booking sites, like booking, travelocity, priceline, hotwire, etc. b/c they often make inaccurate reservations, and when the guest arrives the hotel cannot fix the guest's payment b/c the guest has paid some other 3rd party instead of paying the hotel directly therefore no changes can be made. Booking through the Hotel's websites is
Many receptionists shared that booking sites are a scam. Sites like Trivago, Expedia, or Booking.com take a commission as big as 20 to 25% on small hotels, causing them to struggle against bigger chains that book more guests and have a lower commission fee. One receptionist said to either call the hotel directly to reserve a room or book on the hotel’s personal website.
Choose Child Friendly Accommodation
When booking accommodation, consider what hazards or obstacles may be present that are not present at home.
Accommodation situated above a club or restaurant, whilst conveniently located may not be conducive to restful sleep for your children.
If staying in a hotel with a balcony, is there a way to lock the door to prevent access?
If a tv has been provided is it mounted to the wall, or has it been appropriately anchored?
If booking an apartment or townhouse, are there stairs that will be accessible to your children? If so, what options will you have? (remember pressure mounted safety gates are not recommended for use at the top of stairs). If staying in a family friendly resort, they may have already taken appropriate measures, such as installing a hardware mounted gate on accessible stairs.
Access to water is also a consideration when choosing your accommodation. Property's that back onto the water with no fencing may not be the most ideal choice with young children.
Choose Child Friendly Accommodation
When booking accommodation, consider what hazards or obstacles may be present that are not present at home.
Accommodation situated above a club or restaurant, whilst conveniently located may not be conducive to restful sleep for your children.
If staying in a hotel with a balcony, is there a way to lock the door to prevent access?
If a tv has been provided is it mounted to the wall, or has it been appropriately anchored?
If booking an apartment or townhouse, are there stairs that will be accessible to your children? If so, what options will you have? (remember pressure mounted safety gates are not recommended for use at the top of stairs). If staying in a family friendly resort, they may have already taken appropriate measures, such as installing a hardware mounted gate on accessible stairs.
Access to water is also a consideration when choosing your accommodation. Property's that back onto the water with no fencing may not be the most ideal choice with young children.
Choose how you provide feedback carefully
People think their review or complaint is going to the tippity top executives for the company, and they think someone's going to call them and give them free rooms for life or something. Reviews just go right back to the same manager you talked to at the hotel. Reviews are mostly extremely exaggerated too. We didn't give them a free room for a speck of dust, so they get online and complain of dust and 5 other things that was never mentioned before thinking the review goes to a higher mgr. Also most every complainer wants to have the whole establishment shut down and put dozens of people out of work. It's really surprising how many people think their complaint should shut down entire businesses.
Never use review sites , people are quick to complain but not to compliment. So one person gives a bad review and 10 are happy but don’t bother, it looks worse than it is.
The Hotel staff are there to help you
After spending so much money on a relaxing vacation, we have high expectations for customer service. But keep in mind hotel workers are humans too, and even they can make mistakes, like accidentally overcharging or missing a booking. They’re not always trying to trick guests to pocket a few more dollars, it’s just human error. Hotel staff deal with the worst of society, whether it’s a motel or a high-end resort. One worker warns that most hotels have a “shit list”, and even share them between branch locations. Being rude to staff can result in being denied service in many hotels. In the long run, it’s worth keeping your composure to avoid being blacklisted.
In the hospitality world, reviews are make or break. Hotel workers tell us that reviews are seriously listened to, and hotel management “watch their online reviews like hawks.” It’s also worth mentioning that if a staff member’s name is mentioned in the reviews, the employee will be reviewed carefully and sometimes even get a write-up.
All hotel staff and managers prefer guests to speak to them personally before being surprised with a horrible review. By coming to the manager or someone higher-up, the guest is also much more likely to get a solution to their issue, rather than writing an online review after the fact and expecting compensation.
Problem Solving
Look for a hotel or resort that has a proven history of trying to assist their customers when a problem arises - whether it's an issue relating to the hotel or not.
Look for included extras
Does your hotel or resort offer a complimentary buffet breakfast, a kids club or onsite activities included?
Even basics such as having a dvd player and some child friendly movies available for complimentary use, can make the world of difference when it comes to travelling with children.
Book your baby gear hire for delivery to your hotel or resort
