Parents and grandparents used to have limited options on baby gear when traveling: bring your own, borrow at your destination, or buy at your destination.
Finally, a reliable, high-quality service and gear option exists for baby gear rentals.
First, let’s consider the aforementioned options . . .
Traveling with Your Own Baby Gear
1. It’s bulky. When our son was 5 months old, we drove from Pennsylvania to Florida with a sedan full of five of us. Calvin’s stroller took up a significant part of the trunk space.
2. It’s cumbersome and awkward (a.k.a. pain!). When our family flew across the country when our son was 13 months old, we had to cart along his car seat as checked luggage so that he’d have a safe ride when we arrived at our destination. Although it didn’t count against us for allotted luggage items, hauling in a baby, luggage for three for a week, plus a car seat was cumbersome and strenuous on our family.
Image via wandermom.com
3. Purchasing gear at the destination is expensive. At one point, a family member purchased an infant car seat before our arrival. However, that $40 investment probably only got one or two weekends of use from our son and other relatives.
4. Borrowed gear may be outdated. At one visit to family, we were able to borrow a car seat from family friends that was safe and age appropriate. We were lucky with that gear, however, the crib we borrowed was old–as in squeaky metal bars made in the 1980′s old. We ended up co-sleeping or creating a floor palette for our son, but the borrowed crib was completely unacceptable.
Another Option – Rent Baby Gear
Before multiple flights across the country by plane, I’d inquired of other mom bloggers about their experiences using options to rent car seats and strollers. Most declined because they’d previously heard about bad experiences such as car seats that were expired or unclean. Others felt it was difficult to find a rental business and to research whether it carried the same gear that they were used to using.
Recently, I learned that Baby Travel Pros is not just one company, but it is a 501(c)(6) nonprofit association of independently-owned baby equipment rental companies in the United States, Mexico, and a few overseas locations. The trifecta of leadership of Baby Travel Pros established safety and cleaning standards for the baby equipment rental industry so parents and grandparents can rest easy knowing their precious little ones are safe.
This resourceful woman-owned organization was founded in 2009 by Sarah Wyles of Toddler’s Travels in San Diego, CA, Sarah Peters of Sweet Pea Baby Rentals in Phoenix, AZ and Raquel Quaid of Las Vegas Baby Equipment Rentals in Las Vegas, NV.
Next time we fly with our son to a location where there isn’t already a spare car seat (thanks to family members), then I’m calling an organization listed on BabyTravelPros.com to rent what I need.
With over 63 member businesses in North America, Thailand, and Paris, parents have options to rent the most popular and age-appropriate gear from car seats, strollers, cribs, pack ‘n plays, high chairs, booster seats, beach toys, and more. Most member organizations are available for equipment rental deliveries and drop offs to hotels, resorts, family’s homes, rental homes and condos, and airport locations.
How utterly convenient!
Pricing
Curious about the anticipated cost, I found that a member organization near my city of Charlottesville–a favorite travel destination for history buffs–offers booster/car seat rentals from $4 to $10 per day (depending on the type of seat).
Need a crib for your rental home or while visiting friends? Those are available for $6 per day.
Package options are also offered where you can select the three to five major gear options you need for $20 per day or an even less expensive weekly rate.
Rent Vs. Bring Your Own Baby Gear
Unsure whether to bring your own gear or rent? Baby Travel Pros is a resource for traveling parents offering a check list of commonly used baby gear items and location-specific items. You can decide what to bring and what to rent.
Baby Travel Pros compensated me for this post.
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