Do you provide any bedding for travel cot?

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rosebud
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Do you provide any bedding for travel cot?

Post by rosebud »

I have never provided bedding for the travel cot.

I think there is a very thin mattress that comes with it...

Have had several guests with infants recently needing a travel cot so wondered what others do about this?
cartnpa
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Post by cartnpa »

I have mattresses similar to these for all my travel cots, they appear to be more comfortable than the mattresses supplied with the cots.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Travel-Mattres ... s+120+x+60

I also provide a fitted sheet but no blankets. I find that most parents prefer to bring their own baby sleeping bags.
Dusty
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Post by Dusty »

In our experience the majority of parents want and expect to provide their own bedding for their little ones, we do offer matresses (which those people who have travelled by plane prefer), but mostly they are happy to supply their own. Its all about knowing who else has slept on the bed beforehand, not something my parents or we worried about, but todays parents come from a different time.
GillianF
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Post by GillianF »

We provided a cot and mattress (from the days of our own children) but not the bedding. I always told guests that babies probably preferred something familiar and they were happy to go along with it.

We haven't offered the cot (or highchair) for some years now though as I got the feeling modern parents would not appreciate its age, style and, as said above, I think modern parents fuss a lot more than I ever did.
Joanna
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Post by Joanna »

No. We let people know that we don't provide bedding. I discovered baby sleeping bags when mine were little and never looked back. I just took a couple of sheets with me along with the sleeping bags and I imagine most families do something similar.

Babies don't seem to mind the thin travel cot mattress and because of concerns about health issues with old mattresses we've never provided anything else.
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Ecosse
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Post by Ecosse »

We provide a sheet, just so the child doesn't have to sleep on the plastcky mattress, but that's all.
ianthy
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Post by ianthy »

As others have said we provide the cot but no bedding. We have found that guests prefer to bring their own baby bedding an in many cases their own travel cots. Many of the airlines will consider travel cots, outside of the normal luggage allowance.
russellt
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Post by russellt »

Dusty wrote:In our experience the majority of parents want and expect to provide their own bedding for their little ones
+1 certainly for babies in cots, that's our experience. We provide cot and mattress, but no bedding, and make this clear to the traveller if it is clear to us that a baby is part of the traveling party.

To extend the question further, if the cot you provide is a travel cot, do you erect it beforehand, or leave it for the parents to erect?
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arkvilla
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Post by arkvilla »

We supply bedding for our travel cot but in all the years we'veowned we've only had it used maybe 2 or 3 times (the cot that is )

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Post by Boomhulay »

As most of my guests have arrived by plane and many long distance, I supply the cot and all bedding, because they'd have to lug it all around with them.
It's a travel cot and they have a hard plastic bottom liner, so I don't use a cot mattress, but fold a clean duvet up and tuck it all in with an elasticated cot sheet, so it's nice and soft. I have a cot duvet and cover, a padded blanket, a few sheets and some cot blankets and they can pick what they want to use from them.
Most seem happy to use our linens and they're always cleaned thoroughly and smell fresh.
I suppose it's something that could be offered, if you don't now and just ask if they'd rather bring their own?
When my kids were tiny, every hotel we stayed in had the cot made up and I only took our own blanket, in case the room got chilly.
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AngloDutch
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Post by AngloDutch »

russellt wrote:
To extend the question further, if the cot you provide is a travel cot, do you erect it beforehand, or leave it for the parents to erect?
We always put our canvas cots together beforehand, because our costs will not fit into all our bedrooms without first moving the furniture around and we therefore place them where they are least in the way but at the same time being easily accessible to the parents. Plus, due to the fact that we are familiar with how to put them together and always test all four sides of the cot to make sure that they are properly locked in place and won't collapse down around the baby.
rosebud
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Post by rosebud »

I bought the travel cot when I a guest arriving by plane a couple of years ago asked if I had one.. She recommended an attachment for a dining chair to convert it into a high chair .. I bought that too!

The cot was just stored under the bed for a long time.. and used maybe once a year

However within the last 2 weeks I have had 2 bookings through Air B'nb from people with an infant who wanted to use it.. That's when I started wondering about bedding.

My 'housekeeper' puts the cot up (but not the high chair attachment)

Getting all 4 sides up can be tricky!
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Mouse
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Post by Mouse »

We provide the whole kit n kaboodle as families are our main market and of course they fly in.
We provide travel cots, with mattesses & bedding and I also have a thin mattress 'protector' type thing from Ikea. It's like a thin padded, cross stitched, duvet cover that lays overy the mattrest and under the fit Ted sheet. This means it can be washed very use.

The only thing I don't bother with now is a pillow. No one seemed to use it.

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Sherry
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Post by Sherry »

I was asked to review travel cots for an online magazine, and was sent a selection to try ( like Nuva, Joie, Baby Bjorn, and Phil and Teds Traveller). First problem of course was putting most of them up. Didn’t know then that you do the sides first and then click down the centre bit in the middle of the base! it was much easier once I learnt to do it that way. I was given several of the cots afterwards, but still like the very inexpensive one that Red Kite do and that I’d already got. It’s a good size, is robust, and doesn’t break the bank. It’s the one I use in the holiday let but so far the only folk who have used it are my own family for my grandchildren! I clean it very thoroughly each time, and steam clean as much as possible. I do have a pack of bedding available if required ( and a hooded baby towel if babies stay) but so far no one else has asked for it. I probably wouldn’t have bothered getting any bedding if it hadn’t been that I have it already for my own grandchildren.
I also have an Ikea antelope high chair, a microwaveable steriliser, a changing mat and various dishes and spoons for babies, but so far it’s only my own family who have used them.
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