Charging for extra baby stuff

Agencies and other headaches, keys and cleaners, running costs and contracts...in short, all the things we spend so much of our time doing behind the scenes.<br>
A-two
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Charging for extra baby stuff

Post by A-two »

In our advertising, we say, "We welcome children of all ages and can provide stair gates, high chair and travel cot at no charge on request". That means one high chair and one cot.

Now I have an inquiry for a peak week next July, but they need two cots and two high chairs for 11 month old twins. They have two other children under 5 yrs old. The local rental company charges roughly $80 for a cot and $20 for a high chair including delivery. I am reluctant to lose $100 for a peak week that I can sell 10 times over, and I'm not running a day care center, so I think it's reasonable to pass the extra cost onto them. Am I right?

I do not provide bedding for my cot, but this family is travelling internationally from Wales. Am I expecting too much for them to bring bedding for two cots on top of everything else?

Also, I do not currently have either a bottle warmer, or a baby monitor, but think maybe I should add those. Is there any particular brand/ type to buy? I have a booster seat for the dining room chairs, some baby feeding spoons, and a selection of inside toys and beach toys, and videos for toddlers etc, but are there any other baby care items in the "must have" category?

Thanks in advance.
Waves from America
cromercrabholiday
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Post by cromercrabholiday »

We bought a good quality travel cot and high chair, but we do charge £10 for their use. The advice in UK appears to be that you should change the mattress for each new visitor on legal grounds but we have resisted that. We don't provide cot linen as we feel that people would not be keen to have their kids sleeping on somebody else's linen. We don't provide anything else.

It does help that our customers' drive to us. However, when our kids were small, we would expect to take baby monitors, plastic plates and bottles etc. with us even if we flew. For goodness sake, apart from the monitor, the rest can be bought in the local supermarket for a few euros.

John
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paolo
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Post by paolo »

Hi Joanna,

The items you mention are good things to have and to advertise to attract families, and they are cheaply obtained through ebay and other sources. But if you don't have them and someone wants to book I think you are quite right to pass on the cost of renting, and to tell them you have no cot bedding.

Bottle warmer isn't necessary - microwave or a pan of boiling water will do just as well. Monitors we always travelled with.

My good lady wife wrote her views on what you need for the families market here:
http://www.laymyhat.com/newsletters/newsletter9.htm
Paolo
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A-two
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Post by A-two »

I can buy another high chair and cot for the same price as renting, but I hesitate to do it. The issue is more about the space required to store extra stuff when it is not wanted, moving it in and out, rearranging furniture, plus the additional cleaning time required. We just had The Manhattan Martini Club on a wine tasting tour and they don't want a house that looks like a nursery, so everything had to be put away. We do it routinely if there are no children, except for Videos and DVDs. Toys are out of sight in large wicker hampers that double as end tables.

Our one high chair often has to be hosed down, same with the hard plastic toys. There's only so much stuff we can clean thoroughly in a changeover. Cuddly toys are not a problem because I wash together with the towels on every changeover and have a whole box of them to rotate.

I think I meant a bottle sterilizer, not a bottle warmer. I bought my neice a baby monitor quite recently and it was about $100, but that one was fairly top of the line as it also also doubles as a stop breathing alarm. From what you say Paolo, it sounds like baby monitors work internationally, so I don't need to worry about guests turning up with one that doesn't work because of the the different voltage? Nobody has ever asked me for one, but the master bed is upstairs and the other bedrooms are downstairs, and I know I have lost bookings because of concerns about being too far away from the children, which is another reason why I'm thinking that's necessary in my situation.

(Thanks for the link to the newsletter, I had forgotten about that)
Waves from America
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Sue Dyer
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Post by Sue Dyer »

Joanna, I think you are already going above and beyond the call of duty and shouldn't shell out anymore $$$! There was only once I laid out more cash for equipment. A guy wanted to book an off peak 2 weeks but we didn't have a freezer as we didn't have the space. I compromised and bought a small bench top freezer, got the booking and ourselves and lots of other guests find it very useful so a wise investment. You're very unlikely to have a booking with another set of twin babies so it would really be dead cash to you AND as you say you can easily offload those weeks.

I had an email the other day, my cottage clearly states it sleeps 4 + cot but they wanted to know if they could have 7 in as 2 of the party were a baby and a small child..... The reply from myself was a clear "No".

I think I've already said I much prefer dog owners to the people who are supposed to look after their own children, I think they call them "parents" occasionally! :lol:
alexia s.
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Post by alexia s. »

On several occasions guests have told me that they chose our property for, among other things, the children's equipment that I mention in the description. We had one low-season booking for 2 weeks for a family which included 2 babies & one toddler. This booking alone would have justified buying a 2nd cot. As they were coming from China (our first guests from China!!) I was delighted to be able to tell them that I would supply all linen for the cots plus pool towels (this is standard for us anyway). The property they stayed in before they came to us (now, there are long vacations....) didn't provide pool towels (& the pool wasn't heated although it is advertised as such). The mother wrote to me later to say how much she appreciated all of the children's stuff (toys etc) & said that they plan to come again soon (now, there are long vacations....).
On a completely different tack, but following on from these great visitors, since our daughter has now resigned from her job & is waiting to find another I have given her a birthday present to fill her waiting hours: a course in Chinese. So, if anyone wants to get some visitors from China in, say, 3-5 years time (how long does it take to learn basic Chinese?) I'll put you in contact with her.
(Yes, she likes her present.)
Best,
Alexia.
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Post by alexia s. »

ps Parents of small infants really appreciate a mixer which mashes potatoes etc. A hand-held one (for soups) takes up little space & is cheap.
Best,
Alexia.
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paolo
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Post by paolo »

Bottle sterilisers are really useful to have because they are too bulky to bring internationally. They cost very little too. One could just boil the bottles in a pan like in the olden days, but if you're aiming at pre-school families who may come visiting in the off-season, I would get one and advertise the fact, as well as the benefit - i.e. you don't have to pack one, and you don't have to boil bottles.

If you get a monitor, make sure you don't get one with a sound-activated microphone. These are a nightmare. They are totally silent until there is the slightest sound in your child's bedroom. Then they spring to life in a buzz of noise, waking you up each time your child snuffles or moves. Ones that have a permanently on connection are best.
Paolo
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LaLuz
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Post by LaLuz »

A tip for saving money is to ask around friends and family who have children as they may still have baby equipment that they no longer use (or may know someone who does).

There always seems to be good quality baby equipment available as it's often used for such ashort period of time.
la vache!
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Post by la vache! »

I now have 3 travel cots and 1 cot - I had to buy 2 extra travel cots, for about 30€ each and another high chair for a similar price this year because we were fully booked in June with young families. Quite a small investment for the return really! I know when my daughter was a baby what a hassle it was to transport all the kit and I wouldn't dream of charging extra for it - I think the provision of it has helped generate the off season bookings that I value.
Despite the maggots!!! (ref other recent posting)
Guest3
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Post by Guest3 »

We provide a high chair and a microwave bottle steriliser free of charge but do not have a cot or other baby equipment at the villa (many of our guests prefer to bring their own travel cot anyway). If guests specifically request a travel cot/s or additional baby extras then we recommend an excellent local company that hires baby equipment at very reasonable rates. It is a very easy arrangement (they pay the company direct on delivery) and we have had no complaints from guests that have used them.
A-two
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Post by A-two »

alexia s. wrote:ps Parents of small infants really appreciate a mixer which mashes potatoes etc. A hand-held one (for soups) takes up little space & is cheap.
Is this different from a blender? Can someone give me an example? You know, I ought to remember all this stuff, but my daughter is now 18, and things change.

I was rather hoping this family would decline, given they have 4 kids under 5 yrs old, but they have now confirmed they want to go ahead. No comment about the extra charges for baby equipment, so I'm glad I did add it on.
Waves from America
cromercrabholiday
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Post by cromercrabholiday »

Four kids under five - doesn't bear thinking about!
la vache!
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Post by la vache! »

4 kids under 5 -oh no!!!! My brother has this sort of family and he lives in a permanent state of happy chaos and disorder. (they don't often go on holiday except to relatives - AHHHHH!!)
In my limited experience of renting for 3 years to numerous and many sized famlies, I have always found that a ratio of more than one child per adult results in an untidy, messy house. Personally, I would love to add a surcharge for large families but I'm sure this would be discrimination. Just make sure you get a good deposit from them!!
A-two
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Post by A-two »

Susan,
The ratio thing is interesting, although I couldn't apply it in practise! There are very few places around here that accomodate families with small children, so demand is high and 4 children under 12 is not at all unusual for us.

As it happened, my gold star award for the easiest changeover this year went to the couple with 5 children under 12 from MA. I was floored by how clean and tidy they left the place, and there was not even a grandmother in tow, which usually makes the difference.

I sense that as soon as a family crosses the threshold of 2 or 3 children, they are so grateful that you will even consider them at all, they leave it in a condition that ensures you will have them back, at least that's my theory!

The security deposit on our beach house is currently $150 per person with a minimum of $500, so it works out at $900 for a family of 6, and $1,200 for full occupancy of 8, regardless of whether they are adults or children. I believe this complies with laws of discrimination because it is even handed and applied consistently regardless of who is renting, yet allows us to take a larger deposit to cover the increased risk associated with having more people occupying the house, whatever their age.
Waves from America
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