Hi all,
We just got an enquiry for a party of 8 plus 2 kids the oldest being 3 ( we only sleep 8 ) The parents are insisting that the 3yr old would be ok to sleep in one of our fold out travel cots.
Does this sound right to you? I don't have kids so it's hard for me to judge.
Kid size?
-
Paul Carmel
- Posts: 3836
- Joined: Tue Dec 07, 2004 12:25 pm
- Location: Palma Mallorca & Greece
- Contact:
Kid size?
Cheers
PC
PC
Paul,
It depends on the size, not the age, of the child: you could ask her.
For what it's worth, I accept this kind of booking (max number + 2 small children), because I know what a hard time it is for parents with young children - but that's not a commercial reason.
If you're looking for an easy way out, though- and don't take offence, some of my best friends are kangaroos - you could just slip in a recent photo of yourself. (Joking apart, you are looking SO much better now that you're over that nose cold.)
It depends on the size, not the age, of the child: you could ask her.
For what it's worth, I accept this kind of booking (max number + 2 small children), because I know what a hard time it is for parents with young children - but that's not a commercial reason.
If you're looking for an easy way out, though- and don't take offence, some of my best friends are kangaroos - you could just slip in a recent photo of yourself. (Joking apart, you are looking SO much better now that you're over that nose cold.)
Best,
Alexia.
Alexia.
Hi Paul
Personnaly I would not be happy putting a 3 year old in a travel cot. We have had 3 year olds staying her in a full sized cot, often because the parents don't want to make the shift from cot to bed until after the holiday, but a travel cot is not the same thing. They tend not to be a stable, and the matresses are really thin. OK for a baby but not a strapping 3 year old.
A blow up matress would be a better alternative.
On the other hand if they exceed your maximum capacity do you think they will be comfortable at the property? We would normally go over by one 3 year old, but not by 2 children. Just a thought.
Ju
Personnaly I would not be happy putting a 3 year old in a travel cot. We have had 3 year olds staying her in a full sized cot, often because the parents don't want to make the shift from cot to bed until after the holiday, but a travel cot is not the same thing. They tend not to be a stable, and the matresses are really thin. OK for a baby but not a strapping 3 year old.
A blow up matress would be a better alternative.
On the other hand if they exceed your maximum capacity do you think they will be comfortable at the property? We would normally go over by one 3 year old, but not by 2 children. Just a thought.
Ju
Children come in all shapes and sizes, a travel cot maybe OK. I had a 3 yr old stay last year and originally he was going to sleep in a bed, but he ended up in a travel cot. It also depends on the quality and size of your travel cot, I have a very large good quality one which would probably be OK for an average 5 yr old, but a couple of other smaller ones which wouldn't. Perhaps you could get the dimensions (height and weight of the child) and test the cot??
Also..it all depends whether the 3 year old is a boisterous one or an angel?
Travel cots are just that...travel cots...and most have a maximum weight load for safety issues. The bottoms are just hard board and not meant for any unusal activities (like jumping up and down in it as most 3 year old would do!). So I would first check the maximum weight load..if the parents still insist on the 3 year old sleeping in it, then I would amend your T&C's to exclude any accidents involving the cot.
Travel cots are just that...travel cots...and most have a maximum weight load for safety issues. The bottoms are just hard board and not meant for any unusal activities (like jumping up and down in it as most 3 year old would do!). So I would first check the maximum weight load..if the parents still insist on the 3 year old sleeping in it, then I would amend your T&C's to exclude any accidents involving the cot.
-
Paul Carmel
- Posts: 3836
- Joined: Tue Dec 07, 2004 12:25 pm
- Location: Palma Mallorca & Greece
- Contact:
Our gites sleep 4 in beds and 2 on a sofa bed - we had a request for 7 - I rang the client and she explained that she was hoping I would let her top to toe her two very youngest children as they were a couple with 4 children and a grandma and if they moved up to the next size of accommodation it was too expensive for them - I was happy to agree - but I was able to offer a fold up bed with a little jiggling of the bedrooms. Result a booking for us and a happy client - what it's all about. My own two children were tiny tots and could have managed with a travel cot at 3 - I would never have guesed that they'd turn into the strapping adults we have to find room for now!
-
DivineMrsM
- Posts: 155
- Joined: Tue Dec 07, 2004 2:16 pm
- Location: The Dordogne and London
Re 3yr olds in travel cots - my daughter (nearly 4) is very tall for her age but was still perfectly fine in a travel cot just after her 3rd birthday last year. She slept like a log and although she is a boisterous child she didn't bounce around in the cot.
I'm sure you've gone ahead now and taken the booking anyway, but I would say that if the parents are happy for their 3yr old to be in a travel cot then you can be too
.
Re fold up beds, my sister just bought some from Ikea - is there one near Aix? She goes to the one in Bordeaux. They have two or three different types (for two or three different prices!). I know that occasionally the Auchan or Leclerc has them too.
You could also invest in some of those good quality air mattresses. They take up almost no storage space and many parents (like us!) would be more than happy to have their kids sleeping on their bedroom floor if it meant that they could get the property they wanted. Believe me - I've been there
.
I'm sure you've gone ahead now and taken the booking anyway, but I would say that if the parents are happy for their 3yr old to be in a travel cot then you can be too
.Re fold up beds, my sister just bought some from Ikea - is there one near Aix? She goes to the one in Bordeaux. They have two or three different types (for two or three different prices!). I know that occasionally the Auchan or Leclerc has them too.
You could also invest in some of those good quality air mattresses. They take up almost no storage space and many parents (like us!) would be more than happy to have their kids sleeping on their bedroom floor if it meant that they could get the property they wanted. Believe me - I've been there
.Lynne
for Metropolitan Retreat in London https://www.airbnb.co.uk/rooms/6712284
and
Le Cheval Blanc in France https://www.airbnb.co.uk/rooms/6714302
for Metropolitan Retreat in London https://www.airbnb.co.uk/rooms/6712284
and
Le Cheval Blanc in France https://www.airbnb.co.uk/rooms/6714302
This may be a stupid comment...and I have no experience renting as we just put a downpayment on our home yesterday (!)
but...here in the US, a "travel cot" is what those from the UK would call a roll-away bed. I just wanted to point that out - if the guests are from the US, there could be some confusion. We call a "cot" a "crib" and a roll-away or camping-type mattress a "cot"- an adult could sleep on a "cot" in the US and it is what a hotel would give you if you were putting an extra person in a room. I was in Europe when my son was 3 1/2 months old and shocked when someone said they would bring in a "cot" !
That said, my son was in his "Crib" until he was three (And he is very large, but it was the type that the rail came off and converted into a toddler bed) - just check the weight limits - many parents I know would not let a child under 3 in a bed (and if they weren't fully potty-trained, would you wnat them to?) on vacation anyway because they would be afraid they could fall out with no rail, strange place, etc. On vacation, when my son was too big for a crib and not big enough to be safe in a bed, we stuck him in a sleeping bag on the floor next to us...he thought it was a great adventure
but...here in the US, a "travel cot" is what those from the UK would call a roll-away bed. I just wanted to point that out - if the guests are from the US, there could be some confusion. We call a "cot" a "crib" and a roll-away or camping-type mattress a "cot"- an adult could sleep on a "cot" in the US and it is what a hotel would give you if you were putting an extra person in a room. I was in Europe when my son was 3 1/2 months old and shocked when someone said they would bring in a "cot" !
That said, my son was in his "Crib" until he was three (And he is very large, but it was the type that the rail came off and converted into a toddler bed) - just check the weight limits - many parents I know would not let a child under 3 in a bed (and if they weren't fully potty-trained, would you wnat them to?) on vacation anyway because they would be afraid they could fall out with no rail, strange place, etc. On vacation, when my son was too big for a crib and not big enough to be safe in a bed, we stuck him in a sleeping bag on the floor next to us...he thought it was a great adventure
-
Alan Knighting
- Posts: 4120
- Joined: Mon Oct 18, 2004 7:26 am
- Location: Monflanquin, Lot-et-Garonne, France
Winston Churchill was showing concern about the English language when he said “two great nations divided by a common language�. I share the same concerns.
There are those people who speak English because it is their native language and there are those who speak English because they borrowed the language.
As an English speaking English person I can tell you that a cot is a cot is a cot. It’s not a roll-away bed; it’s not a role-away or camping mattress; it’s a small bed. In English English, a crib is a manger or a fodder-receptacle but one of its alternative meanings is a child’s bed, therefore it can be a cot.
If a child is not potty-trained the answer is simple. Wrap it in a terry towel and it can c**p where it likes.
There are those people who speak English because it is their native language and there are those who speak English because they borrowed the language.
As an English speaking English person I can tell you that a cot is a cot is a cot. It’s not a roll-away bed; it’s not a role-away or camping mattress; it’s a small bed. In English English, a crib is a manger or a fodder-receptacle but one of its alternative meanings is a child’s bed, therefore it can be a cot.
If a child is not potty-trained the answer is simple. Wrap it in a terry towel and it can c**p where it likes.
-
DivineMrsM
- Posts: 155
- Joined: Tue Dec 07, 2004 2:16 pm
- Location: The Dordogne and London
Oooh Fluffy 
Lynne
for Metropolitan Retreat in London https://www.airbnb.co.uk/rooms/6712284
and
Le Cheval Blanc in France https://www.airbnb.co.uk/rooms/6714302
for Metropolitan Retreat in London https://www.airbnb.co.uk/rooms/6712284
and
Le Cheval Blanc in France https://www.airbnb.co.uk/rooms/6714302