Hosts and hoteliers: welcoming babies to your property

Going on holiday with children is often a headache. And going on holiday with a baby? Let's not even go there! It takes a mountain of equipment, and finding the right place to stay can be a real battle. Here's how to help you stand out by offering the equipment parents need when they travel with a baby.

Which baby equipment should you offer?

There is a huge range of equipment for babies, but the essentials are:

• Atravel cot
• Ahigh chair
• Acrib(for the very little ones)
• Asafety gatefor the stairs (if you have any)

You can find all of these on second-hand sites such as Vinted , or at Ikea: there's no need to spend a fortune! What matters is that the equipment is in good working order, not that it's brand new.

If you want to go a step further, you could also provide:

• Atoilet training seat
• Baby cutlery
• A fewtoys and soft toys

It's entirely up to you!

Here are the essential items to offer and their variations based on your priorities.

Item	Priority	Where to buy	For whom
Travel cot	Essential	Vinted, Ikea	All ages
High chair	Essential	Vinted, Ikea	Feeding babies
Crib	Essential	Vinted, Ikea	Newborns
Stair gate	If stairs present	Vinted, Ikea	Multi-level properties
Toilet seat reducer	Additional	Vinted, Ikea	Transitioning toddlers
Baby cutlery	Additional	Vinted, Ikea	Feeding babies
Toys and soft toys	Additional	Vinted, Ikea	Entertainment

What's in it for you

There are two major benefits (even if they both come down to the same thing: earning a little more):

• By mentioning it inyour listingand adding aphoto of the equipment,you reassure certain parents and give them thenudgethey need to book with you. The result:extra bookings.
• You can also hire outthis equipment (particularly in hotels) and chargea supplementon the nightly rate.

So for a very small investment, you come out ahead in the long run! Now that you know it all, go and get those extra bookings! And if you'd like to take things further, we also have an article on welcoming children to your rental!

Frequently asked questions

Which baby equipment should I provide first? A travel cot and a high chair already cover most requests. Add a crib if you are aiming at the very youngest guests, and a safety gate if your property has stairs. The rest, a toilet training seat, baby cutlery, a few toys, can come later.

Does the equipment have to be new? No. Vinted or Ikea are more than enough, there is no need to spend a fortune. What parents look at is whether the equipment works, not whether it is fresh out of the box.

Can I charge extra for baby equipment? Yes, and hotels do it most often, with a supplement on the nightly rate. In short-term rentals, many hosts prefer to include the equipment and use it as a booking argument. Both approaches lead to the same place: a modest upfront investment that pays off over time.

How do parents know I have the equipment? State it in your listing and add a photo of the items. That is often what tips hesitant parents into booking. A single line of text reassures less than a picture.

Do I really need a stair gate? Only if your property has stairs. If it does, it belongs with the core items, alongside the travel cot and the high chair. On a single level, it serves no purpose.