January 25, 2013, 8:15 am -- /EPR NETWORK/ -- Parents with toddlers and babies will be able to travel light to safe and relaxing family holidays this summer thanks to the Tots Essential Kit Guarantee, a new initiative launched today by award-winning family travel specialists Tots To Travel.
Instead of struggling to fit all the essential items little ones need into their luggage, and hauling it through customs on a fleet of baggage trolleys, parents can be sure of finding it all waiting for them at their holiday home.
Tots To Travel are the only company to offer this Tots Essential Kit Guarantee for all of their family holidays which covers over 20 items from pool safety and bulky furniture such as cots, high chairs and stair gates, to often overlooked essentials such as blackout blinds and a range of toys and easily forgotten items like night lights and a hand-held blender.
Tots To Travel owner Wendy Shand said: “It's a real challenge for new parents trying to get all the kit they need to keep their baby safe and happy into their luggage. There are so many essential items from changing mats to travel cots, sterilisers and baby monitors that we take for granted at home.
“We have hundreds of calls and emails from anxious parents worried they won't be able to take family holidays if they can't be sure they have all these things. So we have compiled a list of the essential items and can now guarantee our holiday homes have all of them.”
Tots To Travel specialises in stylish, safe, fun holiday villas for the under fives and their families, and the Tots Essential Kit Guarantee is another important element in their mission to ensure relaxing family holidays from start to finish.
They offer holiday homes from cottages to chateaux, and take extensive steps to ensure each is suitable. All properties are inspected and vetted by a special team of agents using a system developed with the Child Accident Prevention Trust to ensure they are all safe and genuinely family-friendly.
Tots To Travel also offer a free holiday planner pack and there is also a vast array of useful information on their website, on everything from “How far is the beach?” to “Where is the nearest hospital or supermarket?”.
The full Tots To Travel kit guarantee covers:
- Pool barriers (enclosed by fence, hard cover or net)
- At least one cot that meets EU standards
- Good supply of cot linen
- At least one high chair
- Booster or junior seat (suitable for use at a dining table)
- Baby monitor
- At least one changing mat
- Steriliser
- Stair gates where needed
- At least one potty
- Child's toilet seat
- Child's step
- Baby and child cutlery, bowls, cups and plates
- Bath toys and non-slip mat
- Hand-held blender
- At least one bed guard
- Blackout blinds/curtains/shutters in child bedrooms
- Children's books, indoor and outdoor toys
- DVD player and children's DVDs
- Microwave
- Night light in children's rooms
Unsurprisingly, pool safety comes top of the list, as Wendy Shand, a mother of three, set up the company after her little boy fell into an unenclosed swimming pool on a family holiday. That terrible accident was a turning point which led her to set up her holiday company to ensure safe family holidays for under 5s.
She said: “It felt there had to be a safer and more enjoyable way to holiday with small children. More to the point there must be plenty of parents just like me who need a safe, family-friendly holiday more than ever before.”
When Wendy couldn't find a family-friendly holiday company to suit her needs, she decided to start her own – and quickly found its services in demand. “There's something terribly motivating about having children. You suddenly have the drive to make life as you want it to be, rather than living by somebody else's rules,” she said.
Tots To Travel is now a multi-award winning company, which Wendy runs with husband Rob, a former RAF fighter pilot.
The company's success has been recognised with a range of prestigious awards including the Cisco Customer Kings Award for outstanding customer service (2010) and Woman of the Year Award from the Loved By Parents website (2011).
Notes to Editors
- For more information go to http://www.totstotravel.co.uk
- If you would like to speak with Wendy Shand or for all Tots To Travel media enquiries please contact Eleanor Treharne-Jones on
07811 093648, eleanor@theconversationco.com or @EleanorTJ. - Key statistics:
- Tots To Travel launched with nine holiday homes in April 2006 and now feature more than 400 safe, family friendly properties
- The company offers holiday homes in France, Italy, Portugal, Spain and the UK
- Tots To Travel have sent 1000s of families away of their holidays
- They have developed a Blueprint For Lettings Success which helps holiday home owners to let their property more successfully in the family market