• What's ticked?
• Accolades
• Contact us

c o l u m n s

• Cheap Charlie
• ChrisCrossings
• Err Travel
• Leocha
• Travel Notes
• Archives

Familiar Vacations
The Occidental Tourist · August 30, 2000

Last week, the Tourist revealed how much-traveled working parents are squeezing that precious QT on the road by bringing their kids along. When the Tourist's son is old enough, he thinks this would be a wise idea. Maybe his lad can pose as the Tourist during business appointments, so his dad can stay poolside knocking back Mai Tais.

But, being that the lad isn't even 2 yet, that heartwarming set-up is a long way off. Meanwhile, the travel industry is catching on to the need to accommodate the demand and there are plenty of resources out there. And send the Tourist your thoughts at tourist@ticked.com, and don't forget to include your full name and city/town of residence:

Hotels aiming to please the kids:

The Vacation Station program at Hilton keeps children busy while the working parent is away with eclectic and often regionalized activities, such as making leis at the Hilton Hawaiian Village or panning for gold at the Pointe Hilton Resorts in Phoenix. Vacation Station is offered at an estimated 90 Hilton locations, but only from Memorial Day through Labor Day.

One third of Travelodge Hotel's 600 North American locations now have special rooms called the "Sleepy Bear's Den." Bedspreads, drapes, shower curtains, lampshades, a child-sized chair and drinking cups all feature the theme. The rooms, which come with the mini-fridge, are designed to share, although some locations offer connecting rooms.

Inter-Continental Hotels and Resorts has introduced the Kids in Tow program, with such offerings as nightly turn-downs with a special toy, fun kits containing bath toys, puzzles and bedtime stories; bottle warmers; jogging strollers; complimentary family movies, and supervised children's outings while parents are away at special rates, where available.

Hotels not your preference? Try a bed and breakfast alternative and plug in an enhanced search for "Kid friendly" inns throughout the U.S. and Europe. Also seeing a rise in business travelers with children who avoid hotels, these inns are offering late check-ins, early breakfasts and rooms with laptop/fax hook-up.

Beachside luxury lodges are catching on:

In the Grand Bahama Island, for example, The Lucayan has designed a children's activity center called Camp Lucaya, where parents drop their children off for a full day of beach games, arts & crafts and off-property excursions where they get nose-to-nose with dolphins.

In the British Virgin Islands, the Bitter End Yacht Club, with upscale accommodations and a meeting/convention facility, offers sailing programs for kids while a parent is taking in a day of meetings.

In Oahu, the Kahala Mandarin Oriental provides an on-site business center with Internet access and printers, as well as a fully staffed day-care center with a tropical lagoon featuring live, performing dolphins.

Car rental companies:

After market research demonstrated a need to better meet traveling parents' needs, Alamo's largest facilities will soon get children's play areas, interactive travel information kiosks, group-friendly seating and luggage storage, luggage checks, convenience stores and private changing areas.

Hertz has recently launched a new child car seat program called "Buckle Up Baby," training employees on proper installation of the often-tricky seats. Although the company has provided child car seats for two decades, it was the responsibility of customers to install them in years past.

The Occidental Tourist is a magazine writer in Washington, DC. He writes for Maxim, Capital Style and ABCNews.com. His column appears on Tuesdays. E-mail him at tourist@ticked.com.