Babierge: A Game-Changing Service For Family Travel

Traveling with carry-on used to be the only way I’d travel. It wasn’t easy to squeeze all the clothes, shoes, toiletries, hair products, must-haves and nice-to-haves all into an FAA-approved carry-on suitcase. But trip after trip, I did it. Editing as I went. Taking out those pretty shoes I’d only wear once on the trip and choosing practicality over vanity. And even though I didn’t always have the shoes I wanted or the bag that would have matched, I never regretted my pared down approach to travel. Traveling light gave me more flexibility and saved me time, money and headaches.

And then I had a baby.

Well, there go my carry-on only days, I remember thinking.

True, the first time we traveled with baby, I had a big ol’ suitcase stuffed to its expandable sides with everything he could possibly need. I didn’t love traveling so loaded down, but … what are you gonna do?

If that seems a rhetorical question, it’s not! I discovered what to do and it was a real game-changer.

Babierge is a concierge service that offers parents access to all the things they’ll need for their little ones while they’re traveling. They’ve got everything, from the big and bulky items like strollers, car seats, high chairs and cribs to the small items like games, toys, books and food. You can even leave the diapers and wipes at home – they’ll get you the size and brand you want.

How does Babierge work?
Babierge is currently available in about 70 markets across Canada and the US and is rapidly expanding, opening one to two new markets each week. Plus, just last week they announced a partnership with Destination Hotels. So how does it work? Before you leave on vacation, visit babierge.com and select your destination, then choose the items you want to rent. The prices are amazing, especially when you factor in how much easier it makes travel if you don’t have to carry these things with you. You can rent a baby monitor, a bouncy seat and a bath tub, each for only $3 a day. Bed rails, changing pads, cribs, strollers – the list of available items is extensive.

My experience
My husband Johnny Jet and I gave Babierge a try when we traveled with our son to Seattle. We had traveled with him a few times before that and I was already aware of some of the challenges that arise when you travel with a baby to a hotel. So I was excited to see how Babierge could alleviate some of that stress.

I made my reservation a few days before we departed and when my husband and I packed our bags for our trip, we packed carry-on only. Not having to travel with so much baby gear gave us the freedom to pack lighter, which of course, I loved! When we arrived at the Thompson Seattle where we were staying, everything was already there. Our on-the-ground contact had dropped everything off with the concierge earlier that morning and the concierge brought everything up to our room upon our arrival.

To say that this service is a game-changer for parents traveling with little ones is an understatement. Everything that arrived was in great condition and very clean, which is obviously really important. (I once requested a pack ‘n’ play at a different hotel and it was so old, disgusting and dirty that I sent it back. I preferred to have the baby crawling on the floor than confine him in the dirty play pen!)

I ordered toys, books, diapers, wipes, a bed rail, even 12 bottles of the brand of organic baby food we use. But best of all was having a high chair in our hotel room. In the past, mealtime has been really tricky (and messy!) in a hotel room without someplace to sit the baby down and feed him. I’ve tried feeding him while holding his squirmy little body with one arm and I can tell you, it ain’t easy and we both needed a bath afterwards. The high chair made it so easy to feed the baby and made our hotel room feel more like home. It made us all feel more relaxed.

The cost of everything we ordered was $117, plus a $75 delivery fee and a 5% Babierge service fee. While this experience was comped so that we could review the service, this is definitely money well spent to ease the hassle of traveling overloaded with stuff. I also love that it gave me the opportunity to try out a few products to decide if I wanted to buy them when I returned home. We tried the Sit and Stand Walker, for instance, and loved it for my son and the inflatable bed rails we used were so great that I ordered two from Amazon when I got home.

I can’t say enough good things about my experience with Babierge and hope to use the service regularly when I travel. Because of them, we can travel lighter and enjoy the comforts of home wherever we go and what could be better than that?

My experience with Babierge was comped but all opinions expressed here are my own. I wholeheartedly recommend this service if you’re traveling with little ones.