Which type of accommodation should be offered to attract families with children?

Family tourism is one of the most appealing niches for hotels, cottages, campsites, holiday apartments and other types of accommodation. The tendency seems to be to pay more and more attention to those families who want to travel and who are usually very grateful: if they like a place, they will repeat it and recommend it.

The demand for family rooms is stronger and stronger and this tendency extends to all hotels.

Two reasons for this:

- On the one hand, the multiplication of reconstituted families 

- On the other hand, some young adults prefer to share a common room in order to lower the cost of their stay.

Why propose family rooms ?

For hoteliers, it is essential to follow this trend in order to gain new clients. 

What should an accommodation offer to attract family customers?

Hobbies

Children and parents appreciate that there is a children's playground, especially in those accommodations that have a restaurant. For the former it is an inexhaustible source of entertainment and for the latter it is an invaluable opportunity to get rid of their tireless kids for a while. Cushions, mattresses, ball pools, blackboards, notebooks, puzzles or children's books are some of the elements that children like to find. And parents love that there is a responsible person when the number of beasts requires it.

If there's a garden, it's even better

The importance of a green area where children have a playground is also key. Swings, slides and children's sandboxes are much appreciated, but the big star is undoubtedly the swimming pool. They provide a plus that is very much taken into account by families.

A large bedroom 

Rooms are the places where accommodation is at stake. The level of demand varies from family to family, but there are things everyone appreciates. A large space is often of vital importance, not only for practical reasons of movement and storage, but also for  needs of the children. The beds must also be large... especially those of the parents, who often end up receiving guests at bedtime. Depending on age, it is interesting that the children have their own room, which can be communicated with that of the parents, There should also have a common area where they can relax, watch TV, etc.

In its defect the existence of a screen or similar that can offer a minimum of privacy is interesting. Other details are: opaque curtains (so that the creatures do not wake up before time), availability of cribs and / or extra beds, TV with children's channels, microwaves to heat food or water to the wrong hours, high chairs (if there is space for kitchen or dining room), WiFi to entertain the herd, refrigerator with mineral water and some basic security measures, such as protectors on the plugs or rails on the beds.

Bath time

The bathroom is another important space, especially for families with babies. Having a bathtub instead of the classic shower tray makes cleaning much easier. If special seats, portable bathtubs or furniture for changing babies' clothes are also available, then better than better. And let's not forget that, even if they are small, they will also need their set of towels.

Food 

There are different considerations regarding the free buffet, but one of the ideas that we found most interesting is to incorporate a specific area for children where you can find hot milk, cookies, chopped fruit, etc.. and even gluten-free food. If there is also food with fun shapes (hamburgers with a Mickey face, for example) or special dishes for children (plastic knives, plates with children's decoration, etc.), families will be delighted. 

Services and facilities

The laundry service, the rental of carts and chairs for the car or the possibility of hiring a baby sitter by the hour. Certain facilities such as parking, elevators, ramps are also appreciated. And, of course, a good cleaning service. Bloggers pay a lot of attention to the comments on the booking websites. Silence is also highly valued by parents, so the insulation in the rooms, floors that make no noise in the corridor, silent devices, curfew timetables, etc. are not irrelevant.

We could include the animation service. While some parents prefer to run away from group activities, others highly value the possibility of having an agenda of activities for children or for the whole family: contests, workshops, dance classes, etc. The possibility of signing up for thematic excursions, renting bicycles (with a children's chair, of course) or the existence of an area where children can come into contact with the local fauna and flora is also valued.

A staff involved

Nothing compares to a good experience with the workers. A  friendly staff who know how to treat children is as important as or more important than any of the services we have named so far and may be the best motivation for a family to decide to repeat stay or recommend accommodation.

Taking care of the details

Everything mentioned so far is not a list of demands. No family expects to find all this in accommodation. Some of the ideas that have been dumped here are impossible to implement in many accommodations, either because of their logistical limitations or because of lack of budget. However, attention to detail is something that is in the hands of anyone and that families take very seriously. Facilitating a quick check-in (giving the keys quickly to one of the parents and letting the other take care of possible formalities), having flexible entry and exit times, giving small gifts to the children (candy, toys ...), putting some toys in the room, giving them a special moment (let them help make food, extract vegetables from the garden, feed the animals ...) are some of the ideas.