I Rented Baby Gear to Be Delivered During Our Vacation, and Here’s What How It Went
One small car, one trunk, five people, one beach vacation! Our family’s trip this past August took us to the beaches of Delaware. As we were planning our trip, and considering ALL the gear that we’d need to pack for our 7-year-old, 5-year-old, and 2-year-old, I wondered how we’d be able to fit it all into our trunk. In addition to clothing and swim gear, we wanted to pack a stroller, wagon, beach toys, snacks, diapers, and other odds and ends to make our beach trip comfortable!
But we just had one problem. How would everything that we needed to pack fit in our small trunk? That’s when I checked out BabyQuip.
What is BabyQuip?
BabyQuip is a platform that connects families who are traveling with families in the area who have signed up to be local baby gear providers. (You may remember they also offer a baby gear cleaning service, which I reviewed!)The providers are trained on product safety and cleaning protocols before they are able to set up their profile on the BabyQuip website. Each provider has their own list of available items, and a location area where they’re able to deliver. Delivery charges vary based on the provider and the distance. The provider can coordinate with you to deliver and set up the gear either prior to your arrival or after you’ve arrived. Families also have the option of picking up items directly from the provider to avoid the delivery fee.
Why I Chose It
BabyQuip reached out to me about letting our family try their baby gear rental service in exchange for a review, and we were eager to sign up! I had seen the service promoted on an Instagram ad before, so it had been on my radar to check out the next time we traveled. The photo showed the influencer’s family in a beach house, surrounded by all the gear they’d rented for their vacation. In the caption I learned that they flew to Florida with their young children and all the gear they’d rented for their trip was waiting in their rental home upon arrival. I thought that concept sounded ingenious and so smart for families traveling with young children. Traveling with young kids can often feel overwhelming because there can be so much to pack!
We had a beach vacation planned with my wife’s family for this summer, and planned on driving with our 3 daughters. The rental property didn’t have a lot of items included, and it would be easy to fill our small car trunk with the clothing, swimsuits, bed linens and bath towels we needed to pack, so this seemed like the perfect opportunity to try out a baby gear rental service for extra items.
How Does It Work?
We started by entering our location, dates, and pickup or delivery preferences on the BabyQuip website, then we were able to see that there were multiple providers who could deliver to our vacation rental. We were able to click on each provider’s profile, and see their name, bio, their delivery fee to our location, how many reservations they had completed, their reviews from past reservations, and all of the items they had available to rent, with their pricing per item per day.
Each provider had different items available to rent. We were able to search by categories, like cribs, car seats, strollers, high chairs, wagons, bouncers, swings, play mats, and more. Some providers also had other miscellaneous items like baby monitors, sound machines, or even toys, books, and games available to rent.
We ended up choosing our provider because she was the only one who had a beach wagon available, in addition to the other items we wanted. We chose to rent a beach wagon, a beach chair, a beach tent, beach towels, a stroller, and a water table. Some of the items had multiple options available and we were able to see the brands and models of items she had available and choose the one we wanted. We also added on a package of arrival snacks and a box of diapers and wipes.
How Much Did It Cost?
The rental prices were based on the items we selected and how many days we needed to keep the item. Our provider charged $8/day for the beach wagon, $3/day for the beach chair, $8/day for the beach tent, $3/day for the set of 4 beach towels, $8/day for the stroller, and $8/day for the water table. The arrival snack pack was $25 and the box of diapers and wipes was $50. We needed to rent the items for 6 days, which brought the rental total to $303.
We selected the option of having our provider deliver to our address, which also included a pickup at the end of the trip. Our provider charged $60-$80 for the “delivery, set up, and pick up fee” based on the delivery location, and our rental address was priced as $67. There was also a purchase surcharge total of $15, a service fee of $30.80, and tax of $4.54 listed on our order, for a grand total of $420.34.
The Process: How It Worked
We booked and received a confirmation email of our BabyQuip order one week prior to leaving on our trip. After confirming the order, we received a text from our specific provider to confirm details, check on our arrival timing and confirm the delivery window. She also asked about our snack preferences and diaper sizing needs. She also noticed that we were a family of 5, but her set of beach towels only included 4 towels, so she offered to increase the number of towels without an additional charge.
Two days before our arrival she messaged to say that a customer had damaged the stroller that we’d selected to rent and gave us two available options for replacement strollers. She offered to upgrade us to a stroller with more features, including a snack tray, shade cover, and recline.
On the delivery day, our provider arrived within the planned delivery window. She helped us set up the water table and showed us how to open and close the stroller and beach wagon. She also brought a small activity bag for the girls, including stamps and paper, and they were thrilled. Before she left she also provided us with a few tips and recommendations for things to do in the area during our stay. Her attention to detail, professionalism, and customer service were greatly appreciated and it was wonderful to have that personal contact.
Our daughters were delighted to play with the water table in the yard while we unloaded the car. We weren’t able to travel with groceries, but the snack pack delivery meant that we had snacks for the afternoon. We got settled into the rental home and unpacked, ordered pizza for dinner, and were able to wait until the next morning for a grocery run.
What I Liked and Didn’t Like About It
I was impressed with the variety and quality of items available to rent, and the ease of the delivery and pickup process. The larger items we rented including the stroller, water table, and beach wagon would never have fit in our car trunk, and they became some of the rented items that we used most frequently. It was incredible to have access to the items and then be able to send them away when our trip was over!
The BabyQuip website is user-friendly and easy to navigate, but once you put in your travel address and dates, it is important to take care when looking at each provider’s profile. There isn’t a standard list of items available to rent, because different providers have different items. Delivery fees and delivery windows can also vary from provider to provider and depending upon how remote your travel destination is, delivery might not always be available. The cost of everything also adds up pretty quickly.
What Do Other Users Say?
The BabyQuip website shares customer reviews and feedback. Out of 30,000 customers who left a review on their site, BabyQuip reports that 99% of customers gave their experience a 5 star rating. 99.7% of customers reported that they felt the gear they rented was safe. 96.8% of customers reported feeling that the baby equipment they rented was clean.
Would I Use It Again?
I would rate my family’s experience with using BabyQuip as a 5 star experience. It can definitely get expensive, depending on the items that you choose and the length of time that you need, but it also eliminates the mental and logistical headache of trying to figure out how to get everything packed. Personally, I would look into using BabyQuip again for future travel, especially if our family was flying to our destination. BabyQuip rental services are currently offered in most cities in the United States as well as select international locations, and they are continuing to expand. The quality of service, selection of items, and ease of drop off and pickup certainly made our family’s recent vacation less stressful and more enjoyable!