BabyQuip, like every other travel related business, has been hit hard by the Covid-19 Pandemic. For good reasons, families with small children cancelled their travel plans this Spring, opting instead to stay home and stay safe. As some parts of the US and Canada started to ease travel and other restrictions this month, we had some ideas of what families would choose to do, but little of our conjecture was based on experience. So we decided to send a family travel survey to BabyQuip customers and visitors to see what they had in mind. You might be surprised!
Our family travel survey responses were collected between May 5 and May 11 with a total of 351 respondents.
Family Travel Plans
We grouped our questions into two main categories with the first being Family Travel Plans. Below are the questions and the responses in this category:
When do you plan to travel next with your family?
Nearly 30% of families intend on traveling very soon—between June and July. And 30% indicate they intend to travel between August and October. However, just over 20% do not intend to travel at all this year; perhaps due to concerns about the virus or unfortunate changes in their financial situation.
Where are you going?
We expected most family travel to be focused on visiting grandparents and other family members in an attempt to feel more safe and secure among the pandemic. Our survey showed that 52% intend to visit family members. However, it surprised us that 42% indicated that they would be going to a vacation destination such as a Disneyland, a family resort, the beach, etc.
Where do you plan to stay?
Consistent with the previous family travel survey question, respondents mostly plan to stay at private residences with family and friends (44%). They also appear to prefer vacation rentals (30%) over hotels (22%). This is consistent with our own customer data prior to the pandemic, so we’re not sure it represents a real shift in preference.
How do you plan to get to your destination?
Prior to launching this family travel survey, we believed that most families would far prefer car trips to plane travel in light of the pandemic. But once again, we learned something new, with slightly more respondents planning to fly then to drive!
How long do you plan to stay at your destination?
We also asked about how long they plan to stay at the destination, conjecturing that a road trip might make stays longer. Indeed, now only 30% plan a stay shorter than a week, and the rest are planning longer stays. Our response to this change is offering new monthly baby gear rental packages with appropriate price levels for longer stays.
Travel Concerns
The second part of our family travel survey asked if respondents had any travel concerns and what factors play into feeling safe.
Even though most of our family travel survey respondents plan to travel this year, that does not mean that they don’t have significant travel concerns. Not surprising, concerns regarding the virus dominated, from whether it will be safe at their destination to whether there will be a resurgence in the coming months. Many appeared to have made plans that they are prepared to cancel due to either travel restrictions or safety when traveling or at the destination. From reading the survey comments, it appears that most plans are somewhat tenuous.
A few specific pandemic related responses included:
- ‘Getting sick!‘
- ‘Safety of my child and them getting sick.’
- ‘We may need to cancel our trip due to the COVID outbreak, but we are playing it by ear and won’t cancel until the last minute, if needed.’
- ‘Our plans are contingent on health concerns at that time and opening of local attractions.’
- ‘Coronavirus and financial concerns.’
Secondarily, many respondents commented on concerns regarding cleanliness when traveling, from stopping at roadside bathrooms to getting on planes and the cleanliness at their final destination. We fully understand concerns about cleanliness. Check out our cleaning standards here.
Which of the following are the three most important factors when considering renting baby gear from BabyQuip?
We also asked more specifically about the most important factors when renting baby equipment from BabyQuip. “Clean and Safe Gear” was selected by 84% of the family travel survey respondents. Not surprisingly, this is up from 46% when we asked this question last year (pre-COVID). BabyQuip has responded with enhanced cleaning protocols that are in place now supported by increased training to all of our Quality Providers. As a company, we intend to continue to get excellent marks for cleanliness and safety. Last year over 99% of our customers rated our products ‘spotless and/or very clean’.
“Reasonable Rental Fees” also ranked high at 71%, also up from 46% last year. We believe this is a reflection of the changes in financial situations of many of our respondents.
Looking Ahead
This family travel survey was very helpful to BabyQuip as we prepare our “relaunch” plans as regions of the US and Canada begin to open up. In addition to enhanced focus on cleaning we plan to continue to provide guidance on how to travel safely via car and plane and other ways to improve the family travel experience. We hope with proper preparation and good practices, everyone can find some way to travel this summer.
For the latest updates on the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, visit the World Health Organization and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Fran Maier is CEO and Founder of BabyQuip, the leading baby gear rental service for traveling families and now offering local cleaning services too. She is a serial entrepreneur and brand builder with over 25 years experience in B2C and B2B internet businesses. She is best known for her 10+ years leading TRUSTe (now TrustArc), the leading privacy trustmark and compliance provider, and as Co-Founder and first General Manager of Match.com.
Fran speaks widely on several topics relating to women in business, including opportunities for women in the collaborative economy, addressing the lucrative family travel segment, women in entrepreneurship and on boards. She serves as an advisor to many start-ups including Portfolia, Women’s Start-up Lab, Sign-up.com, Kango, and Dabbl.
I have had similar concerns about traveling. I really appreciate the survey and Babyquip’s response by offering extended stay packages as well as increased cleaning procedures!