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Traveling with a baby is hard. And by hard, we mean the “exhausting, mentally fatiguing, stressful, worrisome, literally carrying all the things and a baby” kind of hard. And believe us when we say, we get it!

BabyQuip is the leading baby gear rental platform so needless to say, we’ve got some experience when it comes to traveling with a baby. We’ve helped tens of thousands of families pack light and travel happy. So, you might be wondering what we think is one of the simplest ways of making your travels with a baby easier? Rent a car seat!

Car seats are big and clunky and don’t travel well. You run the risk of damage if you check them; or worse, they don’t show up at the baggage claim! And if there’s anything we know for sure, hauling a bulky convertible car seat, infant car seat or even a booster seat throughout the airport or in and out of cars and trains and busses, is annoying, to say the least. Raise your hand if you’ve been that parent (hint: we are all raising our hands!) or if you’ve seen that parent rushing through the airport with 6 car seats on their human. Yikes! 

So what are your options in regards to car seat rental? You can opt for rental car, car seats from rental car companies at your destination or you can rent a car seat from a local baby gear rental service. We’ll talk a bit about both options in this blog so you can feel confident that you’re making the best choice for your travel plans!

Things to consider when using Rental Car Car Seats vs. Car Seats from Local Baby Gear Rental Services:

1. Convenience

Renting car seats from rental car companies if you’re flying to your destination and also renting a vehicle can be pretty convenient. They will provide the car you are renting with car seats or booster seats. Kind of a “one stop shop” approach. You can request the rental car car seats when you are making your rental car reservation or you can call ahead and add the car seat on to your rental car booking. 

When you reserve a car seat from a local baby gear rental service, they will likely deliver your baby or child’s car seats to one of a few common places: the rental car front desk area, the baggage claim area, or maybe in the parking lot area. Their ability to deliver within the airport property may vary from airport to airport. But the local provider will work with you directly to find a convenient place to meet you with a clean, safe and insured car seat.

Obviously, if you are not flying to your destination (train, bus, etc.), it will probably be most convenient to have a local service come directly to you rather than you figuring out how to get to a rental car company to pick up a car and car seat.

Another bonus of renting from a local provider is that if you decide not to book a rental car and have family or friends pick you up at the airport instead (or other destination when you arrive), they can pick up the car seat prior to you arriving—so you can just hop in the car, strap baby in and go!

2. Availability 

Whether you’re renting from a local service or a rental car company, it’s best to book and reserve your car seat early. You want to make sure you definitely have it when you need, because if not, well…you might be stuck! So book early for sure. 

When opting for rental car car seats, you may find yourself running into some hiccups when it comes to availability, even if you do book in advance. We have heard some horror stories about families arriving at the airport only to find that the car seat they reserved with their rental car is not available.

Or, they asked for an infant seat but were provided a booster. Rental car companies are not baby gear experts and their primary service is to rent cars! So, be prepared, book early, be clear about your needs and maybe even call the day before to confirm.

Renting with a local baby gear rental service like BabyQuip means that you are getting gear from a baby gear expert and you are working directly with an individual who will be managing and delivering. You won’t be communicating with the corporate office who then passes it on to the local rental car agency. Availability is pretty much guaranteed with a local baby gear rental company. 

3. Pricing

Rental car companies and local baby gear rental services will probably be about the same in terms of pricing (if you are booking with a rental car company who charges). There are a few that offer car seats for free if you are a preferred customer, use memberships like AAA, or use points, etc. But most of the time you’ll be paying a daily rate whether you rent through a rental car company or a local service. 

You can expect to pay about $13/day when opting for rental car car seats, regardless of the type of car seat you are needing—and they usually cap the maximum rental fee to about $65-70. When renting through a local baby equipment rental company, prices may range from about $5/day for booster seats up to about $13/day for convertible car seats. An additional fee you may not incur when renting from rental car companies is a delivery fee. Most local baby gear rental services will charge a delivery fee to bring the car seats (and other gear) to you. 

PRO TIP: If you rent from a baby gear rental company, you can likely rent an entire travel system, including a stroller, stroller attachments, and more! Not to mention the wide variety of other baby gear items available from most local baby gear rental services. 

Keep in mind that when you rent car seats at your destination, you will be saving on baggage fees so net net, you might be spending about the same!

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4. Safety 

Safety is paramount when it comes to car seats or child safety seats. And when you’re traveling, the last worry you want is whether or not you’ll be getting a safe car seat for your child! Car rental companies are required to provide car seats that comply with local and state car seat safety laws; which is great because if you are traveling from international locations or places with differing laws, you know you’ll be getting what’s required in the state you’re traveling to. 

But that’s really just the minimum. You also want to make sure that the car seats have all their pieces and straps, aren’t expired or recalled, haven’t been in an accident, and are the right size car seat for your little one. Staff and personnel at car rental agencies aren’t baby gear experts, so we have heard of situations where car seats were missing straps or parts because they weren’t inspected properly or inspected at all.

But again, the folks working at car rental companies aren’t trained to be baby gear connoisseurs! If you choose to use rental car car seats, make sure to give them a once over before installing them into the rental car. Look for all of the straps, latch pieces, and ask for the manual. 

When you’re renting from a local BabyQuip provider, you’re renting from a super knowledgeable baby gear expert who knows baby gear and car seat safety rules, guidelines, and laws. They know the difference between booster seats, rear facing convertible seats, infant car seats, etc. They can even guide you on which car seat is best for your situation if you have questions.

Either way, neither car rental company staff members nor local baby gear service providers can or will install your rental car seats. You’ll have to install the seats yourself, so be prepared to do so.

5. Cleanliness

Another super important consideration is cleanliness. Your baby or child might be spending some considerable time in their rental car seat and we all know that babies and children touch everything and put their hands in their mouths, coupled with the fact that their immune systems are vulnerable; you definitely want to ensure the rental car seats you’re receiving are clean and sanitized. 

Rental car companies have different explanations of how they clean and sanitize rental car car seats (and the cars themselves for that matter!). But since most of these rental car companies are large corporations, you can expect that there is likely some sort of cleaning process their staff members are expected to follow. The execution might be a little different, however. 

Again, we’ve heard some horror stories about rental car car seats (mostly because BabyQuip Quality Providers often come to the rescue in these rental car car seats mishaps) – we’ll spare you the details, but there are some Gross with a capital G rental car car seats out there. Our tip? Pack a microfiber towel and mini bottle of car seat safe cleaner so you can quickly wipe down the seats before you install them. Peace of mind! 

Alternatively (and not to sound like a broken record), when you rent from a local rental service, you’re usually renting from a baby gear expert, and maybe even a fellow parent! We can’t speak for every local baby gear rental company, but BabyQuip Quality Providers are required to inspect and clean before and after each reservation, using nontoxic and eco-friendly products AND following all manufacturer requirements for proper care and cleaning! 

So, what’s the best option – Rental Car Car Seats or Baby Gear Rental Services?

There isn’t really a solid answer of what’s best (rental car car seats versus local baby gear rental service car seats) because every familys’ needs are different and every destination may have different options, but these are the most important things to consider when choosing.

Regardless, we highly recommend renting car seats at your destination, wherever that may be! It will for sure make traveling with a baby and/or children much easier, much lighter, and will take one thing “off your plate” (or out of your hands, rather!); and for parents, we know how helpful that is! 

Have you used rental car car seats? What tips and tricks can you share? Comment below!