Below, we’re answering some questions that may pop up while you browse our site. Have one that we haven’t already gotten to? Head on over to Contact Us.
Q: Why are there only directory listings for certain countries and not others?
A: Kid-Friendly Stays launched with a limited number of countries in its first-phase directory. These include the top travel destinations for families traveling from and within the U.S. and a few of our favorites: Australia, Canada, Caribbean, France, Germany, Iceland, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Mexico, New Zealand, Portugal, Spain, Thailand, United Kingdom and the United States.
In our second phase, we’ll be adding several new countries (I see you, Austria!) and continuing to more fully develop our coverage of existing countries, which is always ongoing. Stay tuned as new listings are added each week!
Q: How do I use your directory search? I’m trying to look for a city or country and nothing is showing up.
A: Our search function is currently set up to auto populate as you type your query. For instance, if you begin to type “New York,” you’ll see several options appear in a dropdown menu from which you can choose. If you’re searching for a destination that we don’t currently have listings for, nothing will appear. Or, if you’ve accidentally misspelled a city / state / country name, options will not populate accurately.
TIP: If you’re looking for listings in a particular city and don’t find any, try simply searching for the state that it’s located in. Odds are good that you’ll find a nearby recommendation!
Q: I own or manage a short-term vacation rental and would like to be included in your directory.
A: Amazing! Please send us the following details through our Contact Us page. We’ll reach out after we’ve reviewed your property and determined if it’s a great fit for Kid-Friendly Stays. Alternatively, you can check out our Kid-Friendly Stays Approved nomination process.
Details to include in your property submission: your name and role at submitted property; property name; website address; starting nightly rate; list of family-friendly amenities (please use our search filters as your starting place and add on from there).
Q: What is the criteria for accommodations that appear on Kid-Friendly Stays?
A: We rely on a super-simple formula. If our answer is “yes” to the following questions, we include it in our listings!
- Would we stay there with our own families?
- Does it go above and beyond in accommodating families specifically? (In particular, we’re looking for stays that meet the needs of nuclear families as opposed to family reunion style lodging that sleeps 14 or more.)
- Based on guest reviews, description and photography, does it appear to meet our standards for cleanliness, safety and design?
Q: Can you explain the pricing filter and what cost I should expect to see based on the “$” designation?
A: Because hotels, resorts and vacation rentals often using a sliding price scale, based on seasonality, days of the week or holidays, guest count and more, we’ve done our best to categorize accommodation rates into one of four general pricing tiers – ($) affordable, ($$) average, ($$$) above average, and ($$$$) luxury – to help users anticipate approximate costs.
Generally, we choose the pricing designation at the time of the listing publication, and you can roughly expect to find rates starting at or near these ranges:
- $: Less than $149 per night
- $$: $150 – $299 per night
- $$$: $300 – $700 per night
- $$$$: Above $700 per night
We don’t expect many ballers–ahem, normal folks–to be staying at properties that are more than $750 per night but we realize that sometimes, a dual-family vacation or one that includes grandparents may require a larger, more pricey vacation home. That said, all-inclusive resorts can sometimes have seemingly exorbitant pricing that feels much more rationale when you factor in all the costs included (resort fees, tips, meals, childcare, etc.).