Money Saving Tips on Car Rentals

Watch out for those taxes and fees when booking your rental car. The Phoenix airport car rental locations have one of the highest tax rates in the nation -upwards of nearly 30% plus surcharges, facility fees, and anything else that they can sneak in!

Here's some tips on how to save on your rental car and avoid these hidden fees:

1. Rent your car from an off-airport location

If you have a rental of more than a few days, it will probably be worth it for you to take the SuperShuttle or a cab to a nearby off-airport rental location. You can return the car at the airport location at no additional cost. Send one adult to get the car while the kids play at one of the airport's play centers or have a snack at one of the restaurants.

Here's a map of the closest off-airport locations for Enterprise, Budget, Avis, and Hertz.

I checked rates for comparable cars at on- and off-airport locations of a few companies. The car itself is approximately the same cost, but a week-long rental racked up 15% more in taxes ($50-$75 depending on what you rent) PLUS various facility fees and surcharges to the tune of another $20. You'd probably rather spend your vacation money on actual fun instead of taxes and fees. (One person could take the SuperShuttle for $13-$17 to one of these off-airport locations.)

2. Rent car seats from Sweet Pea Baby Rentals instead of the car rental agencies

Most car rental agencies charge $9-$12/day for child seats. On a week long rental, that could cost you upwards of $90 per seat including the airport tax, and who knows what the condition will be. I can almost guarantee you that seat isn't even worth $90 brand new.

With us it's $55/wk plus 6.3% tax on a premium Britax car seat, and only $30-$38/wk on booster and infant seats. It's guaranteed to be clean, sanitized, safe, and include all instructions for installation. We also give a 10% discount on the second or more of the same item. We can deliver all your rental items wherever you rent your car, or can deliver to multiple locations like your car rental location for your car seats, and your accomodations with everything else.

3. Take the hotel shuttle from the airport and rent your car there

Most of our hotels and resorts offer a free airport shuttle and an on-site car rental service at their location. If they don't have an on site rental counter, most of the off-airport rental car locations will pick you up free at your hotel and take you to their facility. Again, you can return the car to the airport facility at no additional charge. So, if you don't need the car right away, this is a great option and can even cut days off your rental.

4. Use coupon codes or bid on Priceline.com

Here's a pretty good compilation of coupon codes for rental cars. You can also make a confirmed reservation in advance, then a few days before you trip, bid for something less than the rate you booked on priceline.com. Then, just cancel your other reservation if you get a better deal. If you're not picky about what company you get, this can be a good option. You can only bid for cars at the airport locations though.

Thanks Mom!

Just a little "thank you" to all the moms and Mr. Moms out there -

Visit us over Mother's Day and enjoy the great Phoenix weather with a FREE rental of any of our "Outdoor" items with orders of $100 or more. Choose from a hiking backpack, wagon, tricycle, picnic table, pool float, or a swim vest for a free rental up to 1 week long. As long as any portion of your rental covers Mother's Day, May 10th, you can save up to $30! Subject to availiblity.

Visit us online to book your reservation today! http://sweetpeababyrentals.com/.

More on Rental Car Company Seats

I was hunting down my own rental car seats at the Phoenix Rental Car center a few days ago and was led to the room where all the company's seats were stored. Let me reiterate once again what poor condition these seats are in! (Read here if you want more details.) Some were in plastic bags, although I don't think that meant they were necessarily clean, most had covers that were coming off, infant seats had no bases and looked to be of the absolute cheapest quality they could find. I didn't see any brand names on them so I'm not sure what they actually were, but I know it's nothing I've seen in stores in the last 5 years, which is when most car seats expire.

Most car rental companies charge $10/day for a car seat. Compare this with our rental rate of $11/day or $55/week for a top of the line Britax Marathon or Graco Nautilus, and you're not only guaranteed clean and sanitized seat, but a much better and safer one at that. Plus you're saving money if you're renting for more than 5 days! Our Graco Snugride infant seats are an even better deal at $8/day or $38/week.

AAP Recommends Rear Facing Seats for 2 years

A recent release by the American Acadamy of Pediatrics recommends children ride rear-facing in their car seats until the age of 2, not 1 yr and 20 lbs as previously recommended. Read the AAP press release.

Rest assured that your little ones will be safe in our Britax Marathon car seats that we carry in our rental inventory. They can accomodate a rear-facing position up to 35 lbs, typically around the age of 2, and a forward facing positon up to 65 lbs and 49" in height.

Phoenix Children's Museum

My 2 1/2 year old daughter and I visited the Phoenix Children's Museum today. I was really impressed by it and it definitely exceeded my expectations (and wasn't crowded at all, even for a Sunday). At $9 each, I didn't think it was too expensive and we even ended up buying a year membership at the end of our visit ($75 for 1 child and 1 adult). Infants under 1 are free but that's not to say there's nothing for them there.

The three-story museum is divided up into large themed play areas and smaller rooms each with a divided area especially for infants under 1. She especially liked the Market, complete with pint-sized carts, aisles of real looking groceries, two check out counters, and a stock room. This was right next door to the Kitchen, where stoves, pizza ovens, microwaves, and a stock of "food", aprons, and cooking utensils were plentiful. Moms, dads, and grandparents all sat in the surrounding restaurant while the kids prepared delicious meals. The Ball Room, art room, play area, and library all were great too. There's a lot to do for toddlers, preschoolers, and grade school aged children. Kids from 1-10 were all playing together and not toppling eachother over.

Parents are encouraged to leave the strollers in the car and there's really not a need for them inside. Sitting areas for parents are provided in most rooms and you are allowed to bring your own food in for a picnic outside or in the multi-use room. A small cafe is available to purchase drinks, snacks, and pre-packaged sandwiches.

If you happen to be in town on First Friday, admission to the museum is free! Read more about First Friday, the largest monthly art walk in the US! Our downtown streets are shut down, art galleries open up, and street vendors and performers are out from 6-10pm.

The museum is located on 215 N. 7th St (approx 7th St. and Van Buren, in the historic Monroe School building).

Double and Triple your Buggy Free!!

Phil and Ted's has some great new sales going on right now. Take advantage of these offers to get even more out your Phil and Ted's stroller.

Purchase a Classic, Dash, or ultra-sleek Vibe buggy and get the doubles kit absolutely free!

Purchase a Graffiti Sport Buggy and get a doubles kit and a Lazy Ted adapter to turn your doubles kit into a bouncer all for only $480!

Both specials are only valid while supplies last so order today to get in on these great deals!

Graco Blossom high chair - New!

Check out Graco's new Blossom high chair. It looks pretty cool and will be usable well beyond the typical high chair years with it's 4-in-1 options. Usable as a standard high chair, an infant booster high chair, a toddler booster, and a youth chair, it's longevity will be appreciated by many. Apparently you can use the high chair and toddler booster at the same time too. I'll be trying one out when they hit stores any day now. Now the real questions for me - how does it fold up for storage and transportation?...how many nooks and crannies are there to clean?...

Update: I checked this out in person and it doesn't fold up at all. It looks like a pretty cool chair and it's longevity seems great, as long as you have the space to keep it out all the time.

Spring Training in AZ Deals

Check out the Hyatt Regency Scottsdale for a spring training deal. Get one free day of Camp Kachina kids camp for each child in your family!

Peoria Sports Complex (home of the Padres and Mariners) offers a deal on Monday night games for families. For $30 you'll get 4 tickets to the game, hotdogs, and drinks. Check the Cactus League website for game times and locations.

Rental Car Company Car Seats

Courtesy of Las Vegas Baby Equipment Rentals, here's another reason why you should consider renting a car seat from a dedicated baby equipment rental company or bring your own. This was taken at a Fox rental car location yesterday in Vegas. Hanging from the fence by their tether straps are their rental car seats that have just been pressure washed with the car washing equipment. Well, at least they've been hosed down which is more than most other places do. If you missed the story about Advantage, take a look at this older post. It's scary at what is rented out and is clearly unsafe.

Take Me Out to the Ballgame

If you're visiting Phoenix or Scottsdale this spring, check out a spring training game. The valley is home to 12 of the 14 teams in the Cactus League for spring training. Games have already started and we have quite a few brand new stadiums to check out too! Use their handy trip planner to find out when your favorite teams are playing. Is your home team on the list?

• Cubs


• White Sox


• Indians


• Royals


• Angels


• Dodgers


• Brewers


• Athletics


• Padres


• Giants


• Mariners


• Rangers

And just a day trip away in Tucson

• Diamondbacks


• Rockies

Visit the Cactus League for more information.

Baby Travel Pros

I wanted to tell you all about a brand new association my colleagues and I started for our industry! Baby Travel Pros is a not-for-profit association if independent baby equipment rental companies across the US and Canada. Myself, along with Raquel Quaid of Las Vegas Baby Equipment Rentals, and Sarah Wyles of Toddler's Travels in San Diego, began the framework of the association late last year, and launched the association in January. The association is working for our industry to establish best cleaning and maintenance practices, and is helping spread the word that family travel doesn't have to be stressful and cumbersome. Rest assured knowing member companies pride themselves in providing safe, clean and ideal equipment for your baby or toddler.

With the airline's new baggage fees and tighter limits on acceptable carry-on items, bringing gear with you has not only become less attractive, but almost impractical. Not to mention- what would happen if the airlines lost the suitcase that contained all of your precious gear or damaged your car seat or stroller? No longer do you have to lug all of the gear with you, now you can rent it from a reputable company and have it waiting for you at the airport, car rental agency, hotel or relative’s house when you arrive. With a focus on customer service and satisfaction, most members of Baby Travel Pros rent cribs, pack-n-plays, high chairs, booster chairs, car seats, strollers, toys, wagons, beach gear and more. Rentals are available for daily, weekly or long-term rates.

The services of affiliated members of Baby Travel Pros are helpful not only to the families that are traveling, but also to friends and relatives who are expecting visits from baby and toddler children. Grandparents are an ideal fit for our services by reducing the stress and expense of providing an infant nursery one year, and a toddler's essentials the following year. Baby Travel Pro's members will deliver and set up the crib or toddler bed for you or provide an infant swing to lull your grandchild to sleep. Most members services include delivery, assembly, and removal of all gear.

Now where ever baby goes, call in the pros!

Car Seat Safety and Rental Car Companies

I ran across this story by Delicious Baby from a few months ago regarding rental car companies providing unsafe car seat rentals. If you plan on getting your car seat from a rental car company, be sure to call ahead to ensure that they have one available and verify models they provide if possible. In most cases, they can't or won't tell you and you never know what may or may not be waiting when you get there. These are some photos they complied of the selection they were given.







In summary, the story is regarding Advantage Rent A Car's LA location and is appalling. They were (and still may be) providing dilapidated car seats estimated to be up to 22 years old, horribly dirty, missing parts, and far out of current safety standards. Why I say they still may be is here in a follow up story after Advantage had supposedly "fixed" the problem. Both accounts involve parents unable to find a seat with enough parts to even install it correctly, let alone be safe for their child to ride in. Although I haven't relied on a car rental agency for a car seat, I would have expected something dirty but at least within current safety standards. But I certainly never would have expected expired car seats, ones smelling of vomit, infant carriers missing the bases, or ones so outdated that they didn't have 5-point harnesses.

In general, manufacturers recommend car seats are replaced every 5 to 8 years depending on the model, except some intended for longer term use like the new Graco Nautilus (available in our car seat rental inventory). Think about bringing your child's seat with you or save the hassle and rent one from a dedicated baby equipment rental agency at your destination. Many companies, including Sweet Pea Baby Rentals, will deliver your car seat to your rental car counter and can ensure and safe, sanitzed, like new car seat. Even if you are at the center in a last minute bind for a safe car seat, call a baby equipment rental company. Most were born out of mom's and dad's having these same experiences and try to accomodate emergency situations.

Vacationing to Phoenix or Scottsdale? Rent baby gear here!

Renting baby gear at your destination can save you time, space, and stress. Let Sweet Pea Baby Rentals provide all the necessities delivered and set up at your location of choice anywhere in the Phoenix or Scottsdale metro areas.

We carry top of the line baby equipment for rent, all in new condition including:

• Britax Marathon and Graco Nautilus car seats
• Strollers by Bob, Phil & Ted's, Joovy, and Maclaren
• Chicco high chairs
• Kelty Kids hiking backpacks
• Toddler Aero beds
• Delta full sized cribs
  
• Toys, infant items, supplies, and much more

Check out our ongoing package deals and current specials. Right now you can get a FREE CARES harness rental for your flight when you rent from us! The CARES (child aviation restraint system) is a revolutionary new product for air travel designed for children 22-44lbs who are able to sit forward facing in their own car seats. No longer do you have to lug your car seat onboard to ensure your child's safety. Read Travels with Baby's review of the system too. Shelly and her two young daughters borrowed two of our harnesses for a recent flight. She wrote up a great review, both pros and cons, of the system from the standpoint of a first time user and frequent flyer with her children.

CARES Harness Review

I recently had the pleasure of meeting Shelly Rivoli of Travels with Baby. Shelly is an authority on traveling with kids and has written an excellent book that you can purchase through her website. You wouldn't believe all the places they've been with the kids in tow!

She recently borrowed our CARES harnesses for a trip with her two girls, 4.5 and 2.5 years old, and wrote an excellent review of the system, including it's positives and negatives that I want to share. If you're not familiar with CARES, it's an excellent alternative to carrying your child's car seat on board an aircraft that keeps them safe and secure. Read Shelly's CARES harness review on her Travels with Baby Blog and check out her other first-hand travel tips!

If you're ready to try one out, rent it from us today! We ship our CARES harness rentals to your location nationwide. Find out how to get a FREE rental through our current special.

Hotel Crib Safety

As the holidays approach, many of us will be staying in hotels and resorts while away from home. Before letting your child sleep in a hotel's provided crib, check out a few safety items first. In a random test performed by Safe Kids USA, 4 out of 5 cribs were deemed unsafe due to various hazards. The biggest issue is that over half the time, cribs are made up with adult sheets and bedding which can come untucked and twist around a child. Most cribs were found to be defective, damaged, or even recalled. Read more about hotel crib safety here, or better yet, rent a crib or pack n play from Sweet Pea Baby Rentals or a local baby equipment rental company in the area you're traveling to. Rental companies have your best interests at heart by regularly maintaining, sanitizing, and providing appropriate bedding for their cribs.

If you do use a hotel provided crib, here's a few items to check before putting your child to bed:

• Is there appropriate crib-sized bedding? Consider bringing your own fitted sheet with you.
  
• Is the mattress support secure? Lift up the mattress and check it out.
• Are there any loose screws or latches?
• Are the bars more than 2 3/8" apart? A soda can should not be able to pass through the bars.
  

World-Wide Rentals

The baby equipment rental business is a great niche with companies operating world-wide. Most were born out of moms and dads trying to fulfill a need that they encountered while traveling with their own family. Where ever you are traveling this holiday season or beyond, look up a rental company from one of these directories:

http://babytravelpros.com
http://www.baby-equipment-rental.com
http://www.thenewparentsguide.com/baby-equipment-rentals.htm

Strollers, strollers, strollers!

Having run Sweet Pea Baby Rentals for over a year now, I've had the opportunity to try out several different strollers. I think at last count, I actually have owned 15 different strollers! I thought I'd post a quick run down and review some of them, including the ones we currently rent.

Full Sized:

Bumbleride Flyer - A bit heavy for me but the manuverability is great. I loved the reversible handle so baby could face me or the world, and the lockable swivel front and rear wheels were nice too. Height adjustment on the handle was good and manuvering department store racks was easy with both sets of wheels in swivel mode. It came with a lot of accessories for the price too.

Chicco Cortina - A little lighter than the Flyer and a lot of similar features. No reversible handle though and no unlocking swivel real wheels. It was very comfortable for my daughter and the snack tray on the front was great. It's pretty large when folded though.

Peg Perego Aria - I know a lot of people love these strollers, but it wasn't my favorite. It was difficult to manuver with one hand and felt a little flimsy. Maybe it was the light wieght of 9 lbs, which makes it great for carrying and lifting in and out of the car. It does fold quite small too. The snack tray is nice on the front as well but the canopy is pretty small and doesn't do much for the sun.

Phil and Ted's Classic (in rental inventory now) - Have had this one for about a month now and I like it a lot. No snack tray provided and it's a little on the hefty side weight wise. It does fold pretty easily and is of reasonable size for a three-wheeled stroller. I absolutely love that it's convertible to a double stroller with the doubles kit attachment. The harness has a wide range of adjustment but the canopy could be larger. Height adjustable handle is nice to have on this entry level model as well. It pushes very easily with one hand and is smooth. The air tires keep it quiet on city sidewalks as opposed to the clunking of standard plastic stroller wheels. The lockable front swivel wheel could be suitable for light jogging as well.

Umbrella Strollers:

Chicco Capri/C6 - This was my first umbrella when my daughter was old enough to sit up alone. It served it's purpose and made many a trip to the mall. For me, the handles were a bit too short and I kicked the wheels a lot. It was unsteerable with one hand too but it was much better than the basic Cosco/Kolcraft/etc umbrellas. The recline was minimal but it was better than nothing.

Maclaren Quest (in rental inventory now) - If I had only known how much better this one was, I would have sprung for the extra $100 over the C6 a long time ago. I held off for a long time because of the cost but after the last fateful trip to the mall where my back was killing me when we got home, we picked one up on sale at our local Babies R Us, and have been loving it ever since. It's easy to manuver with one hand and the handles are tall enough that I don't kick the wheels. I selected one with a black canopy because as with most umbrellas, the wheels hit the canopy when closed and it make unremovable stains. A lot of the Maclaren's have white or light colored canopies that look pretty dirty after only a couple uses. The recline on the Quest is nice, but I find we don't use it very often. I probably would have gotten the Volo instead, had I known since that's pretty much the only difference. One last think I love is that I don't have to bend down and unhook the latch to fold it. It can all actually be done with your foot!

Joggers:

Baby Trend Single Jogger with swivel wheel - I purchased this one at Target and it was ok, as long as you weren't actually trying to jog. When running, the entire stroller seemed to shimmy as if a wheel was out of balance or something. I got a replacement wheel from Baby Trend and it still did the same thing. The stroller was decent for the price of $99, but not great. It folds rather large and is awkward to put in a standard sized trunk. If you're main goal is to stroll the neighborhood, not jog, and not put it in your car, then it's a good deal. Otherwise, I'd opt for something better like the Phil and Ted's or a BOB. The folding mechanism got pretty sticky after a few months and had to be regularly maintained too.

Baby Trend Double Jogger with swivel wheel - This model is only sold at Babies R Us as far as I know. It was a decent double jogger but the children tended to slide together toward the middle because of the design. It did have independent recline on each seat and was actually not that bad for weight in terms of a double stroller. I didn't have any real complaints about it but it wasn't extra fancy or anything. It was pretty easy to push one handed and the fold was not bad in terms of size.

BOB Sport Utility Stroller (in rental inventory now) - Wow! What a difference between the cheap joggers and this one. It's fixed front wheel is suitable for walking or jogging but has to be lifted off the ground to turn the stroller. It has built in suspension for the child and some adjustment to how it tracks when moving. A hand brake is a nice feature for running and the foot break is the easiest I have ever used. The flip of one single bar locks both wheels and it's acutally unlockable while wearing flip flops, so you don't have to bend down and use your hand on the dirty brake. Being in Arizona, this is an important feature where flip flops are worn year round by nearly everyone! I've nearly broken a toe on many a stroller trying to unlock the brakes. One of the best features is the huge two-stage canopy that will shield your child from the harshest of summer days here in the Valley of the Sun. It is a bit bulky when folded due to the 16" rear wheels and fixed front wheel, but if you have the space and the funds for the $299 entry price, it's a great stroller.

BOB Revolution Duallie (in rental inventory now) - Again, another WOW! This is an extremely nice double jogger with a swivel front wheel. Many of the same pluses as the review for the single are noted, along with a swivel front wheel. Once again, the canopies are amazing and it also features lay flat recline for newborns and naps, along with attachments for some popular infant car seats, snack trays, etc. A good alternative if you don't need the big 16" offroad tires, is the 12AW model which features 12" aluminum wheels, saving space and weight.

Double Strollers:

Graco Duo Glider LXI - A great tandem double stroller, compatible with many infant car seats that can be used two at a time for twins. Folding is easy and steering is as well. The drop down basket in the back is ingenious when the rear seat is reclined all the way down. Comes with adult and kids snack trays and folds to a reasonable size for transporting. A great mall cruiser or neighborhood walker.

Joovy Caboose (in rental inventory now) - A sit/stand type stroller that's very manuverable. It's a little heavy but there is a ultralight version that's been made since I purchased mine. The fabric has held up well and it's compatible with most infant car seats.

Delta Crib Recall

Last week, Delta Enterprises announced a major recall of over 1.6 million cribs with the drop side trigger lock design. Cribs manufactured up to January 2007 were affected including the popular Jenny Lind style that many equipment rental companies use for their no-tool asssembly. Sweet Pea Baby Rentals uses this style of crib however we have checked all of our models and NONE of our cribs are affected. We assure you that our cribs are safety checked before and after every rental and preventative maintenance is always done as well. To read the entire recall notice with model numbers see this article published by WebMD or visit Delta's own site at www.cribrecallcenter.com.

CARES Kids Fly Safe Aviation Restraint

If you haven't heard of the CARES restraint yet, definitely check it out if you'll be flying with your toddler or pre-schooler in their own seat. The CARES system is a great FAA-approved product that allows your child to be securely buckled in to their own airplane seat without you having to lug a car seat on-board. Weighing just 1 lb and having it's own 6" carrying sack, it's easy enough to put in your diaper bag and carry on. It's designed for children 22 to 44 lbs who sit forward facing in their regular car seat. The system gives your child a secure and adjustable 5-point harness by slipping around the back of the airplane seat and utilizing the seat's lap belt to complete the system.

Maybe you'll only take one or two airplane trips with your child before they're able to safely use only the airplane's lap belt (which the FAA recommends is 40 lbs) and you don't want to invest in an item that will only get a few uses. Or, maybe you do make frequent trips with a toddler but you'd really like to try it out before purchasing one for yourself. In either case, our rental program is a perfect solution. The CARES system is available for rental daily or weekly through Sweet Pea Baby Rentals. We can ship your rental anywhere in the US or Canada so you don't need even need to be traveling from the Phoenix area to take advantage this great product.

We also offer a combination package of a CARES harness and a Safeguard Go folding car seat if you happen to be traveling to a destination that doesn't offer baby equipment rentals, or if you want to avoid extra baggage fees and possible damage by checking your full sized car seat. The Safeguard Go folds into it's own compact carrying case, small enough to be stowed in an overhead bin. The Go is not FAA-approved for air travel as it must utilize the top tether to function properly, which an airline seat does not have.

View all of our rentals for air travel, including the CARES, Safeguard Go folding car seat, Go Go Kidz Travelmate, and the Sit N Stroll at http://sweetpeababyrentals.com.

Kid's Events Guides

Here are a few links to some current Phoenix-area kids activities. The sites are updated often so they always contain current events.

Mom's Zone
Southwest Valley Parent
Phoenix Kids
Bear Essential News