As you book your summer vacation, be sure to ask the hotel reservations agent if they have a complete supply of outdated or misassembled cribs for your child to sleep in. Also, check to see if they outfit their cribs with billowy adult-sized sheets, too.
But according to one investigation by a local NBC news reporter, travelers to College Park, Maryland, don't need to worry: there's a 4 out of 5 chance that hotels will have your deathtrap crib setup available.
Meanwhile, I can safely predict that about 100% of detailed safety-related questions asked during the reservations process will be answered favorably based on little or no access to actual facts on the ground.
This report was brought to you by Graco Pack'n'Play Traveling Cribs ["The only way you'll know for sure is if you bring all your own furniture."] And by Juliana at HotelChatter.com
Hotel Cribs Can Be Child Deathtraps [hotelchatter.com]
Hotel Cribs Can Put Your Baby At Risk [nbc30.com]
We went to a hotel where we needed two cribs for our twins. We called the Wednesday before to confirm they had the cribs, and they said they would be there. We brought the one we own just in case, but when we arrived at 4pm to check in, they informed us that there were NO CRIBS. With both the girls slightly sick and not sleeping well, we were furious. We tried to threaten that we would leave, but that did nothing.
Finally, we got a cot, and laid it out on the floor next to the bed. Needless to say, that didn't work very well, and we had a pretty horid night. (okay, i'd like to blame it all on the hotel, but the girls wouldn't have slept anyways, so they were just the scapegoat!) the next night, they actually had a spare crib for us. they apologized, but that was it.
With twins, we learned that most places are first come first serve regarding cribs and that you either "bring your own furniture" or check in at 10am. sad fact of life.
[yow, and I thought I was kidding. When the "business hotel" we were staying in in Japan for a month told us they didn't have cribs--never mind what they'd said before we got there--I ended up schlepping to Babies R Us along some highway and buying a Graco for next-day delivery. The delivery was great--even on Sunday--the hotel sucked. -ed.]
Who on earth would put their child in a crib that "was assembled upside down with the mattress floorboard falling out"?
I am not trying to say anyone deserves to have their child injured by a faulty crib, but I am hoping people exercise a little common sense before dropping their kids in whatever the guy at the desk gives you.
...which is wny when we travel, our daughter always sleeps in bed nestled between the two of us. The first time we got a look at one of those "cribs" we shuddered...
Thanks for sharing this pertinent safety information.