What do kids really want from hotels?

In-room treats for the #KidsatTaj

What do kids want when they stay in hotels? Contrary to what some might think, it’s not necessarily XBox in the room.

At BritMums we recently gathered together a group of family travel bloggers to talk about this and other travel blogging issues at our #KidsatTaj day. We were hosted at 51 Buckingham Gate, a member of the Taj Hotels group, with locations all over the world. The hotel is a gorgeous property about a 5 minute walk from St. James’s Park Tube stop. Its Taj Suites are ideal for families — they’re like little (and sometimes not-so-little) flats with kitchens, separate bedrooms, sitting area and comforts of home like a TV with DVD player and bedtime snacks.

A kids’ goody bag and dressing gown from #KidsatTaj programme

A goody bag for younger kids and the sketchbook

Taj recently researched what kids want from the places they stay, and some of their findings might surprise you.

* Kids like colours that are gender neutral (No more “pink for girls, blue for boys”)

* They like symbols like @ and ! in the information that addresses them — if you’ve ever seen a kid write a note, you know the primacy of the exclamation point!!!!!!

* They like to be part of a club called “kids” and tailored specifically to them

This last one sounds obvious, but I found it surprising. I always kind of assumed my daughter and stepson wanted to be part of the “grown-up” experience we have at hotels: wearing a bathrobe just like Daddy, eating in the fancy restaurant and so on. And that is true, but I was thinking about it backwards.

They don’t want to *be like* the adults; they want to have the perks and amenities, but scaled down and pitched to them in a kid way.

So at Taj they get a Kids’ Passport to get stamped whenever they stay and their own registration. They get their own toiletries. The kids’ menu is a separate menu, not just a page in the adults’ version.

Individual properties have tailored programmes specific to them. At 51 Buckingham Gate, a Hamleys package features a personal shopping session at the famed toy store (oh yes) as well as a cooking lesson with a chef that includes a personalised chef’s jacket for each participating child (psst there’s also 4 hours of babysitting included #justsayin). To stay with the theme, the cooking classes at the Taj Dubai culminate at the special Friday Brunch, to which the children invite their parents.

I’m envious of the “hard hat” tours available at some properties, where they can for example take a peek behind the scenes at the industrial laundry and learn how all those sheets and towels get cleaned.

Which leads to another element of what the hotel’s trying to do: incorporate educational elements that get kids’ engaged, while also pleasing parents. Who, by the way, might be in the bar taking advantage of the complimentary drink and canapes.

Movies in the room, with popcorn of course

About Jennifer Howze

Jennifer Howze is the Creative Director and co-founder of BritMums. She blogs about family travel at Jenography.net, tweets at @JHowze and Instagrams at @JHowze. Previously, she wrote the Alpha Mummy blog at The Times and as a journalist has contributed to The Times, The Guardian, The Independent, The Wall Street Journal, Travel & Leisure, Budget Travel, CNN.com, Allure, SELF and Premiere, among others. She won The Maggie Award from the Planned Parenthood Federation of America for a health article in Seventeen magazine.

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