Free Child Places...

FREE CHILD PLACES –  ARE THEY WORTH THE HASSLE?

By: Janice S Ramkissoon

For a family going on holiday the issue of a free child place can be very confusing.  Trying to comprehend it all can sometimes be a great strain on the brain cells.  One question I’m often asked is:

So I’d like to shed some light on this subject for you.  Yes, they are but there are clauses to be aware of.  ‘Free child places’ are based on the accommodation part of your booking and often depends on other elements such as: the hotel you are staying at; the type of room you are staying in; the age of the children and whether your family consist of one or two parents.

One hotel may have a child age limit of twelve (12) years old while another hotel has an age limit of up to sixteen (16) years.  The age of the children in the party is therefore of vital importance to obtaining this free child place.  The typical family of 2 adults plus 1 child or 2 children may benefit from this offer more than others because this offer is based on the child or children sharing a room with two adults for the family to qualify for a free child place.

If a family of four [2 adults and 2 children (under the age of 12)] is sharing a room the one child is free and the other pays a child rate.  If this family decides to have two adjoining rooms so Mum and Dad can have some privacy then they forfeit the ‘free child place’ as they are based on the children sharing with two full-paying adults.

If a single mother or father wants to take two children on holiday one child will pay the adult rate for the other child to be free but if there’s only one child in that part (1adult + 1 Child) then the ‘free child place’ is forfeited.

Getting a little complicated? 

Don’t worry! This is a job for your travel agent. That’s where all those extra charges they charge come in.  So use the service on offer – you paying for it anyway. It can be very simple or a little complicated depending, mainly, on the size of the family and the age of the children.  But having a chat with your travel agent will soon clear that up for you. So get your questions answered.  The agents are there to help you get all the answers to your questions before you book your holiday.  A free child place can be a blessing for some while for others, it’s really not worth the hassle even thinking about it.  A holiday is one of the most expensive outgoing so shop with care and get the customer service you deserve. 

© 2007 Janice S Ramkissoon