24 May 2019

Baby gear rental service launches in NZ

From Afternoons, 1:37 pm on 24 May 2019

Travelling with babies and small children can be stressful – particularly if you take along a stroller and car seat, etc.

Soon New Zealanders will be able to hire baby equipment when they're on the road when the Australian service Tree Hut Village sets up here.

Plunket recommends that children under two be seated in a reverse-facing car seat.

Photo: Jérôme Gorin / AltoPress / PhotoAlto

The idea for an online baby gear rental service came to Australian mum Eva Wintersberger after took a trip to the Whitsundays with her four-month son and hired baby gear from a local person.

People who need baby gear prebook it on the Tree Hut Village website as you would a rental car or hotel and also pay a bond, Eva tells Jesse Mulligan.

They then arrange a pick-up point with the person renting the gear. Once they confirm its as described the gear owner gets paid (minus a 15 percent commission).

Then after the gear is returned, the renter gets their bond back.

Eva says the going rate is about $30-to-$50 for a three-day car seat rental and $10 a day or $80 a fortnight for a stroller.