Grandcations

Grandcations: //©istockphoto0

Helena Koenig laughed when I told her I was doing a story on the trend of grandparents traveling with their grandkids. “That’s a ‘trend’ that we started 24 years ago,” she said.

Koenig is the founder of Grandtravel, a tour operator specializing in this niche. While this type of travel may not be new, common wisdom says the demographics have definitely changed.

“There are certainly more baby boomers becoming grandparents, and they are healthier, and more educated and, until recently at least, more financially comfortable. But I don’t see how they are very different in terms of their relationships with their grandchildren,” she said. “They make for great travel companions for each other.”

Business for Grandtravel had been booming — until this latest recession, at least. It’s a win-win-win business model. Grandparents get to spend time with their grandkids; parents get to send their kids off with people they trust; and grandchildren experience freedom from their parents while learning from someone who might have a different perspective. And, it means built-in repeat business.

“Grandparents go this year with one grandchild and next year with the other one,” said Koenig, a former travel agent with 10 grandchildren herself who has been in the travel business since 1952. “We have a 75 percent repeat business rate.”

All of Grandtravel’s seven- to 13-day departures take place during school vacations and it is currently offering a $1,000 discount for “repeat grandparents and their network.”

www.grandtrvl.com