Girl Entrepreneur #005
Name: Bella Tipping
Location: Australia
Business Name: Kidzcationz
As a child, Bella Tipping had many bad holiday experiences. She felt that many hotels didn’t accommodate appropriately for children’s interests and needs. As a result, she became determined to make a change and created Kidzcationz in an attempt to make hotels and holiday packages more kid-focused.
Kidzcationz is a travel review website aimed at kids, allowing them to rate hotels, restaurants and attractions based on how well they support their needs, not their parents—it’s a bit like a child-friendly TripAdvisor and Expedia rolled into one. She hopes that one day all hotels will treat child guests the same as adults, regardless of who is paying for the holiday.
Children can log on to Kidzcationz, choose a venue and review/rate it, as well as look at reviews written by other kids about the chosen destination. Bella has engineered Kidzcationz with children at the forefront of her mind; to keep her child users safe online, the website allows them to review using avatars that don’t require any personal details or photos.
In order to make her entrepreneurial vision a reality, Bella had to find an investor willing to see the potential in her business plan. After producing proper business plans that detailed the website’s functionality, who would be involved and an exit strategy if her business failed, her parents agreed to invest $80,000 Australian dollars. Though setting Kidzcationz up wasn’t cheap, the money wasn’t simply handed over to Bella. She had to work hard to impress her investors with her dedication and passion.
Bella recognised that children have significant influence when it comes to holiday plans and she hopes that her website will help inform kids and parents so that everyone can enjoy their holidays. Currently the Kidzcationz website only features locations in Australia, New Zealand and the USA. But Bella is extremely ambitious and is currently trying to expand the website to make it worldwide. She hopes to improve family holidays globally.
-Phoebe Cawley
Junior Girl
Girl Museum Inc.