Do you charge children as normal person from 0 year or from a specific age?
Just got another request from a couple with an 18 month old. Iām debating whether to add some language about not allowing children less than x years of age. One problem is how to decide on x. This is only the second inquiry Iāve had involving a small child. Curiously, the inquirer didnāt ask about the baby, but a 2am plane arrival.
18 mos is starting to get into everything! I would consider infants EXCEPT they scream. A lot. And it isnāt their fault. This is their only option to try desperately communicate their needs. But since it isnāt a common language, parents canāt always interpret their needs. And sometimes, an infant doesnāt actually need anything; they just arenāt happy, or comfortable, or dry, or some other baby thing.
Easy out, Faheem. Decline on account of the ungodly arrival time, then you wonāt have to deal with the toddler issue. Besides, you donāt provide for a third individual, do you?
Remember too that little people will have accidents and you will be left with a permanently stinky mattress, so just say ānoā.
I donāt even mention an age limit in my ad because I emphasize the maximum occupancy is 2 and that generally precludes the third person issue.
Do I remember correctly that there are a number of stairs to your room, or around your place? With an 18 year old I would say ānoā. We have stairs to our guest rooms and they are kind of in the middle of a traffic area - between the living and dining room. That has been ok until now, but we had a child about that age and the parents did not keep a close eye on her - several times sheād have her hand on the rail, her foot headed down, but sheās turned her head smiling at me. Heart attack! (yes, I did tell this story already). Since then Iāve changed my age to over 2 only.
I think air gives you categories - under 2 or under 5? What do you think is safe? How comfortable are you with kids running around? Touching things? Screaming? They usually do, at least in the morning, maybe a bit in the evening. Not usually excessively like my recent guests, but there will be crying. It doesnāt usually bother me, but always makes me glad Iām charging for that little tyke.
How did I miss this original thread??!
As a new mom, I have an arms reach mini co-sleeper I provide to guests with infants (0-6 mo). Its like a little crib that pushes up right against the bed and itās easy to grab the baby and feed him and put him back.
But Iām almost positive that most parents just put the baby in their bed anyway, esp when they are traveling.
If I werenāt a new parent, I wouldnāt accept infants & toddlers either. But I already have all the gear now (co-sleeper, pack&play, umbrella stroller, pee pads to put under the fitted sheet of the bed) & Iām sympathetic to the breeders who I used to disdain. Iām one of them now. Sigh.
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Iām catching up on this thread as another parent-to-be, and enjoying the discussion. I understand that what we Americans call co-sleeping has been practiced around the world since beds were invented. When I spent a summer in rural Guatemala, I noticed that many families all slept in one or two beds because that was all they could afford, and all they had room for in a 1-2 room home.
As for me, I havenāt decided! My husband and I are both slender and I have a hard time imagining either of us crushing an infant. However, I worry about the kid staying in our bed forever, and goodbye romance! I have a relative who slept in her parents bed until she was about 12. Either way, I canāt really say how Iāll feel our baby joins us in the outside world! I agree that this is a personal decision for parents, and you arenāt really āwrongā for either choice.
Back to hosting: I donāt have an age-restriction, but note that I do charge for children and that my place is not childproofed. I let parents self-select, and decline if they ask me to wave the extra guest fee for their kids. Iāve had a few guests with elementary and teenage guests, no problem. Only two groups with small children.
The first was when I was a new host. I accepted a one-night reservation from three women traveling with an infant. I didnāt charge them for the infant because I knew I wouldnāt get another booking if I declined them, and I was new and eager for reviews (they didnāt leave one). I didnāt ask where the baby would be sleeping. I made sure I had a waterproof mattress cover on the bed, and let them sort things out themselves. I was just happy to have a booking during the slow winter months. The baby cried a bit, but I have squawking parrots, so the cry of a baby does not bother me. There were no problems. They even took the diapers to the outside trash.
If I had a request for an infant for a longer stay, Iād probably ask more questions about where the baby would sleep, etc. I would probably decline if the guests didnāt volunteer to pay more for the infant, but I think babies are pretty low-impact if they are just staying one night.
The other family I hosted with small children was a mom, dad, and four small children. I must be crazy to host them, right? Nah, it went well! The family didnāt try to haggle on the price, or I would have declined. We chatted for a while before confirming the reservation, and I emphasized that it would be a packed house and that I had not childproofed. I did pick up anything I thought a kid would get into, but I didnāt think of everything (kids found my box of spare buttons for the duvet cover). The family left a glowing review, and I was happy to have an extra $60 per night for a long weekend (I charge $15 per person after 2 guests).
Congratulations, Xena! I blocked my calendar for 3 months,12 days before my due date. When I started hosting again, I realized I was much more available for guests because I was always up, LOL.
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An 18 month old and a 2am arrival? Just say NO!
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Do you actually want to have 3 people in your one room? If your maximum is 2 then they are over the max anyway.
Are they even aware of how they will need to navigate to your restrooms? And the stairs?
Hi @SandyToes,
I do have a mattress protector. But Iām not sure if I want to stress test it. 
Yes, so do I, actually. Maximum occupancy 2. And I say that children should be counted as people.
I just wrote back to the guy, and quoted exactly that. He wrote back
I wont consider your opinion and approach as an Indian customs, in any case have a nice day.
I donāt know exactly what this means, but it doesnāt sound very friendly. But I guess nobody likes to hear no. Actually this guy and his wife (and baby) are Airbnb hosts (though not with many reviews), and have uniformly good reviews as hosts and guests. Though I have learned not to place too much faith in good reviews.
Earlier I wrote to him, because he seemed to think that a 2 am arrival flight would get him here at 3 am (wildly optimistic for Bombay, even in the middle of the night).
Youāll have to get through customs first.
He wrote back with
What is the customs?
His English doesnāt seem very good - heās in Croatia.
Anyway, 18 month baby, 2 am arrival, and questionable English skills for a three day stay. Iām well out of it, I think. Fortunately, itās easy to decline a December arrival.
(Sorry, having read this, I see it counts as yet more rambling.)
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Hi @smtucker,
Iām not sure what you mean by get into everything. You mean theyāre inquisitive? And a lot of noise may or not be an issue. The rental room is somewhat separated from our main home. And with the windows shut, we probably wouldnāt hear much. But itās hard to say without an actual, real life experiment.
Yes, there are stairs going up to the flat, and then another short flight of stairs leading to the room itself. Also 2 more narrows flights of iron stairs leading to the terrace. Are stairs dangerous for small children?
What, even at 18 months? Probably not very. At least, Iām totally unused to it. One of the people who works for us has two small kids. 4 and 6, something like that. And theyāre really, really loud. And active, like jump up and down active. Iām definitely not a fan of loud noises. Too much noise here already, anyway.
And Iām not sure what age is safe.
So, back from vacation? I hope it was good.
Hi @cabinhost,
Yes, thatās what I wrote to the guy. Maximum of 2 people. Children of all ages considered people. Iām not sure he understood, though. He didnāt give the impression of being quite with it. Which is odd, coming from a host. But whatever.
I donāt know. Possibly not. He wrote:
I dont see that room dangerous and if there is nothing special i dont see on photos than we are interested,
This is more than averagely incoherent. I think any extended conversations with this person would have been an experience. Iām glad I donāt have IB.
Hey, I just noticed that the guy has made an inquiry with check in on Monday 5th December, but guess what? In his words:
but if is possible for you to arrange that we enter to apartment at around 3am at 5th December.
Interesting. An exceptionally relaxed approach to check in times. And this guy is a host.
I hope you are suggesting to guests wanting a crazy early check in timeā¦that they need to book an extra night.
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I certainly wouldnāt accept anyone approximately 12 hours before the normal check-in time for that day, no. But this request came in around 5 am, so I probably wasnāt quite with it. I need to be more careful and pay more attention.
I was only mentioning it because your guests seem to land at all hours and of course want to check in right away. But just keep in mind that you have to close off the prior day from another potential traveler - if you are agreeing to this at the time of their booking.
Yes, Iām aware of that. If I was to agree to check someone in at 4 am (or whenever) which isnāt exactly convenient even for me, then Iād only do it if they booked the previous night. No discounts.
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Even if they want an 10 a.m. check in - you still couldnāt rent the room to someone else the day before
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