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Agreed, 10 am is a bit tight. But I’ve had people check in not much later than that, if I knew the previous occupant was going to be leaving early, which is quite common here.
The room doesn’t take long to clean. And the bathroom is external, so it gets cleaned regularly.
Another of Faheem’s gems: “more than averagely incoherent.”
Luv it!
Sounds like it was put through some sort of Google or internet translator, and then I wonder if the 3am was micommunicated? They need to go to a hotel.
18 months was one of my favorite baby ages. Adorable. They are old enough to be past a lot of the colicky stages but are definitely mobile, crawling everywhere. Fun for the parents. I had twins so they would crawl off in the different directions. 
Looks like I am in the minority, but as many forum regulars know, I market families, I hosted about 90 children and infants and never had a problem.
No “incidents” in bed, no domestic accidents, no broken things or damage to linens or furniture. My Airbnb is not baby-proofed but hotel rooms aren’t anyway !
I do provide a cot and a high-chair and count any human as a guest regardless of age. I would never host babies if it was a shared space though 
!
The Airbnb options are:
Suitable for children (2-12 years)
Suitable for infants (Under 2 years)
This should be able to be overwritten with our chosen ages, but no!
I’ve checked no for infants and yes for children.
Then in my rules and at the beginning of my listing details I’ve put:
“We welcome families with children aged 6yrs and above. (Strict supervision/behaviour control of children is required at all times, especially in the pool area.)”
I have been flexible with this on 2 occasions (eg where a 2 year old came with mum, dad, 2 granddads and 1 grandma… Obviously the responsible adults outway the drawbacks of having a 2year old.
They were one of my best guests.)
Good job declining this guy, the fact that he re requested for a different date with the same middle of the night check in says it all!
Thank you! I am only two months from my due date and the last guests leave on Monday. I had to pick up and store a double futon mattress by myself on Labor Day weekend and was thinking, “gosh, I probably should have stopped hosting sooner,” but alas I wanted the money and the last few bookings before we enter the off season. When I am bent over pulling trash out from under the bed or moving furniture, I think about a couple who stayed here last spring for one night. The wife was seven months pregnant, and the husband made all these requests for her and gave suggestions in private feedback to better accommodate his wife (early check-in because she was tired, grab-bars in the bathroom so she wouldn’t slip, I don’t remember what else). Guess I’m having an easier pregnancy than she was if I’m still able to wait on my guests! The guests won’t let me carry their suitcases for them anymore, though!
It’s unsafe to co-sleep if you are drunk, stoned or on a couch. Cosleeping is the norm in most of the world outside of NorthAmerica. More kids die due to cribs than co-sleeping, but the crib manufacturers have lobbyists and cosleeprs don’t. My sister co-slept with her son til he was 4, he’s 17 now. It’s not our job to decide how people raise their kids, as long as they don’t damage property or endanger others.
Hi @Australia,
Thank you for the helpful suggestions.
If anyone wants to educate me, what makes a place suitable or not suitable for children or infants? Is there a checklist somewhere I don’t know about?
I actually get few requests including children. For small children this is only my second. I did get a wacky request back in May (I think), with some guy wanting his unaccompanied 15 yr old son and a friend of a similar age who were going to be playing in a tennis tournament.
Yes, Airbnb is all about the flexibility.
Yes, a request for a middle of the night check-in 12 hours before the listed check-in time is quite the red flag.
Before?? I thought he was talking about a late late check in! well either way it is bad and either way you should decline him!
Yes, I didn’t initially notice this, but he has a flight arriving at 2 am on Monday 5th December, but his requested check-in was for Monday. I need to pay more attention to details like that.
He’s out of his mind. Not even a hotel would love that arrival time or allow it. He’s asking for 12 hours free? He can go pound sand, as my dad used to say. 
Lucky I don’t have IB. Though I suppose under the circumstances Airbnb would have cancelled the reservation. Though I don’t know what policies they have about early check-ins.
I don’t know of a list. My place is not child proofed at all. I do allow kids of all ages. I don’t know what age kids go out of diapers and should be potty trained. I was just picturing your guests trying to take a small child to the restroom in the middle of the night. Would they walk through the house versus going outside?
I’m not sure what you mean. The bathroom is not attached to the room (i.e. not en suite), but not very far away. However, not ideal for a small child emergency in the middle of the night, I suppose.
I know it’s not attached. I just didn’t know if they would likely be walking through the house, or if they would take the outside stairs.
Oh. Yes, you have to go through the house to get to the bathroom, but just the entry hall. And most of the time there is nobody there.
I found this somewhere on the Airbnb site. Their guidelines for having a child friendly place.
I’d say it lets us all off the hook for accepting kids if we don’t want to.
Hi @Australia,
Wow, I think I fail on most of those counts. 
Thanks for the list. Airbnb really should make this (or something similar) visible alongside the child-friendly options. But of course they won’t.
I don’t even know what “Removable safety gates for stairs” means.
So, what ages is this relevant for? Up to 12? Less?
Additional random question: is the children’s novel “Playing Beatie Bow” popular in AU? It was also a film. Both novel and film were in the 80s. It’s set in Sydney. Part of it in 19th century Sydney, specifically, the Rocks - it’s a time -travel novel.
The only one I DON’T fail on is the pool fencing.
Temporary /removable low gates (often wooden or plastic bars like on a cot)
that can fit in a doorway or at the base of a stairway to block off a room or stair that you don’t want a child (or dog) to access. They are extendable to fit different sizes and then you screw on each end it to hold tight.
Hard to describe!
Just don’t use the temporary ones at the top of a stair! Only a fixed permanent one. I once had the horror of watching a child push through one at the top of the stairs. She landed on top of the gate and skillfully held onto the bars of it as she slid down a full flight of stairs like she was surfing on a Boogie board! Scared the hell out of me especially as she wasn’t my child. Not so much as a bump or scratch on her! She was about 18 months.
If you mean the safety gates only good til the child can’t climb over them (2ish)
If you mean the whole list… Hmm they don’t say, but I’d think about 5 and under. That’s why I’ve pick 6 years as my magic number. But that list is still assuming good adult supervision is a constant
Well I have vaguely heard of it, but I’m not a big reader so I don’t know how popular it is amongst the young readers. Had a quick look at it and it sounds like something my 12yr old daughter would love, thanks for the intro.
Hi @Australia,
The removable safety gate sounds complicated (and expensive). I’m definitely not doing anything like that. And the only stairs it would make sense to block are the ones leading to the terrace. I don’t know whether they would be hazardous for a small child. But perhaps it’s best not to find out.
I don’t have a clear picture of what happened there, but it does sound scary. Did the gate come loose then?
Yes, I did mean the whole list. But 6 years old could still be a lot of trouble. I’d be inclined to go with 12 or up, if I was to set a restriction. But I haven’t set one yet. Maybe I’ll decide on a case by case basis. I only really need to make these things explicit if I’m going to go with IB, and I doubt I’ll ever do that.
Ah, so not a household name, then. I thought maybe it was better known in AU. I remember it quite well from when I read it in the 1980s - I’m not sure if I have read it since. Which itself is a recommendation, I suppose. I was just thinking about it today, for some reason.