If I say no kids allowed on my profile, can a guest ignore this and still go through the whole booking process?

Hi, If I say no kids allowed on my profile, can a guest ignore this and still go through the whole booking process?
I just had someone who said she was going to book our place once she found out about parking. When I checked the details of the potential booking, it says 2 adults and 1 infant. I immediately contacted her back to say the apt wasnt suitable for children. This is ‘ticked’ in the main rules which I assumed people see before making a booking, and i also mention it in my additional rules.
I’m just curious to know. Cheers!

The new interface does allow people to add infants, and doesn’t add them to the cost either. Annoying but true.

2 Likes

I think people can even ignore “not suitable for children”. So if you have that checked and people search with children your property could still show up if the other parameters such as guest count line up (though I think infants-2 don’t “count” on the system).

I think straight out saying in your profile that you don’t allow children is a no-no, but you can always communicate in your messages. If you’re adamant about not allowing children even if the guest has been warned, I would not have IB on and just decline on the basis that your place is not suitable for the guests.

1 Like

Extremely annoying!
And arent kids more messy! What a joke

1 Like

Yes, it’s a huge joke! Under 2 and pets stay free…yay!

Months ago I tested this as a guest and was not able to instant book if you have it checked the place is not suitable, and if the guest uses the field to enter children. They could only send a booking request. It even gives them a message saying the place may or may not be suitable.

Of course the guest could still instant book if they don’t include the children in the children guest count.

2 Likes

It’s in my rules to have no kids because, well we dont want kids. (The first and only one we ever had almost destroyed my belongings). We also have a balcony.
I dont see why its a no no to put no kids on the profile? I mean Airbnb have that check thing when booking… no kids under a certain age, no pets etc

@sunshine1 If you are in the USA, there are some federal laws forbidding discrimination against children that AirBNB is trying to appear to comply with.

1 Like

This is what I wanted to know Cabinhost! Thank you!!! That is a relief to know! So i’m gathering she would of been stopped making the booking since shed ticked infant.
And if anyone failed to tell me they were coming with a kid, I’m sorry but theyd have to go. A rules a rule. Like it or lump it lol

Yes, that’s how it worked me many months ago. But you may want to test this out yourself on another property that doesn’t allow kids, and then see what happens.

Air is also putting the hosts in the position of getting dinged (in search results) for declining too many booking requests. If it doesn’t count against us now, it likely will in the future. Air of course wants hosts who will easily convert all requests to confirmed bookings.

2 Likes

Oh Ok…but i’m not in the USA. :wink:
A shared apt with a balcony isnt suitable for children under 12. And any parents wanting to bring their kids to share a hosts apt to me arent really thinking. (A whole place would be more suitable for families).

We have hotels in Europe, UK and Ireland were they are only suitable for adults.

1 Like

Sorry about the USA-centric-ness… all I can offer is an explanation. Clearly AirBNB doesn’t use a different codebase for different markets.

1 Like

I’ll give it a go.:slight_smile:

I know i rarely decline bookings- I had my first yday. I just try and make my point made in the messages, so then the guest can move on, on their side.

No need to apologize smtucker :slight_smile:

I guess its to do with insurance to. God forgive if anything happened if a child was staying.

This really depends on where you are located and if there are some local laws that forbid you to “forbid” children at your place. Back in November Airbnb wrote their discrimination policies to which we were asked to sign if we want to continue hosting.

In regards to children the discrimination policy says

Airbnb hosts may not impose any different terms or conditions or decline a reservation based on the guest’s age or familial status, where prohibited by law.

This is the reason the system only let you define if your place is suitable for children or not. Airbnb can’t adapt their system to each legislation in the world. If your local laws let you say “no children at my place” then you can add this to your listing’s house rules and your description as well. I know how frustrating is when guests don’t read but that’s all you got.

https://www.airbnb.com/help/article/1405/airbnb-s-nondiscrimination-policy–our-commitment-to-inclusion-and-respect?locale=en

2 Likes

We rent out our guest room and we really enjoy it when we have children as guests. Children aren’t picky like adults. They are usually looking for things to like about a new place, not things to criticize. Also, in my experience they leave much less mess than adults.

3 Likes

If it’s in your house rules and they instant book, you can cancel with no penalty.
If you’re not on instant book just decline. I declined one just yesterday for that reason.

1 Like

When I go to my booking section of my profile this comes up. So obviously air is giving hosts a choice. Its not only about children. Its about pets, parties etc etc.

*******House Rules

Allow or restrict certain types of reservations. Guests must agree to your rules before booking. Learn More

Suitable for children (2-12 years)
No
Yes
Suitable for infants (Under 2 years)
No
Yes
Suitable for pets
No
Yes
Smoking allowed
No
Yes
Events or parties allowed
No
Yes

Just to be clear I would never be discriminatory about children or anyone for that matter. All I’m saying is, my apt is shared and wouldnt be suitable for childrens due to the high balcony. Just like I say it wouldnt be suitable for parties, smoking etc.
There is also too many valuables in my space which I wouldnt want broken. Kids have the habit of being curious and lifting things!
Also to add, I do not know why any family would want to share a small space with a host. In my mind it would be much better having a whole apt to themselves. And if I had a whole apt to rent out, then I would have no problem whatsover renting to guests with children!

2 Likes

We had one who wanted to bring a 2 yr old – to The Poolside Cabana With Gourmet Flair??? The front door is 6 feet from the water’s edge. I explained this, and told the woman that they could book if and only if they signed a waiver saying that if their child drowned in our pool they they were solely responsible and had been warned of the dangers. Funnily enough, I never heard back from them.

"Sure Mrs Jones, you can bring Little Billy if you sign this waiver concerning our balcony which you have been warned of…

2 Likes

That’s very funny KenH. Give me a chuckle! :joy: