Could someone please remind me what the rules are regarding denying a reservation because they have babies or kids? We’re an older couple sharing our Airbnb with our guests. We really are not set up the babies and kids and honesly I don’t want them. We have checked off that our home is not appropriate for little kids but once in a while someone asks us directly if they can bring an infant or child. I said it yes a few times (after explaining that we are not baby proofed) but generally I’d rather say no and I just want to know what the implications are for denying on that basis.
I don’t think it counts as discriminatory so long as you state clearly upfront in the description and also in the house rules that the property is unsuitable for families with children or infants. If you get an inquiry or request to book you can just reiterate that in an apologetic manner and hopefully the families will then look elsewhere. We get plenty of requests about dogs when the rules state clearly no pets.
In our properties we go the other way, hopefully also without being discriminatory - having had some guests struggle with the stairs we now explicitly state that the property is unsuitable for guests with limited mobility.
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It’s too bad Airbnb lumps 0-2 year olds in the same category. It should be 0-mobile on their own, then Mobile-4, 4-12.
There’s a huge difference in house set-up between having a baby who isn’t even at crawling stage yet and just gets carried around when not just placed somewhere to lie down or sit (no need to change anything at all) and a crawling baby or a 2 year old who can run around, climb up on chairs, scribble with crayons, break things, etc.
They could still say 0-2 is free, but change the category definitions. My house would have multiple safety hazards for a 1 and a half-year old, but none for a 4 month old, because they can’t move on their own from where they are placed by mom and dad.
So you could ask the potential bookers about the stage of development their “infant” is at, and if they are crawling or walking, tell them your place wouldn’t be suitable from a safety standpoint, and make that clear in your listing description.
Of course some parents are super responsible and keep an eagle eye on a toddler and wouldn’t let them near stairs or let them do anything that isn’t safe, but you only know that about those in your family, not random strangers trying to book.
My house is not at all safe for a toddler. All concrete and hard tile construction, with an outside staircase to the second floor. Balcony with no safety railings. (No big deal putting not-for-kids objects out of her reach- it’s family) When all my kids and grandkids came for Xmas and stayed 2 weeks, no one took their eyes off the 3 year old. We spelled each other off- someone was with her every moment.
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i make mine sound completely unattractive to those with young children.
Valuable antique furniture
hand made rugs
no fencing at all
very busy main road
shared car parking
very steep narrow victorian stairs
no child equipment - cots / highchairs
and no instant book
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I do the same as @Debthecat . “House has lots of 240V outlets up 18” from the floor; lots of chemicals under the sink and in other cabinets; a 30-foot drop from the railing to the forest below; it’s perched on top of a hill with no place to play; lots of fragile items that are extremely expensive to replace (such as speakers on stands); and a pool that isn’t gated away from the house”.
If they are crawling babies, I add “the house is open to the environment so the floors don’t stay clean, and there will most likely be bugs or geckos running across the floors”
All true stuff. It works to scare off the parents of little ones. Once a child is around 5, most of those are non-issues.
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I think you and the previous post we’re kidding but it’s early and I haven’t had my coffee yet. Thanks for the smile.
No, I’m not kidding. All those aspects of our home are true (open-air house perched on the top of a hill in the rainforest in St Lucia in the Caribbean).
We really aren’t suitable for very young children.
The point is to do everything you can to scare off the parents with young kids.
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These are all great suggestions and necessary since AIRBNB has arbitrarily decided that these little destructive Rugrats should be allowed free access and full range to your expensive boutique property.
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Thank you and thanks for responding.
I do not allow small children/babies. There are usually 2 parents travelling with child so I always say it is a 2 person maximum occupancy. I have had many people ask saying they will bed share ect. but it is a no!
I thought I read something a while back that you can not discriminate against children but for me…so far…i just say it is a two person maximum and it has worked for us.
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We have also had this problem twice, even though our place states no kids, they still ask. We have a 2-person policy also, so this may help. I have said no on both occasions, you will be fine if you decline the booking and explain the reason why, when it comes up why you are declining write that your policy states you are adults only.
I think if you don’t want kids just change your policy to make sure it is for adults only if you haven’t already.
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