Profile photo is the only requirement I don’t have set.
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I have a ten year old daughter, and a 13 year old and I have asked no kids hosts for an acception and did not feel I was being entitled or my kids are special (they are) As I explained to that host, my kids are respectful, they live in a house with nice stuff and know how to behave. They likely will have their noses in their phones anyway. I get not wanting little kids, fingerprints and boogers smeared on the fridge it has happened in my listing. 10 is not a little kid though.
RR
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@KKC, this seems odd. I know nothing about a person besides they have 0 reviews and want a listed rule waived, but I risk being penalized for declining their ‘Inquiry’?
I have this right? I appreciate your input.
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Oh, sorry. Inquiry, no. Just reply and don’t worry about it. I thought it was a request to book. Airbnb doesn’t want people requesting a place and then being refused. Still I’d try to word it as if you are helping them, not protecting yourself.
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Yes, INQUIRY is the header above are that has the PRE-APPROVE, DECLINE and SPECIAL OFFER options. Then the ‘inquiring message’.
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@Skai - I just wanted you to know that even experienced hosts struggle with this issue. Just yesterday I received an instant book from a guest who announced – didn’t really ask – that she would need a late check out because she would be working during her stay and she had some rather late afternoon phone calls and if I did not have a guest arriving in the EVENING on Monday (check in is at 2) she would like to stay until mid afternoon. (Check out is at 11.)
I did not feel this was a good fit and because I did not want to accommodate that request and I didn’t like being told. If the late check out was that important she should have asked before booking. I thought it best to cancel her ASAP. I knew that if I canceled her online I could be penalized, but as a super host I am supposedly entitled to three cancellations in the calendar year. What I opted to do was call Airbnb and explain that I felt the guest was not a good fit. She also had a bad review. Airbnb Customer Service canceled the reservation for me and I was not penalized.
But the point I’m making is that experienced hosts struggle with making that decision, too.
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Hello! When we first started hosting, I didn’t want kids at our house. I haven’t declined anyone but I would message back to the potential guest with a standard message along the lines of accepting children bc ABB makes me, however, the house is not child-friendly for reasons 1-6. More often than not, the request would be withdrawn. Some other people just stayed anyway, but were happy to have been forwarned.
BTW - we are now in the family collection. 🤦 But that has worked out better than being in the party-set. I’ll take a PBJ in a VCR over vodka-puke any day!
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Thanks @CatskillsGrrl. I’m new, seven months at this. The average stay is six nights, so I haven’t had that many INQUIRYs, but I thought more information than none was shown on those inquiring.
This is what bothers me as much as the kid issue. I’m being asked to approve someone that I have no information on, not even their country. It’ just seems odd to me.
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There are two schools of thought on that. In the old days before peer-to-peer platforms when you ran a B&B you knew nothing about the people who were booking. @jaquo has often reminded me of that fact. Airbnb has new users daily and they have to start somewhere.
But I do know that if you were allowing somebody either into a home you share or into a home that you manage remotely it can be a little scary. I encourage you to not be scared of your guests. And if someone doesn’t have a review and doesn’t say where they’re from and has no link email accounts or social accounts you’re within your rights to turn them down as a guest, but if they’re simply a new user with no reviews you can reach out and ask them what brings them to the area are they traveling are they visiting family.
Our mod @jaquo has some really GREAT pep talks on this and I don’t do them justice by paraphrasing. I will try to find them for you.
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I agree. ABB is go guest-centric and becoming more so all the time. Sometimes it bothers me that someone is renting my home, and knows more about me than I will ever know about them. I don’t care if they are black, white, purple polkadot - they are welcome. But I would like more opportunity to know who is in my home, in case things go south. I found out, from a painful experience, that this information is not provided by ABB. When the police ask for ID for the renters that trashed your house, and you have to say you don’t have it … Well, that is a helpless and frightening feeling.
(BTW - I’m still working on that aspect in my direct rental situation, so I’m not 
on a resolution.)
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Perhaps a short note asking them to fill in the blanks would be best. I can always decline, eh?
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Yes. I do this. If I want more information about someone, I just ask them for it. I will tell them that to complete their booking, they’ll need to verify ID (and/or complete their profile, depending on the situation). I tell them it’s because of the insurance I have so they don’t feel like I’m just poking them. I also include the applicable link for them, whether it’s the “what’s required to book” or “verifying ID” to make it easy. I tell them that I also had to verify my ID and that it was easy and makes it easier to book from now on (more IB opportunities) .
I’ve also sent some my “booking questions” when they hadn’t answered them and suggested that they were probably just in a rush and didn’t see them but I’d appreciate them answering them because it allows me to provide the best experience. Sometimes I just really want more info on someone and sometimes I just want to get a feel for them - whether they are cooperative or not. If they have just joined, I tell them I noticed they’re new and “welcome to the community” and please let me know if I can assist in anyway.
I make a point of being helpful and friendly so that it doesn’t rub them the wrong way. That way, I don’t get defensive answers and have already connected with them. And if they are rude or resistant or non-responsive anyways, then that tells me what I need to know about them too.
If it’s an Inquiry I only respond, I never approve or decline, it’s not necessary. If it’s a Request I usually accept anyways, even if I have to wait for them to do the ID, etc before I do it; however, there have been some situations in which I’ve declined Requests (little kids, wrong dates, rude and non-responsive, I think they won’t be happy at my place). I also try to get them to withdraw but sometimes they won’t or they don’t respond or I don’t want to wait because they are blocking dates that I want to get booked so I will decline when necessary. The threshold is 88% Acceptance and I’ve only gone as low as 90% Acceptance Rate. I keep up, daily, on my search ranking and have never seen if effected by my declines. I imagine it would be effected it I hit below that 88% number so try to stay well-above - calling in to have it “administratively declined” by CS is one way around that. One of my listings is 100%, one is 98% but one is 90%, so it’s just luck of the draw sometimes I guess 
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I asked for some info and the guest came back with reasonable answers.
She says that she is just researching for future needs. I guess she liked my awesome place so much, she wanted to have a place that works for her and son.
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They do not review listings for compliance with their TOS.
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I know that rental car places are allowed to refuse service to people under 25, or 23 or 21 or whatever the age is…point is they can age discriminate for the young ones.
You had said it was a request. If just an inquiry no need to accept or decline…just respond and be done with it.
" We really enjoyed staying at (your) place. She was kind enough to accommodate both myself and my ten year old daughter. I recommend this place to parents!"
…yikes!
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When I make an exception for someone I ask them not to mention it in the review. It makes them feel special and not one has ever disrespected that. I don’t encourage kids here but I’ll take a respectful 10 year old over the 68 year old entitled jerk I had any day.
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For sure. I actually have my “not appropriate for…under 10 years old”. I don’t feel like a 10 year old is going to climb on the dresser and get pinned under it. Or at least a 10 year old will climb himself out and say, “I don’t what happened” 
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Well, you have to tell them it is the “law”. Then that the excess people will have to stay somewhere else, and you will have a handy list of other accommodation places you will give them. They have an hour to regularise their booking to the two guests.
Any accidents and you will be liable. Insurance will disclaim. Not sure about Airbnb, but probably them also.
Mine is children under 12. Not insured, unsafe, and NOT allowed. Have told guests they had to leave. No refund. Rules on the site when booked. Hand them a list of other local accom sites. Bend other rules, but not that one. Would have to sell my home to pay their loss!!! Not at my age.
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