Question about excluding Children from my Listing...

[Sami459]

Hi all, looking for some advice...

I recently had some guests that brought a child and did some considerable damage. Broke a window, ruined a couch pillow, minor dings on the walls and table and burned my deck with fireworks.  I've decided that I am no longer going to allow any children. The potential for mess and damage is not something I want to deal with, moving forward. I've turned off the kid friendly options in my booking settings.

My question is - should I put this in the description of my listing somewhere? If so, where, and how should I word this in a way that sounds more compassionate than "Children are not allowed"  🙂

[Ricardo85]

@Mark116 

Under Airbnb's terms of service, not accepting an age-based guest is considered discrimination.

https://www.airbnb.com/help/article/2867/nondiscrimination-policy

"...

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.

..."

Ricardo

[Mark116]

@Ricardo85  You can set your listing to say that the property is not suitable for children 0-2 and or 2-12

[Ricardo85]

@Mark116 

Yes, I know this is possible. The problem here is that some hosts are confusing "not suitable for children" with "children are not allowed".

Ricardo

[Lisa723]

@Ricardo85 no, Airbnb defers to local law. So if your locality allows age-based discrimination, then it's OK by Airbnb.

In the US, there is no federal law prohibiting age-based discrimination in housing. Some states and localities prohibit it, and some do not.

[Emilia42]

@Sami459 

Focus on why your place isn't safe for children and why families with small children may have a difficult stay .... exposed stairway with no railing, no children amenities, not childproof, open fireplace, expensive art pieces, etc. 

[Sami459]

Thanks, Emilia. Do you have a recommendation on where to put this in the listing? General description area or somewhere else?

[Mark116]

@Sami459  It's under house rules, where you check that your property is/is not suitable for children under 2 and under 12.  As others have said.  We have our listing checked as unsuitable for children under 2 due to the lack of any childproofing apparatus.  

[Sami459]

Hi Mark,

Thanks for the reply. I already have that section checked that it's unsuitable for Children under 12 as well as Children under 2 (just did that this morning). What I'm wondering next is, if I should include this in the description of my listing and how/where would be the best place to do that.

[Colleen253]

@Sami459 " how/where would be the best place to do that." Probably under the 'things to know section'.

[Helen3]

If you have that ticked why did you accept a booking from a family with a child? @Sami459 

[Sami459]

@Helen9 

I only updated the settings this morning after the damage. This damage led to my decision to not allow children. 

[Ricardo85]

@Sami459 

Under Airbnb's terms of service, not accepting an age-based guest is considered discrimination.

https://www.airbnb.com/help/article/2867/nondiscrimination-policy

"...

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.

..."

Ricardo

[Pat271]

There is a group of checkboxes on Airbnb from which you can choose stating one or both of the following:

- Not suitable for children (2-12 years)

- Not suitable for infants (under 2 years)

I’ve heard different opinions on whether, at least in the US, you are allowed to flat deny children.  Some say federal regulations do not allow this, but others say that as a homeowner, you can pick and choose visitors to your home.  There are other discussions in this forum on this subject, here for instance:

https://community.withairbnb.com/t5/Help/I-set-house-rules-as-not-suitable-for-children-but-somebody...

Curious what is the real legal answer in the US, and if it differs in other countries.

[Mark116]

@Pat271   There are many carve outs to the federal fair housing law(s) for residences that are owner occupied, so it would likely depend on whether the airbnb was or wasn't on the same site as the owner's primary residence.  

[Colleen253]

@Sami459 You can briefly detail what makes your space not suitable for children, hazards and such.

In your recent case, I would wonder how a child was responsible for a broken window, and fireworks damage. Sounds like you had bad guests, period. You might want to look at tweaking your guest screening protocol. Just a thought.