MAY not be safe or suitable for children - ???

Answered!
Andrea9
Level 10
Amsterdam, Netherlands

MAY not be safe or suitable for children - ???

Since when does a company have the right to water down my decision that I can't - can NOT, will NOT - host children?

 

This whole discrimination issue is becoming ridiculous to the point that it is discriminating hosts.

Guests often don't read properly or at all, so why open the door to somebody appearing on your doorstep with a little one while you said you didn't/couldn't host them. There's reason for that, and it's not right to then question that decision and open up doors of 'maybe'. Many, esp. new hosts, don't have the stamina yet to address people directly at the door because they are breaking a rule or two and thus might have to be re-located. This community forum is full of hosts letting themselves be run over and then calling for help.

 

Seriously, what if a host DID let somebody with a toddler into their non-childproofed home because ABB said 'MAY not be safe....' and the parent decided What the heck, do it anyway, and that child then fell down a long flight of stairs?? or pulled something out of a shelf and something heavy from higher up crashed down on their head??

Would ABB take the brunt? Not sure about that.

 

I'm saving my energy and not protesting it, but my house rules have a clear NO to children for good reason. And guests automatically accept those too when booking.

My advice to all hosts is to use this option if you're not happy with ABB overriding your decision.

 

What's next?

 

There's still a few options open:

MAY be non-smoking

MAYBE no parties or events

MAY not be suitable for pets

 

 

 

1 Best Answer
Nina-and-Gary0
Level 3
Southbank, Australia

Agree whole-hearted with you Andrea. I've written to AirBnB asking them to change the wording to remove any ambiguity. Either a host is willing to accept kids or s/he is not. Simple. 

 

Apartments and other lodgings are full of things that endanger the safety of toddlers, especially unannounced, unexpected toddlers since the host cannot take preventative measures. Drapes can be pulled down, TV remote controls can be opened up and lithium batteries swallowed. Cleaning chemicals under the sink can be opened and ingested. These are not actions that any BnB host wishes to contemplate when s/he falls asleep at night.

 

Aside from safety for the toddler, what happens if the child accidentally pees on the mattress? Or on the carpet? With the next guest checking in only hours after the child's parents have checked out, how is a paltry $300 security deposit going to help a host? 

 

An alternative to changing the wording for allowing/disallowing children is for AirBnB to allow hosts to vary the security deposit, so that guests with an infant/child have to pay, say, a US$10,000 security deposit.

 

For those who say restrictions such as these are acts of discrimination, I say (1) guests with a child can lodge with a child-friendly host, and there are plenty of them, and (2) restrictions pertaining to safety exist in other domains of life; you cannot enter a bank wearing a helmet, you cannot buy alcohol legally before you are a certain age; you cannot smoke in an aircraft.

 

BnB hosts have rights, too.

 

Nina & Gary

 

 

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35 Replies 35
Hilary-And-Ed0
Level 10
Brookline, MA

I have seen this before, and agree.  I think people have the right to decide about their own homes,especially if the space is a room in the host's space.  

 

I always suggest posting it to "host voice".  This is the forum for hosts to post ideas/suggestions directly to Airbnb.  If enough people comment or "thumbs up" the idea, then it will be reviewed by the company.  I am not sure whether the company reviews this forum.  Can't hurt to try the host voice.  Better yet , look for another comment that is already there regarding their new infant policy, and add to that thread.  I do not know if the company adds comments in different threads together if they are on the same topic.

Melissae0
Level 1
Concordia, KS

I was excited to find air bnb. My daughter and I travel a lot and we thought this would be an amazing opportunity. To my disappointment, every property we tried to book had a no children policy. My daughter is 11 yrs old and probably more responding then a lot of adults. I guess I'll delete the app and we will go back to motels... Your loss for discrimination.

Brian469
Level 2
Oakland, CA


 
I have requested no kids at my property. I don't like the wording "Not safe for children under 12 Y.O." Can we change that "Not safe" to something a little less scary? My property is SAFE!
 
Under House Rules the exact wording is:
Not safe or suitable for children (0-12 years)

My property is SAFE. How can we change this?

@Brian469

 

Only ABB can change it, what wording would you propose?

David

Not suitable for children(0-12)

 

I think that about covers it.

@Brian469 

 

There was a Swiss host who posted recently who still had lots of enquiries from people with children, saying somehwere is not suitable may put the onus on the booker but does not ban children.

 

Also in the US there are the HUD regulations to consider, some Hosts have been taken to court before the wording was changed.

David