Booking request for guests who don't meet our policies

[Laura2592]

We are not safe for infants due to some 1850s house quirks which include really steep and funky stairs. We decided to allow families with children but not infants last year after a guest who had a crawling baby complained about the stairs. Just too scary in terms of liability for us as hosts. 

This past weekend we had a booking request for a family with a young child and an infant. I declined it based on our policies and explained why. No parent wants so stay somewhere that is not safe for a small child. Airbnb sent a message that they are "reviewing" this declination. Its clearly stated in our policies. I don't understand why this guest was even able to put in a request. Anyone have a similar experience? Shouldn't there be a pop up when a guest tries to book something that is not permitted by the host? Or that category (infant) should not be available at all on our listing. 

[Kelly149]

@Laura2592 abb considers that setting a suggestion, not a rule. It does not block guests with infants from seeing you, it does not block them from requesting and ABB really isn’t so sure that you shouldn’t just leave that decision up to the guest. And oh btw in the case of the infant, how about you exceed your guest max and not charge them?  I believe in this case you’re supposed to tell them that it’s unsafe and hope they go away on their own rather than hurting their feelings by saying no directly. 

[Laura2592]

@Kelly149  I did explain it was unsafe but we had to decline the request (or accept) in 24 hours. It was a new user to ABB with no reviews so they may not have understood how the whole process worked. 

[Sarah977]

@Laura2592 @Kelly149  The irony is that had you accepted this request, and after the stay the guest then reported to Airbnb that the listing was unsafe, your listing would likely be suspended pending an "investigation".

[Laura2592]

@Sarah977  100% true! That is the last thing I need. 

[Colleen253]

@Sarah977 @Laura2592Or what if you let the guest stay and there is an accident? Baby tumbles down the stairs? What happens then? It’s all going to be on your back, isn’t is? This just speaks further to the disrespect Airbnb has for hosts, the lack of autonomy we have where it’s needed. 

[Helen350]

I'd say if the baby tumbles down the stairs that is 100% the fault of the parent's for not keeping it away. Parents should grab, distract, or bring their own pop up pen to contain the child!

But we live in a culture where people like to blame others for their own irresponsible inattentions, US even more than UK! (We copied you!) - So  understand why a toddler ban is essential to protect yourselves as hosts!

[Anonymous]

If a little kid were hurt in my house because of their parents' inattentions, I think I'd be too devastated by the unfairness of it to comfort myself with platitudes about Personal Responsibility or legal protections from liability.

So what if it's not technically my fault? I doubt I could sustain any enjoyment for the job if my home was attached to the suffering of an innocent. So yeah, no kids here ever.

[Debra300]

@Laura2592,

I agree with you and @Anonymous, as a mitigating measure I  don't allow small children to stay in none but one of most listings, because of the open balconies which are elevated up to three stories from the ground, the lack of fencing from wooded areas, and no cabinet locks, socket covers or stair gates.  I would be inconsolable if a little one were to get hurt on my property. 

[Nathalie-Et-Gilles0]

@Laura2592 

What about a Stair Safety Baby Gate?

It seems that only 1 bedroom is upstairs.
So if you fix a Safety Baby Gate down the stairs, infants cannot climb up.

[Laura2592]

@Nathalie-Et-Gilles0  we have one but you have to rely on the parents to actually use it. Our stairs also have a little cut out area near the top that is open to below-- just a small open space big enough for our cat to jump through or an infant to fall through. No gate will help with that. Much safer not to host infants.  

[Helen3]

Because parents can and do forget to lock stair gates @Nathalie-Et-Gilles0

[Cathie19]

@Nathalie-Et-Gilles0 

(@Laura2592, @Melodie-And-John0 , @Anonymous , @Debra300 @Sarah977 , @Kelly149, @Helen3 , @Helen350, @Lisa723, @Colleen253, @Emilia42 )

Depending on the age and athleticism of the child, I’ve seen children scale or knock down baby gates. I’ve also seen an under four and a five year old,  scale a high pool safety gate, with 100% motivation, parents looking the other way, using monkey like toe grips and strong upper arms. The five year old lifted the latch that exposed the entry to the pool to their toddler sibling.

Noting: other children can also be an added unknown hazard when it comes to “fixed” and “non-fixed “ risk controls. Twins can also tag team to create very unsafe situations. You’ve only got to look on Youtube to see “tag” climbing from kids, pulling furniture on themselves.... 🥴

Coming from a WHS background, if it’s not suitable, then any exceptions is not a wise decision. This is not your family coming to stay for Xmas, where the factors are better known.

We don’t know the guests:

We don’t know the kids; we don’t know the competency of the parent skills to supervise.  Remembering when people are on holidays, they can by circumstance, be more relaxed and less alert.

- consider the risk without a gate as being high with a frequency of an incident as high with possible high to catastrophic outcome.

- consider the risk with a gate as the “ control measure”. Now the risk may now have changed to a low to medium risk, but the outcome can still be catastrophic. We also don’t know the lay of the floor, walls or the strength and design of the gate. 
Likelihood of a consequence, would never be “rare” when children are involved.

Just my thoughts any way....... 💐

[Sarah977]

@Cathie19  The potential for parents to get distracted has grown, I think, since everyone has their nose buried in their cell phone 🙂

[Anonymous]

@Laura2592  The text of the nondiscrimination policy below is not particularly helpful here, but if we are to take it literally, Airbnb should be deferring to your local laws on the question of whether you're permitted to decline families with infants. Did the message you received appear to be written directly to you, or was it the kind of boilerplate text that might be automatically generated when a discrimination complaint comes down the wire?

Age and Familial Status

• 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.

• Airbnb hosts may:
  • Provide factually accurate information about their listing’s features (or lack of them) that could make the listing unsafe or unsuitable for guests of a certain age or families with children or infants.
  • Note in their listings applicable community restrictions (e.g., senior housing), regulations, or laws that prohibit guests under a particular age or families with children or infants.