Bookings

[Susan4461]

As I am new to hosting 

we cater only for couples,. We are not equipped for babies and children.

so I had a reservation booked for a couple and when they arrived they had a baby with them. They did not send a request through or ask. Should I have let them stay or told them and declined them at the door on at checking in.

Any feed back will help if it should happen again.

Susan 

[Lorna170]

@Susan4461   AirBnB does not consider babies or children of a certain age as countable guests, and people will rent giving you only the number of adults.  Because of this you would have had to accept these guests; AirBnB would not have backed you up if you asked them to leave.  You need to be very specific in your property description and additional rules  if you wish to discourage guests from bringing infants or children (and for that matter pets).  Do not rely on the checkboxes that say no -- guests will often do just as they please anyway.

Perhaps some of the other hosts on this platform can give you some text suggestions to put in your description.  My text says that my property can accommodate only X persons, including children.

[Colleen253]

@Susan4461 Airbnb really kind of makes a mess of things for both guests and hosts when it come to the question of children. According to Airbnb, infants don’t count toward guest totals, are free, and guests can bring up to 5 if they wish. Even if you’ve specified ‘not suitable’. When it comes to ‘children’, again, even if you specify not suitable, they can be added in the guest field at booking. See screenshot where I simulate a booking at your listing, for one adult, 1 child, and 5 infants. Do note though, that there is a prompt to remind that the listing isn’t child friendly. Not unusual for guests to overlook or ignore important text in the booking process.

See also Airbnb’s guidelines,

https://www.airbnb.ca/help/article/433/travelling-with-children

Head trouble off by trying to determine before accepting a booking, if the guest intends to bring infant/child. 

 

[Mark116]

@Susan4461   Put in your house rules that all persons, including infants, are included in the guest count and must be disclosed and included as part of the reservation.  This will help protect you in future.

The problem w/declining people at the door is that they can leave you a review.  So, the goal would be to prevent such a situation.

In the future, you can send a follow up message to guests.  'Thanks for choosing our listing, blah blah, details of check in, whatever.  We also wanted to confirm there will be X number of guests for your trip.

Of course some people won't read or respond or may lie, but most people, if they're bringing an infant, will mention it at this time.  From there,  you can explain the reasons why you have the property listed as unsuitable...whatever they are...stairs, no childproofing...  You can invite the guest to cancel or withdraw the request.