No child policy...guest booked 2 adults but brought child

[Tiffany-And-Andrew0]

I have a Airbnb in wine country that caters to couples. I have a 2 person max, no children/no pets. Yesterday a  guest who booked as 2 adults, brought a child making this a 3 person booking. She obviously saw the no child policy and booked as 2 adults. She also has great reviews on her so she uses Airbnb frequently. 

I'm very upset that she brought her child. I have a no child policy because of past issues with children. What to do in this situation?

Thanks-

[Mike-And-Jane0]

@Tiffany-And-Andrew0 If the child is over 2 then just don't let them in and ask Airbnb to cancel the booking for breaking the house rules. You won't get paid for the stay though.

[Brian2036]

@Tiffany-And-Andrew0 

This happened to us several times and now I specifically ask about children when they inquire, request or IB.

Then if they show up with a child I remind them that no one under the age of 12 is allowed on the premises as a guest or a visitor.

They don’t get in until they get rid of the kids. I’m not refusing entry to the adult who paid the bill, just the unauthorized extras.

 I haven’t had to evict anyone who had already gotten in lately but I guess I would tell them to leave immediately while I stand there and watch to make sure they do.

We have had some horrible brats in there, one of whom was apparently psychotic. I saw him walking around with a box of matches, flipping them into piles of dead leaves near the house.

When I asked his mother to deal with it she sighed and said that she had tried but he just kept doing it so she gave up.

 I told her that if she didn’t take the box of matches away from him within five minutes he was going to eat it.

They were on the road within an hour. Incidentally they were “guests of a guest” who had not asked permission to bring them.

He got 24 hours notice.

[Tiffany-And-Andrew0]

@Brian2036 Wow that is quite the kid story! Thanks for your input....

Funny I messaged her, and she actually said what does it matter if I book it as 2 adults or 1 adult 1 child, to my response I said to her, well it does matter as I have a no child policy and it would not have let you book if you input the info properly. I really think she knew what she as doing to by pass the system. Ugh

[Brian2036]

@Tiffany-And-Andrew0 

I think she knew exactly what she was doing.

 I hope you tell her that the booking is valid for two adults, both of whom must be over 18 years old, and if that’s not acceptable she should cancel now.

[Colleen253]

@Tiffany-And-Andrew0 "she actually said what does it matter if I book it as 2 adults or 1 adult 1 child"

Are you kidding me? That's about as entitled as it gets - telling the host what's what. Wow.

You can specify not child friendly on your listing, but the platform still allows guests to select 'child' in the guest count, and in fact, someone could bring as many infants as they want to your place, as Airbnb does not count infants as guests. You might want to put whatever you can in your listing description and 'things to know/safety section' that details why your listing isn't suitable for infants and children. Then add to your house rules that the max occupancy is 2 adults. Specify not suitable for infants and children there as well. At least that will back you up with Airbnb and better facilitate a penalty free cancellation should this happen again.

You can have this one cancelled, as Mike and Jane suggests, as the guest is exceeding your occupancy limits. Hopefully you plan to review appropriately.

[Susie0]

Welcome to my world! I was awoken by an infant last night. It turns out the "daughter" my guest brought is an infant even though I have a no infant / no child policy. Didn't occur to me that I have to be the one policing guests when I had that setting on airbnb.

AIRBNB: It should not be possible for a guest to select "child" if a host has "no children" set on their listing.

[David8314]

Everything is very open with a clear description of the issues. It was truly informative. Your response is very helpful. Many thanks for sharing!

https://www.mybalancenow.bid/

[Gillian166]

this happens to me on occasion. i allow it. Because: 1) i've been there myself, traveling with a baby is really hard. 2) mostly these parents are really grateful when you allow it. 3) a small baby is not really going to be a concern, not like a toddler would. 
What i don't like are the ones who want you to cater to their infant: eg, high chair, portacot, safety latches on everything, etc. Those people will generally find things that don't work for their precious golden child and i can't handle the stress of it. I was a really chill parent, but i'm well aware that i was in a minority group. So i have a rule of "not suitable for under 2s" (I wish we could change it to "not suitable for under 6"), and then I will, on occasion, allow it. 

[Laura2592]

@Gillian166 :

mostly these parents are really grateful when you allow it. 3) a small baby is not really going to be a concern, not like a toddler would. 

I hear you, but there are other reasons a host may not allow babies/kids. Safety is a big one. We have a converted schoolhouse that was never intended when built to be a family home. Thus we have some quirks that makes it unsafe for little ones. 

I get very tired of people thinking that what a host states in the rules is a suggestion and as the OP's guest said, shouldn't/couldn't possibly matter. I would not bother to have certain things in my rules if I didn't have direct experience with why this is such a bad idea in my space. The reasons range from extra cleaning to expensive repairs to possible serious injury. Showing up with intent to defy stated rules, no matter what those may be, is rude at best. I have zero empathy for the plight of parents traveling with children to a non-child spot when there are MANY hosts who would be happy to have them. There is a reason that hosts have rules. I would rather a guest pass on my space if they arrive determined to overlook them.

[Pat271]

@Gillian166 I don’t know if you have these in your area, but there are companies that rent baby equipment for nominal fees, like $9 a night for a pak ‘n’ play, $10 for a crib, etc. The guest fills out an online form and pays for the equipment rental. The company typically brings the equipment to your place before the guests arrive, and picks it up after they leave. My guests have been ecstatic not to have to lug that equipment when traveling, and any complaints about the equipment go to the company, not me. Win-win for both of us.