can I refuse this booking

[Kim2277]

Just got a booking request from 7 high school senior girls wanting to book a week to celebrate graduation. I am very uncomfortable having 7 teenage girls take over my home for a week. Any suggestions?

[Anonymous]

@Kim2277 You are allowed to decline the booking, but it's best to avoid making any statements in your reply that could be construed as age discrimination. 

[Kim2277]

Thanks, Andrew. I did decline the booking and was very careful not to say anything that might be negative. I SO appreciate the help!

[Lisa723]

@Kim2277 @Anonymous 

Unless your locality has a law against it, Airbnb has no rule against age discrimination. In general in the US this means having a minimum age to rent is fine.

[Anonymous]

@Lisa723  Airbnb does in fact have a rule against age discrimination - https://www.airbnb.com/help/article/1405/

• 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 listing applicable community restrictions (e.g. senior housing) that prohibit guests under a particular age or families with children or infants.

[Kim2277]

Thanks for your clarification. I was a bit confused when I tried to find an answer on the site.

[Lisa723]

@Anonymous only “where prohibited by law,” as I said. In most of the US there is no law prohibiting rental discrimination based on youth. In fact I’ve not heard of any such law anywhere. (You can’t discriminate based on the renter’s family including children, but that’s another matter altogether.)

[Anonymous]

@Lisa723  Age is not a protected class under the Fair Housing Act, but many states, including New York, do have bans on age discrimination in housing. New York State's Human Rights Law also prohibits age discrimination in public accommodations such as hotels. There must be exemptions - for example, assisted living facilities for senior citizens - and I've never heard of a host being legally prosecuted for declining an Airbnb booking. But given that the OP's state broadly defines age as a prohibited basis for discrimination in these fields, I'd err on the side of caution. 

Anyway, my main point here is that there is no good reason to make a guest feel that you're declining them based on a discriminatory reason - even if the law permits you to. Airbnb can de-list or suspend you for any reason, even if a specific policy wasn't violated, so why risk a discrimination complaint?

[Lisa723]

@Anonymous Fair enough.

[Linda108]

I thought the age for an Air BNB profile was 18..  No?  I would imagine the issue for AirBNB  would be payment.   So what age would be required  for a credit card?   Bottom line, I would do what I thought was best for my property.

[Sarah977]

@Linda108 A high school senior could be 18. But I still wouldn't take such a booking.

[Juan63]

From conversations with customer support, they told me I can't decline based on age. If someone would do this, I wouldn't mention it on this forum. If it was allowed/legal, I'd love to be able to prohibit those under 21 because I'm sure there are cases of 18yr olds renting airbnb's and underage drinking. I don't want to be responsible for such illegal behavior.

[Lisa723]

@Juan63 The chances of any information you get from Airbnb customer support being correct are as good as a coin toss.

[Juan63]

Maybe, but I'd rather get that information from them than hosts who think they are lawyers.

[Rowena29]

@Juan63 

I hear what you're saying but in fact some hosts ARE lawyers.  and unfortunately I agree with @Lisa723  - I have on a number of occasions been given erroneous information by CS. the fact that I have proof of this in writing did me no good whatsoever. when I tried to follow up in writing the case was closed with no comment. When i tried to phone ( twice ) I was assured someone higher up would get back to me - never happened.  Nothings if foolproof but on the whole, I place more trust in the advice and experience of hosts who have been doing the rounds for some time and have actual experience as opposed to the random Cs I get on the end of the phone who may or may not have a clue and/or really care.   Just my perspective.