Charging for babies

[Mary167]

I have been taking small children (babies) for no extra charge, although Airbnb told me it's up to the host whether or not to charge.  I'm realizing there's a downside to hosting families with small babies.  They may not use your bed, but if my current guests (young couple with 4 month old) are typical I have to re-think my policy.  First, I've found couples with babies stay around the house more, cook more, use more water (sterilyzing bottles, bathing, doing laundry) and there's a lot more mess in the kitchen than I've had with other guests, including dirty floor.  I can handle the extra cleanup and extra water (though we have a drought and are under strict water rationing in Southern California) if I could charge for babies. I realize parents don't see the downside for hosts, but I know I'm going to have a lot more cleaning to do than usual when these guests leave tomorrow.  Wondering what other hosts do about charging or not charging for babies.

[Nancy213]

I recently welcomed a family of 4 - when the original booking stated only one guest. I did contact the mother to confirm she was coming alone. That was when she told me the visit also included her husband and 2 small children - a 5 and an 8 year old. I told her then there would be an extra charge to cover extra use of utilities which I stated in my listing. She said okay she would check the listing.

They arrived and no mention of the extra fee.  I decided to let it be, and asked that they be conscientious in their use of the utilities.

Needless to say gadgets and appliances ran 24/7 

When they checked out my new mattress was covered with urine stains - by the 8 year old.My toilet was clogged with diapers and wet wipes used on the 5 year old. 

Now I wil not have young children included in any stay.

[Diderick0]

I was looking for ideas and answers as for our house, suitable for 5-7 people (3 bedrooms), I got a reservation for 7 people, which I accepted. Only later I found out the two babies were not included in the 7 people. So there were going to be nine! And the parents asked cor two cots and high chairs. So far allright. But where would you put those two "extra beds" although small? And no charges! When they asked for a place to sleep for (yet an extra person) the babysitter I said that would not be possible. When they left, all towels were used, including the ones for private use, and the bathrooms needed extra cleaning. Our housekeeper spent 5 hours instead of 3.

Now I see all your reactions and I think I'm going to charge for the babies in the "special fee" section.  Any other (better) ideas?

Diderick             

[Jim166]

We had to change our Listings. While we've had guests with children who were very responsible AND who were very good about ACTUALLY READING OUR LISTING (what is it with guests not reading???) such that they were well informed that we have stairs but no child safety gates, that children must not be left on their own in the gym area with the exercise equipment, etc., we did nonetheless end up with a couple of bookings with families who hadn't read the Listing, or hadn't considered what they'd read, which led to BIG issues.

Now in our rules we're requesting that all children's ages be listed in the initial contact (why do so few guests actually follow that 1st & very simple rule of airbnb's, about telling us Hosts about themselves/their group & about why they're needing accommodations?), & reserve the right to cancel if they do not supply us the basic info, as they're obligated to do, straight away. We all have that right now, with the new proviso in Instant Booking, but to have it in our House Rules, we've noticed our guests are now always remembering to give the basic info when booking... (We don't like to have so many House Rules! & we wonder if it is off-putting to other guests, having to state these things explicitly in our Rules?)

It sounds so harsh... we're parents, too - so we know that parents, especially of young children, need & deserve society's/our community's support. (And, to read our reviews, one can see that we're big ol' softies - my wife's cultural background/beliefs about the obligations of Host & Guest go way back. Also, our set-up, our airbnb space, makes this possible - some places/spaces/guests just don't need that much attention, but our place works well for this level of, as our guests have said, "spoiling" of them.)

HOWEVER, not all travelers (in general) seem to have the same understanding about what it means when they sign on to airbnb & sign-off on having read the rules, about expectations in communication, and etc., etc., etc.... Over-tired & over-busy traveling parents with young children - our experiences have led us to think they have an even harder time having the same understandings of their obligations as guests & members of the airbnb community.

So, we've had to change. Hopefully, in future, there'll be a way to make further changes, such that those parents of wee ones who are responsible can book with us again. If we stopped using Instant Booking, we could more carefully vet for situations like this... but guests LOVE Instant Book (we do, too - when we're the guests)...

[Dana127]

You can also check to see if Babierge is in your area and can rent out equipment yourself or direct the guest to connect with them that way they pay for the gear themselves

[Verena17]

I see, that this problem is not easy to get away. I only want to know : is there a possibility on airbnb, that a baby is a paying person? I wrote it in my text, but it is not enough. I get in complications with a guest, when I told him and he is getting angry and did not book.... For all things , what can happen ,when you host babies ---piing in the night on the mattress in the middle of the doublebed (yellow spot)--no problem for parents, but for the next guest and for me ,too.--- it would be a normal thing , when they are "paying people".

PS: I have a babybed and a cloth to take care on the mattress and all this things to make it comfortable for babies and their parents. But really, it costs time and money to clean and to make it available...and nobody wants to have such a close look before the guest leave and the trouble, when you told them, that there is a problem and you want them to pay for a new mattrass. The answer....Not me, that was before. It is cheaper to for everybody to pay for babies ......