Is there a minimum required age for someone to rent on airbnb?

[Buffy0]

Hello,

Can anyone tell me if there is a minimum age someone must be, in order to rent a place on airbnb? I received an inquiry from a new airbnb user, on behalf of her family, wanting to rent my home. However, she's indicated to me that her father has asked her to seek the reservation, and that she is only 17 yrs old. I am wodering if renters need to be at least 18 yrs old? or if I shoul require that her father set up an airbnb acct, to make the reservation?

Thanks, B.

[Elizabeth840]

this conversation is about AGE

[Huma0]

@Raymond0 & Elaine,

But how is this enforced? I have certainly had requests from guests with Airbnb accounts as young as 16. Age is not shown on guest profiles, so you are relying on them to truthfully tell you their age.

I assume an under 18 would not be able to instant book though, if you have selected that they must have verified Government ID?

[Raymond-and-Elaine0]

Hi @Huma0 I just looked at Airbnb terms& services and the legal age to have an airbnb account is still 18 years old. So they will not only be able unable to Instant book but make any reservation at all. To have an account they must provide ID . If you have any doubts about the age of your guests then contact Airbnb, you could also ask to see ID either before they arrive or ask them to provide you with something for when they arrive. "2.1 You must be at least 18 years old and able to enter into legally binding contracts to access and use the Airbnb Platform or register an Airbnb Account. By accessing or using the Airbnb Platform you represent and warrant that you are 18 or older and have the legal capacity and authority to enter into a contract." Hope this helps. Elaine

[Huma0]

@Raymond-and-Elaine0

Thanks for the advice. I am sure the information is correct, I'm just not sure how effective the system is in terms of the ID as, judging by some of the requests I've received, under 18s are managing to create accounts quite easily and if they can create an account, I assume they can also make a booking.

It's not been a problem for me so far as most of these guests have disclosed their age in their initial message. They did not even realise that it might be an issue! They don't read the listing properly, let alone Airbnb's T&Cs. 

I'm aware though that it could be an issue in future if a guest isn't totally honest. Yesterday I got an enquiry from a lady who was trying to IB but couldn't and didn't understand why. I explained that her enquiry said 1 adult + 1 child and that I don't accept children. It turns out that she was bringing two under 18s with her, so she hadn't even put the correct number of people on the booking.

Once she realised she couldn't IB with a child, she changed the booking to 2 adults, even though I'd already told her no. She still couldn't IB. I guess she must have had a negative review or something else that prevented the booking. So, she contacted me again and I had to reiterate that A. I don't accept under 18s and B. the room is for maxiumum two people. It's funny because her reasoning was that one of the girls was 17, so counts as an over 18 anyway, and the other was 13, but tall, so should also count as an adult and my other guests would not notice there was a child in the house!!

Now, the same guest, had she realised in advance, could have booked the room for two adults and not told me the number or age of her travelling companions. I wouldn't have known she was bringing two teens with her until they turned up at my door. I would have then had to turn them away and contact Airbnb to cancel the reservation. It would have been bad for them and bad for me to then have the room empty in high season. All round, not an ideal scenario.

I really think that if Airbnb is going to have rules like this, they need to be more stringent in enforcing them. Who is checking the guest's ID? If their ID says they are under 18, why are they able to still create an account?

[Gloria313]

Yes!  I agree.  I regularly receive requests for 1 guest only to find out it is 2, 3, or more guests.  We are in a college town and I am finding it very difficult to determine if requests are really who they say they are.  I too have had the "my family" reasoning and then had what appeared to be five 17 year olds show up.

Please Airbnb, get a little tougher and allow us to set guidelines that can be enforced, for all of us!

[Grace121]

Just had a 18 year old guest who had no review and is brand new to Airbnb.  Initially I didn't want to accept the request, but we had a slow month and feel like maybe we should give her a chance.  The guest ended up bring a friend and then her friend brought on more unpaid guests, to stay on my guest house without permission and payment.  I found out about the situation on the third morning when one of their friend show up on my door and asking to borrow my phone charger.  He told me that he have been staying there, as their guest. Anyway, I asked the guests to check out by noon, they left the house in a disarray.  I have broken furnitures and broken window. The house was trashed, there was a strict no smoking rule on the property, the guest house smelled like a bar - underage drinking was happening, found left over beer and beer cans everywhere.  Now I have to deal with collecting damages through Airbnb resolution center, the guest  rejected the claim and payment request for damages, claiming that the furnitures were "intact" when they left and the windows were cheaply made.  Beware of guests without any positive review and do check in on the guests to make sure they are not damaging the house. As hosts, we must also be careful and be very aware of the liability of underage drinking and guests breaking the law on our property. 

[Chris12538]

AirBNB doesn’t give a **bleep** about your rules or your property. I recently had 2 guests stay for 2 days and it looks like 10 people stayed there. There were about 50 cigarette burns on the porch steps(Which smoking is not allowed) and Airbnb said there was NOTHING they could do about it. I left a NASTY review. It was my only recourse. 

[Yvonne432]

Is there a minimum age for sole guest to stay at airbnb?

[Jp8]

I have an inquiry from a 17 yr old from Moscow who asks if it's OK to stay with me since he's not yet 18. I couldn't find any help article on this so I contacted support and they replied,

I would like to inform you that we treat everyone in the Airbnb community equally regardless of their race, religion, national origin, ethnicity, disability, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, or age with respect, and without judgment or bias so this is the reason there is no help center article for it.

so i am pre approving the young man who has been a member of AirBnb since Nov 2016 with 0 reviews. if i don't post here again it means he was a good guest.

[Raymond-and-Elaine0]

T o S  2.1 In order to access and use the Airbnb Platform or register an Airbnb Account you must be an individual at least 18 years old or a duly organized, validly existing business, organization or other legal entity in good standing under the laws of the country you are registered and able to enter into legally binding contracts.

[Abby232]

Ya but Litterally I went to look for a Airbnb and paid for it the lady didn’t tell me till after I made the reservation that her age requirement was 25 when I’m only 18 so I had to last minute beg my mother to join this trip 🤷🏻‍ I understand the concern of 18 year olds damaging property but not all of us are like that some of us like peace and quite and relaxation.

[Michelle2083]

So, coming from the other end of the conversation, I have a son who will be graduating in May and wants to rent an Airbnb with 5 friends.   So he can create an account and reserve a place, but can still be declined based on his age (and lack of reviews)  depending on the property.  Is this correct?   Is there somewhere in a property's profile that states what the minimum age is to stay? 

[Chris12538]

Why an Airbnb? You have a hard time trusting him in your own house? Don’t put a host through that nightmare!!

[Brian1562]

As a father of two very responsible daughters (born in 2002 and 2004 - they do most of the cooking and cleaning at home) who are hoping to travel through Europe this coming summer using AirBnB, I am disheartened to hear of the various horror stories with younger visitors. If AirBnB is not an option, I guess they're left with youth hostels.

[Halen3]

 A group of my friends and I are planning on renting and airbnb in Lake Tahoe, Ca, once my girlfriend graduates, she’s the youngest in the group. We were wondering if there’s anyone who would be willing to let us stay at their place, it’d be like 6-12 of us, we have a really big group of friends but the one’s we’d take are more responsible than the others. The only problem is we’re all one 18/19.