Can I set a minimum age requirement?

Answered!
Susan42
Level 2
Corvallis, OR

Can I set a minimum age requirement?

Before joining airbnb, I set my minimum age requirement for renting my vacation home at 25 (similar to car rental companies).   Can I do that with my listing and if so, would I stipulate it under house rules?

1 Best Answer
Stephanie
Community Manager
Community Manager
London, United Kingdom

Hi everyone,

 

You can learn more about the minimum age requirements for a guest by reviewing this Airbnb Help Center article: Age requirements.

 

Please note that this content has been archived.

 

You can still access if if you have the link but it won't appear when you search on the Community Center.

 

To ask a new question just click below:

 

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Thanks

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48 Replies 48

@Sheila137 Thank you for this answer! I know it was years ago, but we're new to hosting in Myrtle Beach and was searching for a local's answer to this question. I would love to hear more directly from you! Thank you again!

In the Guest registration section, (for want of a better term) there is a section where you can ask a guest a specific question. ( Custom) I have flat out asked if there is a member of the group over 25. We have issues with Spring break and proms

Huma0
Level 10
London, United Kingdom

I recently had two 19 year olds stay with me and they were perfectly polite and considerate guests, so no, you can't always judge by someone's age.

 

However, I don't understand why I can't set a minimum age of 18. In the UK, anyone under 18 is still a minor and I do not want to be responsible for hosting unaccompanied minors in my home. 

 

I really don't understand why Airbnb classifies children as 2-12 years old. A 13 year old is still a child and I also do not want infants in my home, which is not child friendly.

 

I appreciate that you can specify this in your listing, which I do, but I think Airbnb should give hosts the option of selecting over 18s (or at least over 16s) only and for that to include under 2s.

Dale-And-Karen0
Level 2
Jonesboro, AR

I'm feeling like AirBnB will turn into the HS and college party lodging b/c so far in all the bad guest stories I've been reading I have not seen a host say, "But AirBnb had my back and I was reimbursed for the damagaes."  I currently have a reservation request pending that I am trying to vet.  A male with a picture of a park for his profile, has only 2 reviews and one is negative about how messy the BnB was left.  The guests' response is that it's the "only negative review I've ever received out of the hundreds of homes I've rented."  Hundreds??  Really??  Because he has THREE reviews, and one of those is negative.  Where are the reviews from the "hundreds" other hosts he has stayed with? He lists a high school in Washington state, and they happen to be on spring break the week he is requesting our place.  We are in a relatively small university town in Arkansas so his request to come here seems odd. He says he travels for sport tournaments, which makes me cringe slightly that there will be 6 or more guests staying at our home.  Pretty sure my neighbors don't want half of a sports team partying at my home in a nice residential neighborhood.

 

AirBnb could make it easier on hosts to vet our guests by supplying the guests last name when they inquire.  I have questions set up, but no one ever answers them when I get a request or reservation....WHY am I not getting this info that I'm asking?? (Why are you visiting area? Who is traveling with you? Why type of pet is traveling with you if you are bringing one?)

Also, if a guest has their AirBnB account linked to the Facebook account, then why not let the hosts see that?? If someone's FB account is public for the whole world to see, then I might as well take a look to help me in my decision if someone is going to respect my home and rules. 

 

I'm seriously considering checking into other home vacation rental options to see if I have better access at vetting the people who stay in my home.  

You can alway decline a guest after the booking has gone through & you get their surname - if you are uncomfortable with something you see on their Facebook Page.

I am annoyed that Air BnB have taken away the ability for hosts to view the history of where prospective guests have stayed so you can see a pattern of their travel & assess what type of traveller they are. You can only view what previous host has said & the date of  the guest's stay. You used to be able to click on the previous host review and see where their accomodation was located and what price range.

 

I think Air BnB need to make it essential for all guests to complete a written profile and only allow photographs on guest profiles to contain a clear image of the person. This is the only way you can recognise your guests and to verify they are the person who has booked.


I have set my booking requirements to "Trip information",  "Must be ID verified" & "Must have a previous  good host review." Luckily I have not had any problem guests to date. 

 

 

 

It has been my experience that if a guests doesn’t answer all your questions - they are hiding something.  I’ve learned the hard way to decline these requests. 

I now follow this.  Thanks. 🙂

HI, I had 3x 17 year olds requesting to stay and I have declined them, (they are trying to book during a big party weekend here in Tobago) and I don't want the place trashed.  If you have to be 18 and over how were they able to make the booking?

I have now added in house rules No unacompaied teenagers hoping that this solves that issue.

@Katherine423 

 

There is a very good trick around this to avoid the party crowd during big party events.

 

What I have learned to do is set a minimum requirement of 4 or 5 day stays during such weekends. In Toronto, we have 2 major events in the first weekend of August. This is usually the time where you hear the worst horror stories from local hosts here. Last year, I implemented this technique across all of my listings and only had good family oriented people.

 

Kids on a budget won't be willing to pay for a 5 day stay just to party for 2 days. What will happen is that all the 2 day minimum places will be booked first and as you approach the date, all of the families will book your places at a higher price because the overall demand is very high and the supply is low.

 

Try it, it works beautifully and you make more $$

Barbara297
Level 5
River Edge, NJ

I list on another site as well as Airbnb and they allow you to set a minimum age requirement. I have mine set at 35. I know it’s seems high but -  it seems like 25 is the new 15.  Very sad.  That being said, I had a inquiry from a middle aged woman, a real estate agent herself, tell me that if she’s paying she should be able to do what she wants in my place. I told her that I have certain conditions in which I am willing to rent my place and if she doesn’t like those conditions  she should rent another place.   I’ve turned her down two years in a row.  You never know what you’re going to get.  85% of my renters lie about age, amount of guests or what they’re in town for.  

Sean433
Level 10
Toronto, Canada

Setting a minimum age requirement is a form of discrimination but there are some forms of discrimination that are allowed and some that are not. E.g Those that are unquestionable NOT allowed is discriminating against sex and race.

 

However saying no to someone because they are 18 or because they lack decent communication skills or because they have a trashy photo of themselves on their profile is an acceptable reason to decline someone. But by definition, this is still discrimination since you are discriminating against someone who doesn't have good communicative skills. I think this form of discrimination is necessary as it protects us from those who are likely to do more harm to us and in my experience, the young crowd will cause more harm when there are no adults around.  A better word would be screening or being selective. However you choose to phrase it, it is the reality of life. 

 

A good example is that I noticed when I just had a photo of myself on my profile, I was not getting many bookings from females. I noticed once I added a photo with my wife in the picture, bookings from females went up drastically. I knew the reason I wasn't getting many bookings from females before the photo change was because females were "discriminating" against me because they may have thought I was a single male and more threatening. This would fall under the category of discriminating against me because of my gender which is a big no no right? Maybe not so when its towards a man. But anyways, I understand the reasons for it and was not going to create a fuss about it. It is the reality of life and all you can do is create the best perception of you possible to help avoid discrimination.

 

Sarah977
Level 10
Sayulita, Mexico

@Sean433  It is indeed against Airbnb TOS to decline a booking based on the age of the booker unless there are age restrictions in one's HOA, condo complex, etc. If push came to shove, I believe Airbnb would suspend or delist a host for that.

Stating no children or no infants is different- that's a safety and suitability issue and the minor isn't the booker.

I do agree though, that this yelling of "discrimination" these days for any instance where someone is denied something they happen to want is becoming absurd. I remember well when "discriminating" was considered a positive attribute, in the sense that it simply meant you were choosy and had high standards, as in real estate ads where they might say "For the discriminating home buyer." Now it only seems to have negative connotations. We all discriminate about many things every day of our lives. We reject the poor quality tool purchase, even though it's cheaper, in favor of the one that will last longer. We patronize the store where the staff is helpful, passing on the closer one where the employees are clueless. That's being discriminating. There's nothing inherently wrong with discriminating-it's the basis of that discrimination that's the deciding factor. A company that consistently hires white males over black females with the same qualifications is discriminating in a way that they should and can be legally taken to task for. If they simply hire the white male because his qualifications and references are superior, there's nothing wrong with that.

Sean433
Level 10
Toronto, Canada

@Sarah977 

 

Do you have an example of a case where a host was suspended for setting a minimum age requirement? It doesn't make sense to me.

 

From what I understand, the TOS states 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.

 

To me, this suggests that if your local law does not prohibit this practice, you are allowed to set an age requirement on airbnb and especially since it is private and not public property, I would interpret this as legal. Unless there is local case law to show a private land owner losing a law suit for not renting to people below a certain age, I don't think it is against TOS.

 

Sean433
Level 10
Toronto, Canada

@Ronda12 @David126 @Cindy78 @Susan42 @Vu0 

 

Airbnb is now banning all new guests under 25 that live locally to book a home. Very positive news.

 

https://community.withairbnb.com/t5/Help/AIRBNB-BANNING-GUESTS-UNDER-25-TO-BOOK-HOMES-THANK-YOU-AIRB...

Jenny318
Level 2
Bardstown, KY

I would love to set a 21 and over policy. Adding it to the house rules is one thing, but how in the world are you expected to enforce the policy? Would I have to ID every guest? I think it’s ridiculous that I’m not allowed to set an age requirement for my own home. Once again the host takes on all the risk, with very little support from Airbnb.