Is this kind of hosting legal/common on AirBNB?

[Gytis2]

Hi, so I was looking for an apartment in NY and this interesting listing came up - it was marked as new, had no reviews, and the photos were realy realy nice and the price was quite good (not exceptional, but for the photos of the house - it looked like a real bargain). Everything seemed to be ok, the Host had both email and government ID verifications, but what was a bit odd is the House Rules which looked like they were written by some kind of lawyer and included some strange points like only contact me via airbnb messenger no phone no texts, if you are travelling with an infant list it as a child when booking, etc.

Curious enough I decided to contact with some innocent questions to see if this is actually legit. And the response I got was really strange :

This is David with Makomi. We help Mary with their home while they travel.

The dates you have requested are available, and we'd be happy to host you. We have pre-approved your reservation, so feel free to book 🙂

That is correct there is no hairdryer in the listing and yes you are welcome to bring your daughter with you.

As specified in the house rules to which you must agree before booking, all guests must be listed on the reservation, including infants.
Airbnb's insurance only covers "guests" on a reservation, and Airbnb does not consider an infant to be a "guest." Heaven forbid something were to happen to an infant during a reservation, Airbnb's insurance would not apply - Yikes! To ensure that every infant is covered, guests should always list infants as "children" from the pull down on Airbnb. Please note that on our end, we only see the number of "guests" listed. If you arrive with an infant not listed as a guest, you will not be permitted to enter the listing, and if the inclusion of an infant changes your reservation such that you then exceed the total number of allowable guests, we will be unable to host you.

Best,
David

I googled and the company Makomi actually exists, but this suggestion to circumvent airbnb rules does look strange, though I'm not even travelling with an infant.  Needless to say I've chosen another Host.

I used airbnb quite a lot in Europe and encountered nothing simillar - usually the home owners have greeted me, or the there was self check in, but the host was always available to contact via phone or text message. But maybe this kind of practice is common in USA?

[Emiel1]

@Gytis2 

It seems to me this host a rather strict when it comes to legal things and/or afraid of claims.

So maybe that's why there are strictly composed houserules. What is written regarding registrating of "an infant" is actually true and some guest indeed do not include children properly in a booking.

So not to worry too much about (allthough i could not read the houserules as you did not include a link to the listing)

Hope this helps,

Emiel

[Sandra126]

The rules are not really strange. Airbnb messenger is the preferred option as there is a track of who said what and when. If a problem arises, Airbnb staff can check the notes easily.

And the guest/infant thing was something Airbnb introduced a while back to the chagrin of many hosts. Guests arriving with undeclared guests...

I would have seen this listing as fine to book.

[Jessica-and-Henry0]

I actually get the impression that the response is quite professional, clear, and to the point..... and see nothing that suggests "illegal" activities or circumventing the ABB rules. I only see a host who wants an accurate headcount of no. of guests, regardless of age.

There is nothing strange about hosts requesting all communication be thru ABB - it is what ABB recommends. Personally, I don't mind using IM apps or txts or phone calls but I make it a rule to always copy+paste or reiterate onto the ABB messenger for evidence. 

Regarding the infant situation, infants aren't counted by ABB into the "guest" total. So if you were to input 2 adults + 3 infants then the host would only see 2 adults as the total no. of guests expected to check in and absolutely no idea about the infants unless the guest were to proactively say something like "we have 6 month old triplets".

[Sarah977]

@Gytis2  There is absolutely nothing about the house rules or the host's response (which was quite nice and professional) which is not normal, even though you may not have encountered it before. And nowhere in what you posted does the host suggest circumventing Airbnb in any way.

Phone calls and texts really shouldn't be used for communication regarding booking questions and information, or issues during your stay. This is a protection both for the host and the guest. For example, if you booked a listing and arrived to find that there were no towels or sheets, or that they hadn't been changed from the previous guests, and you phoned the host about it and got no response, you would want Airbnb to be able to see this issue easily, something they wouldn't be able to do with a phone call, it would just be your word against the host's. If it's in the messaging system, they could see that you sent a message about this, and there was no responding message from the host.

It's acceptable to use texting or phoning for simple things like letting the host know you're held up and will be an hour later than expected, or are lost and need directions, but for the most part, it's best that communication stay on the platform.

And what the host explained about the infant/guest count is simply an explanation of how the platform is set up for that and what info hosts require. 

Nothing strange about this host response or rules at all.

[Helen3]

Personally @Gytis2  I wouldn't book with a host who only responds to messages on Airbnb.

I understand that for most contact it should be used by hosts should always provide a phone number for emergency contact such as a problems with heating. water, key lock not working etc.

I am also not sure this host can ask for an infant to be booked as a child as it is contrary to Airbnb's T&Cs. By doing this of course it also means that the guest would pay full price for the infant, when Airbnb's default position is that they are free.

Also importantly remember that in the vast majority of cases in New York it is illegal to book whole listings for less than a month, so if you decide to go ahead and you are booking for less than a month, do make sure it is a legal listing, as the city is quite strict on this and there are cases of guests being asked to leave when listings are closed down.