Minimum guest age?

[Anna2074]

My son and his friends are planning to go on a high school graduation trip across Canada and we found that Airbnb would be the best option for housing. His group of friends are all 17 years of age, is it possible that I can book the location for them and have them sign in by themselves?

[Sarah977]

@Anna2074  No. 3rd party bookings are against Airbnb's terms of service. Your son and his friends are underage and the person doing the booking needs to be among the guests who stay. No Airbnb host is going to want to have a bunch of 17 year olds stay at their place without adult supervision. Both a 3rd party booking and underage guests would nullify a host's insurance.

So no, Airbnb isn't the best option for housing for them. They should maybe check out hostals and couch-surfing. There is also an organization called Woofers (Willing Workers on Organic Farms)- Woofer hosts provide food and lodging in exchange for a certain number of hours a day of work on their property. This could be a great experience for your son and his friends. There are usually a number of woofers at a property at any given time, so they might meet other cool young people from all over.

[Emilia42]

@Anna2074, Airbnb does not allow third part bookings. The person who confirms the reservation must be there to fulfill the reservation.

https://www.airbnb.com/help/article/427/can-i-book-on-behalf-of-a-friend-or-family-member?q=third%20...

This is all I could find on the age requirement. It does say that if an ID is upload and the holder is under 18 then all reservations will be canceled. 

https://www.airbnb.com/help/article/1237/how-does-it-work-when-airbnb-asks-for-an-id?q=under%2018#ph...

[Lawrene0]

As the others said, it won't work, @Anna2074 . Hosts have to say no to third party bookings. And under-18s cannot book themselves. I had a 17-year-old who wanted to book here try three times to set up an account, and last message from him (sent via his girlfriend) was that he is permanently banned from Airbnb. 

Have them look for hostels in the bigger centres, and maybe camping spots in the more remote?

[Sarah977]

A friend who's considerably younger than me once showed me his photos from his graduation trip to Europe about 10 years previous.

"This is me, drunk in a hotel room in Paris."

"This is me, drunk in a hotel room in Amsterdam."

"This is me drunk in a hotel room in London."

[Jessica-and-Henry0]

Honestly.......... I don't think I'd trust my own 17yo self and friends stay in my home 🙂