New Infant policy. Babies are people too, and lots of extra work - just ask their parents!

New Infant policy. Babies are people too, and lots of extra work - just ask their parents!

Airbnb should rethink their new policy on babies.

 

I would suggest that Airbnb ask the parents of these babies if they are, in fact, people.  My guess is that most of them 😉 would say that yes, they really are people too.  If the parents consider them people, then I  think the company should believe them.  

 

Also, they might want to ask the parents if these tiny little adorable people are also "work".  Again, my bet is that most parents would agree that there is additional work involved where babies are concerned.  This is not limited to the parents when they are guests at someone else's home. There is additional water (babies take baths! and use sheets!), and loads of laundry involved.  Additional space is needed - babies require beds.  Most people don't have cribs at the ready for any incoming babies, and would need to prepare (and might not even have the space.  They frequently throw up, or the diapers often don't do their job of containment  100%, causing additional attrition of sheets, slipcovers, etc.

 

There is also additional liability involved where there are decks, pools, hot tubs..

 

I speak as both a parent, and someone who genuinely likes being around babies, and thinks they are charming.  However, I understand that not everyone thinks so. People should have the right to not have children in their homes if they don't want to. If people don't want to take on the risk, prep work and clean up, that should be entirely up to them.   Some people are renting out small bedrooms for two people in small apartments.  If I were living in one room in a small apartment, renting out the other, I would not appreciate a couple bringing up to five infants into that space.  I also believe it would be very unsafe for the babies, and a huge liability for the host.

 

Last comment  - Five babies is not five times the work and mess. The differential is not linear. it is exponential.

32 Comments
Andrea9
Level 10

@Michelle0- ah, yes the thread that just kept on giving lol!

 

I notice that with everything that has become a point in which I noticed that guests don't register or read it in the description, I'll address it. In my case the child thing hasn't happened, but I'm mentally prepared for it (and other situations) as if they were acting scripts I might have to act on in a friendly but very firm way on the spur of the moment.

 

I am not willing to be putting myself at risk.

 

If your space isn't child-proofed for ex. you could be in huge trouble if something happened to a child and the parents decided to sue you, even if it was their decision to risk it. This is the stance you must take, no dithering back and forth.

There are too many articles out there giving guests the idea that private hosts can be manipulated somehow. Why support that. Booking guests are grown-ups and responsible for their actions.

 

Think of it like this - someone wants to drive your car but doesn't have a licence, but says they're experienced and been driving since they were 13. You'd still be in trouble if you let them and something happened.

 

I always send guests an email with detailed arrival instructions, check in and out, as well as the house rules. Every company does the same thing to cover their asses.

Michelle140
Level 5

@Andrea9, thanks. I think I just started a new routine of sending a message (and creating the pre-booking message) reminding two key points about my listing that people seem to not realize and often knock me on the ratings for =P I'll also add a reminder to read all my house rules and let me know if they have any questions. My list of rules has become somewhat ridiculous over the course of people breaking unspoken rules =P Lol (mostly from that one guest actually, ha).

Mimi13
Level 7

Can't wait for the founders to all have infants/toddlers/preschoolers of their own. Then we can remind them that these little darlings add no extra work/cleaning/laundry/effort etc. than what they did before the kid's came along!

Eleanor28
Level 1

I just had a guest want to book and thought her infant should be free as per Airbnb policy.  I looked at the Help page and below the reference to free infants the next paragraph is

"Contact Host before submitting a reservation request. For example, if your host charges an extra guest fee, you may want to check if the fee applies to infants or children traveling with you."

This is a bit ambiguous., is the under 2 year old child free or is it up to the host?

I prefer to count infants as guest.  I provide a portacrib with bedding, high chair and high end stroller for guest with children to use. I provide books and age appropriate toys for guests to use.  It requires more work to set up and put away.  I also have more cleaning below 3' on the walls, woodwork and doors to remove sticky finger prints, because most guest feed their up to 2 year old "infants" on the run and not in the high chair that is provided.  Prior to arrival, I go through the entire guest suite and replace the child proof plug covers and move all cleaning products to a high cabinet.  I don't mind children/infants, but they are not free at my guest suite.  It is awkward when I have a booking and the guest expects that I am discounting my space merely because Airbnb has decided I could without consulting me.  This choice should be left to the descretion of the host and not dictated by Airbnb policy.  A guest that wants free infants can book with someone else who allows free under 2 year olds.

Sincerely,

Eleanor Olsen, Seattle Super Host

6 year Airbnb Host

 

Hilary-And-Ed0
Level 10

I agree that it is ambiguous.  Good that it is there, however. It is something to refer to, and I will interpret it to charge for infants!

 

🙂

Angie10
Level 2

It's been my experience in hosting for over 5 years, that children, regardless of age, cause more mess and damage, and drive up utility costs (doing laundry/ extra water usage for baths etc). I have a remote listing and cannot exceed my maximum # of guests (even/esp if there are babies!) due to water and septic restrictions.

 

Because of airbnb's free 5 infant policy, guests feel embolded to bring  extra people without clearing it with me. It's a shame because I don't want to limit my listing to adults, but I feel like I will do so soon as I've had several negative experiences and it's costing me extra $$.

Monica4
Level 10

I hope that my house rules will over-ride this Airbnb policy. My rules state that children that are of walking age must be counted as over 2 years old when booking, not as infants.

 

Although some families do monitor their children and clean up after them, many do not. I have had food stuffed between couch cushions, juice on my hardwood floors, lamps broken and potted plants dumped on the floor.

 

Children under two for free? Never. It is my house and these are my rules.

I just want to add my voice to this. I'm honored to be able to host multi-generations of a family, and being told that I can't charge for babies is misguided.

We invest in books, toys, baby-bather, monitor, porta crib, sheets, stroller, high chair etc. We spend a lot of time making our place wonderful for families with babies, and we spend many extra hours to super-clean the apartment as well as all the paraphanalia when they leave. We have to put everything back in to storage because it isn't welcome decore to groups of guests without babies. 

We offer a level of service that a hotel can't provide. It's a strong selling point, and unless it's monetized it's not sustainable.

Christopher187
Level 10

Agreen with the OP.  Big problem for hosts and Airbnb is that it is generally illegal to discriminate based on familial status.  If you were a typical landlord renting out apartments you'd get in big legal trouble denying applicants based on their family, kids, etc...

Eleanor28
Level 1

I didn't think the issue is discriminating based on family status, I think the  issue has been that children/infants are allowed when it is safe and approriate and are not free, but they are treated as guests, not luggage. I agree children are people too and should be charged for just like any other guest.