Can I rent an apartment if I'll be 18 at the time of my trip?

[Max379]

I'll be 18 when my friends and I are going on the trip, but none of us are 18 until the 8th of December. Is it possible for one of us to buy the room if we'll be 18 by the time we go on the trip? We want to get the best apartment available and we'd like to rent asap. Help a dude out!

[Jess78]

I wouldn’t rent to an 18 year old. I know that sounds ageist and it is, but I d t think there’s any way to rent an Airbnb as a 17 year old. Why not a hotel room?

[Max379]

Well first, it's Montreal so we are drinking, but we don't have any plans on losing our security deposit lol. Secondly no where in the world can you spend 6 nights in a downtown area in a full apartment for 700 bucks outside of airbnb. We'll probably just wait till one of us 18 but we want to book asap, I'm sure you understand that.

[Sarah977]

@Max379  One thing I'll suggest to you is that when you are old enough to open an account, that you post an actual profile photo of yourself, not a grey silouette or a cartoon character or a plate of spaghetti. It's not going to be that easy to get accepted as a new user with no reviews, but hosts will be less wary if you are forthcoming with a photo. Hosts want to know that the stranger who showed up at the door is indeed the same person who booked.

And I hope you and your friends are respectful of the properties you book, clean up after yourselves (just because a place has a cleaning fee, that doesn't mean you can leave your dirty dishes, or other personal messes or disasters- that fee is meant to cover heavy duty cleaning, laundry, etc), are careful with the owner's possessions and furnishings, book for the correct number of people who will be staying, show up for check-in when you say you will, and don't disturb the neighbors.I know lots of young people who do all that, they are wonderful people, but unfortunately many are a nightmare to host and give all youth a bad name.

[Max379]

Wow that's really insightful thank you. We planned to do all that but I never thought of the photo. If the place we plan to rent is "instant book" can the host still refuse us, even if we put a security deposit down? I would think not but I really don't know. Thanks for all your advice you've been a big help!

[Inna22]

@Max379i am impressed that you found this forum and posted your question! Very mature of you

[Sarah977]

@Max379  Many hosts require that guests have a certain number of good reviews and/or other requirements to be able to Instant Book. But even if a place is on IB, that doesn't mean it has to be Instant Booked. You should be able to contact any host with an Inquiry or Booking Request. Honestly, many of the hosts who use IB would actually prefer not to- they'd rather have some dialogue with prospective guests before approving the booking, they're only using IB because Airbnb puts the IB listings higher up in the search rankings- they seem to feel all guests prefer to IB, when in fact, many don't. 

And yes, any host can decline or cancel a booking they don't feel comfortable with, whether they use IB or not. No one would host if that wasn't an option- who would want to rent out their place if they were forced to accept everyone who wanted to to book? 

[Sarah977]

@Max379  One more word of advice to a new Airbnb guest- READ THE LISTING DESCRIPTION. All of it. Scroll all the way to the bottom (Airbnb buries the House Rules way at the very bottom of a host's listing page), reading everything, clicking on where it says "Read More". You wouldn't believe how many guests just look at the pretty pictures and the price and then click on Instant Book. This leads to all kinds of problems and cancellations between hosts and guests, who didn't really pay attention to what they were booking. So guests arrive, thinking they are renting a whole house, only to discover that it's just a private room in the host's home, or bring their dog, when the listing clearly says NO PETS or arrive with 8 people when the listing says it's for 4 maximum, or assume there will be a kitchen to use, when there isn't. Hosts spend a long time writing and constantly tweaking their listing descriptions, so everything is clear and there won't be any misunderstandings. It's very frustrating when the guests don't bother to read any of it, for all involved.

You sound like a nice young guy- you can become a guest with a string of great reviews who hosts accept readily as long as you understand what makes for a "great guest".

[Robin4]

@Max379

Max I would suggest that you give up this idea!

You cannot book a listing until you are 18 so, that's the Airbnb side of it out of the way.

Now to the hosts side.........

I cannot, in a fit, see any host on Airbnb accepting your booking and taking you on!

1/...You have no profile photo, the host cannot see who you are!

2/...Your account is not verified, the only information Airbnb have on file is a phone number. 

3/...You have no history, no past reviews!

4/. .You say you and a group of friends want to book ,and you want to get the best listing so obviously there will be a party or two involved.

5/. ....You are under 18.

There is aboslutely no host in the universe that would accept a reservation from you.

We don't accept unverified guests.

We don't accept guests with no history.

We don't accept guests with no profile photo.

We don't accept guests who wish to break our house rules and party

We don't accept guests under 18 without a  responsible adult.

Mate, you draw a blank on every level. I guarantee you could try 1,000 hosts, not one will rent to you. These are our properties, or bricks and mortar. We need to know that guests we rent to are responsible citizens who have chosen to verify themselves and have a proven track record of abiding by Airbnb's rules.Our homes are not hotel rooms you can trash with immunity. We shudder in fear that someone like you may actually walk up our drive and give us our worst nightmare!

As I said Max, abandon this idea and find something else to do in December, go on a camping trip, find a cheap rundown motel where it will be easy to cover the damage you might create.

You have two chances of renting an Airbnb.....Buckly's  and none!!

Cheers......Rob

[Branka-and-Silvia0]

@Max379

You should also know if you book on your name with your credit card then you are responsable for the whole group. So if one of your friends break something or misbehave or womit in bed then you will get a bad review and a bill to pay.

If I were you I wouldn't do that.  Even parents who are 3x older then you have a hard time to control their own teenager while he is sober. You will not be able to control few of them when all of you will be drinking. Forget it, bad bad idea !

My recomendation - book a hostel, it is much more fun, you will meet a lot of young people from all over the world and you will be able to enjoy your stay without worries and without expensive things to break.