Children Under 2 for Free Rule Has to GO!

[Christine-And-Gary0]

As a Superhost with over 55 5-star reviews, I am appalled at this new rule of not charging for children under 2! Airbnb has got to reverse this before we hosts all find another hosting website to switch to. Children under 2 create much more mess, nuisance, damage and cost of linens, laundry and utilites. We have a large jetted tub  in our property and guess how babies get clean? They take baths ever time! We are now supposed to allow free baths with many gallons of water and electricity to families with babies and toddlers? Often there are more than one. Sometimes they take 4-8 baths & showers per day. Right now we have a family of four who only booked as 2 guests but have used all 3 beds and even took one apart and moved it for the baby! They have used every single towel, sheet, trash bin, light, water, etc. and have made a terrible mess leaving sticky food out all day. We provide breakfast here and also have to make sure there's enough for their darling "FREE" children. We are not compensated for all this extra work when it comes time to clean up and pay the bills.  We are not a HOTEL nor do we charge like one. Hotels have different rules and people have a choice to stay in them if they insist their kids stay for free. This FREE RULE is beyond ridiculous and has to go! If not, then we have the choice to take our business elsewhere. 

[Letti0]

@Fran2  I did end up buying more equipment. I now have 3 umbrella strollers, 3 pack n play cribs, 3 highchairs, 3 bassinets and 3 bouncy chairs. I have restaurant style wooden booster chairs for the venue, so we just steal them as needed. I have had a request for 4 for one group. A set of triplets age 3 and a single toddler age 2. We ended up pulling dining room chairs to set up for this group of 4 adults, 2 children over 6 and 4 toddlers. I have two entire houses and it seems I usually need one or two in the bigger house constantly, which the nursery/children's room can hold without a problem in addition to the twin bunk beds. I plan on only leaving one in the smaller house. 

[Christine-And-Gary0]

Agreed. We should definitely at least have the choice of how we offer our listings. Up to 5 infants could even enable someone to run a daycare and profit at our expense. We offer long term up to 45 days...Could you imagine that amount of time with 5 free infants? Ugh!

[Fred13]

They bring 5 infants the neighbors probably turn you in for running an illegal 'Day Care Center'. Be good to send the fine to Airbnb with a note - "Here you deal with your stupid policy". 

[Fred13]

@Christine-And-Gary0 "You know, other businesses are allowed to turn away customers however they choose." Not exactly, but they should. The U.S. 'Anti-Discriminate-Against-Anything' laws, while many are well-meaning, oftentimes are nothing but a 'reign of terror' in doing business in the U.S. or on individual rights.  Welcome to the 'jungle'. 😉

[Kelly149]

You are allowed to say in your House Rules that children are welcome but will need to be counted in the guest count. This is what I have done.

And then, since they are a paying guest, I provide amenities for them. Plates, cups, cutlery, toys, toddler sized blankets, highchair, etc

You are allowed to make your rates & your settings work for you. For some hosts free is fine, for others it isn't.

[Letti0]

@Kelly149 I thought this was against the AirBnB rules that 0-2 years old stayed free? So I can put in my rules "All children are welcome, but children/infants will need to be counted in the guest count as paying guests." I had one whine so bad, we did not charge extra for her 3 year old twins which put her at 10 guests. She was our second booking and we needed reviews.  

[Steve416]

@Letti0 and the tricky thing is how do you know how old the child is? If it is 2 years and 1 day old it is a paying guest, if it is 23 months there is no charge. It’s a pretty arbitrary cut off. 

Sometimes when I have a large family group booking, I’ll will offer a complimentary stay for younger children say 2-3 years old - but that’s my choice - and it’s usually appreciated, not expected. 

[Kelly149]

@Letti0 https://community.withairbnb.com/t5/Host-Voice/Free-infants-up-to-5-free-infants-In-a-listing-that-i...

if you look at the response from ABB section it details what your options are and yes, you can charge, your listing just has to specify up front what is your policy. Your listing should also specify what bed types you have available, I wouldn't go buy another pack n play, if it were me

[Letti0]

@Kelly149 This is what I added to my rules, hopefully it doesn't come off as bad to guests:

All children are welcome, but children/infants will need to be counted in the guest count as paying guests. Include infants 0-2 years in the child guest count rather than in the infant guest count. I provide many amenities just for them Pack and Play crib, bounchy seat, baby moniters, plates, cups, cutlery, toys and games, highchairs, booster seats, etc. all of which must be cleaned and disinfected after use. 

[Steve416]

@Letti0@Christine-And-Gary0@Fred13@Kelly149@Leonie11

Hi Folks, 

With my listing I do accept 0-2 but I have limited facilities. If guests book or enquire about infants I advise they will need to bring a cot and high chair. I provide a baby gate for the stairs as I consider it my obligation to ensure a safe environment. Interestingly I am sure that on several ocassiins guests did not bring a cot and the infant slept with the parents due to the state of the queen bed sheets.

Would be interested in people’s view on whether it is expected that infants will sleep with parents, especially if they are staying for free. I would rather charge and provide a cot etc.

[Fred13]

Makes sense @Steve416, to lessen the potential disaster.

[Kelly149]

@Steve416 Some people only sleep with baby in a designated bed in a dark separate room, some people co-sleep with baby at night but want a cot for baby for day naps or playtime. Baby sleep styles are very individualized and personal. I think this is an instance where hosts need to be clear what is on offer and then people can decide if it works for them or not. We stock lots of baby/toddler/child items but not a crib/cot bc those are often being changed, recalled, etc. and I do not want to have a safety issue with a sleeping baby!

[Christine615]

If it's any consolation, we've had good experiences with babies, but have mixed experiences with teens (blankets on the living room floor, sleeping on the couch, food in the bedrooms along with grease stains, etc.)

I mostly still allow families, but I reiterate the rules now.

But honestly - I just had a married couple who stayed in our 3 bedroom house and used every single bed. Even the twin. Who does that? I suspect they may have had a guest, or a fight, or....

I  say in my ad that we welcome families with children but consider the apartment an adult space and will bill booking party for any and all damages.

[Fred13]

I also have no issue with infants or young kids for that matter, they have fun and if the parents are observant, it always has worked without a hitch. The semi brain-dead early 20's bracket is to me the kiss of death, it is like their brain cells are on a break.

[Alice-and-Jeff0]

@Christine-And-Gary0 - @Kelly149 provided details on how to list your property to include babies in the headcount (and charge extra for each additional head count), you can also set up your property to include charges for using rooms that they did not book.  So for instance, we note in our co-host property, that if you are 2 people who need 2 rooms, there is an additional $10 charge. If they want the air mattress - again, another $10.  When we get a booking, we tell them how many towels are  provided per person and what beds will be set up for them and then we only make up those beds, we lock up extra linen and pillows - if they know what's expected, then there shouldn't be any reason to leave additional.  Coming to stay with you is not a free-for-all of parental gerry-mandering of your personal belongings and furniture, either.  Your jetted tub can be off-limits too - just say so!  You get to set the rules and then you need to enforce them, including setting "guestpectations" when you get a booking.  You do not need to be held hostage to the poor behavior of your guests - they are not your friends that you must worry you will need to see at the next big event - these are paying strangers and you can professionally inform them what they can expect and do in your home.