Should children under 2 Free? I think Not!

[Monica4]

I have hosted families for over three years. Children are the most work because they.....well...they are children. I just recently found out that my listing shows that children under 2 are free. My goodness....the spilled juice on the floors, the fingerprints on my glass doors, extra laundry, diapers in the garbage......all OK "if" I get paid for the extra work but it seems that Airbnb has decided that I should do this work for free? Sadly, the only way that I can stop this free promotion is to change my settings to "unsuitable" for children under 2 and now my listing will not show up when a family is looking to stay somewhere with small children.

Oh well, I had better go and check the other two platforms that I use.

[Monica4]

I posted my displeasure on Facebook.....and this is what Airbnb wrote back:

''

Hi Monica, we're sorry to hear that you are unhappy with our decision. Rest assured, we've forward your feedback to the right team for reviewing. If you need any further assistance on this issue, feel free to reach out to us via our support hotline: +1-415-800-5959. We'll be here on standby waiting to assist you.

''

As you can see, it is the standard reply. I doubt anything will change.

[Branka-and-Silvia0]

@Monica4  I reply on the new webinar announcement today that this (and other important issues) should be the theme of the webinar.

[Monica4]

I have changed my booking preferences to state that my listing is not suitable for children under 2 years of age. I did this because I don't accept toddlers to stay for free. Imagine my surprise when I did a test booking for 5 adults and 3 "infants" and found that the same drop down menu still appears on my listing page...including the menu for "infants"! And guess what.....no charge for "infants". How can I get around this now?

[Branka-and-Silvia0]

@Monica4 don't worry 🙂 you don't have IB turned on so they have to ask you to book anyway. 

I have IB on, and if you want to book for adults you can, but if you want to book for children too, then you can not do it instantly and the lightning icon dissapears.

[Rosemary12]

Like Monica, I did a test booking of my listing and she is correct... a couple can book with up to 5 children under 2  even though we stated "not suitable for children under 2". If they don't tell you they are bringing a child (or 5) they can go ahead and book and all you could do is refuse entry when they arrive. Airbnb has to correct this problem.  If you are renting a room, not the whole space, where do they think the child/children are going to sleep?  Maybe we need to bombard Airbnb with complaints. I am not sure anyone at Head Office is actually reading these posts because you would think they would have addressed this problem after so many posts.

[Monica4]

@Rosemary12I doubt that Airbnb will do anything about this. As I mentioned in another post,  there are now so many hopeful new hosts on the platform that Airbnb can do what they want.

[Marit-Anne0]

@Monica4

As @Branka-and-Silvia0 says, when you have the "not suitable for children under two" activated, guests are not able to IB provided they have entered their infants into their booking request.  It will turn into a "request to book" that you can accept or decline.

At least this is the case when I try to book infants into my own listing.  

[Chrissy-and-Greg0]

Hi all,  I doubt if ABB monitor this forum, as it is really designed for hosts.   To kick up a fuss about this, everyone needs to send feedback direct to ABB.   I also encourage everyone to add specific terms in their listings under the section "House Rules": my house rules include "TWO guests Max.  Children count as guests!  | Only booked guests may stay overnight."  

When guests book, they have to accept your house rules - if they break them, you are within your rights to turn them away.

So I suggest everyone leave strongly worded feedback directed to the AIrBnB team about this, as this new child policy that they are forcing upon us is clearly not acceptable...  use this link https://www.airbnb.com/help/feedback   

Good luck!

[Rosemary12]

Chrissy and Greg

Excellent advice. I will also change my house rules to show what you suggest.

This is what I sent to Airbnb:

I totally disagree with your policy of hosts not being "allowed" to charge for guests under 2. I am happy to host an infant under 1 for no fee but I charge $10/night for children aged 1-12. For this amount I provide a room, a crib/playpen, highchair, bedding, towels, breakfast (yes children DO EAT) etc. You have not taken into account how much work is involved in having a small child in your home, whether your insurance policy allows for this (I can book my place for 2 adults and 5 children under 2 according to your current set-up) and I can't charge for the children.
I don't think Airbnb has a right to dictate how hosts will accommodate guests and how much they charge. If you take the time to see the feedback on the host chat page you will see that people are outraged and you are likely to lose a number of really good hosts. You need to remove this and allow us to decide how we manage our listing.

[Chrissy-and-Greg0]

Hi Monica, and others.  I had to turn off both the settings for "Suitable for children under 2" and  "Suitable for children 2-12", otherwise it shows up in our listing as "Family Friendly" .  I had to do this before I stopped getting inquiries from guests who wanted to bring a child as well (for free) - even when I had clearly stated in the description that there were only 2 single beds in the listing, and no room for any more.  

The "Family Friendly" setting was hidden under Amenities / Special features.  You cannot turn it off separately - the only way is to exclude children under 2 and children aged 2-12.

This is ridiculous, as we are family friendly - but for this listing it is just for families with only 2 people!  

[Monica4]

Today, I received this reply from Airbnb concerning this complaint:

Jessica Z., Dec 19, 14:54 CST: Hello Monica, Thank you for the response back and giving me the opportunity to further assist. As our system notifies you about the case being closed, I understand you feel your issue has not been resolved. I have also read the community responses about this change, but as I stated in an email before, Airbnb gets feedback and based off the information we were receiving, Airbnb decided to change children under the age of 2 being free. While I understand this information may be a little concerning Airbnb prides itself on taking the feedback of all of our users and making appropriate changes. I want to be able to help you in the best way possible and part of that is going to be giving you the information to be able to disseminate with others that have similar feelings as you, that is how this change originally took place. Airbnb submits feedback through this link: www.airbnb.com/help/feedback. It's like when people wish to pass a law, they are required to get a number of signatures before it's even considered to be part of laws or changing a law. This original change was made by a number of like-minded community members submitting their suggestions on how to improve our community. I would love to be belt to submit the feedback for each individual to make the process easier but realistically in order for the feedback to be submitted in an impactful manner it would be best to have each member submit the feedback in their own words. If you share this link then every individual that wishes to impact the change of this new rule through Airbnb can get their voice to our specialized team that handles feedback: www.airbnb.com/help/feedback. If you have any further questions or concerns please let me know by replying to this email so I can further assist you. Warm Regards, Jessica Z. www.airbnb.com/help

THIS EMAIL IS A SERVICE FROM AIRBNB CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE.

[Jiw0]

Thinking out of the box for a minute, we could add a picture like this one to better explain what happens with children under 12. 🙂

[Robin4]

@Jiw0.....oh dear, I think I would rather stay with the vision of butchers floor sweepings and unborn calves!!!

Cheers.....Rob

[Chrissy-and-Greg0]

Hahahaha, LOL - I like your sense of humour Han & Jiw!  😉

I think we can all find ways to sensibly manage this situation within our listing descriptions.  We can also use the "House Rules" terms and conditions to clearly state what we expect from our potential guests.

The bigger issue here is that AirBnB made significant changes regarding the hosting of children, without actually notifying hosts, and without fully thinking through the implications of those changes.  That is simply inconsiderate and arrogant behaviour, and is unacceptable practice in any business "partnership" of any kind.

[Branka-and-Silvia0]

@Monica4 why would hosts bother to write a feedback if they can just state that their apartment is not safe for children (and according to Safe Kids Worldwide guidelines probably is not) and problem solved?  

We have tourist apartments, not kinder garten and we don't want to be responsable or get sued if something happens to a child at our appartment.

Here is what I found on the ABB web:

Review Safe Kids Worldwide’s guidelines

Airbnb has partnered with Safe Kids Worldwide, a global organization dedicated to preventing child injuries. Safe Kids Worldwide suggests adding the following amenities to make your home infant- and child-friendly:

• A working smoke and CO detector on every floor, and in all sleeping areas.
• A portable crib with a firm fitting crib sheet. Be sure to place away from windows and blinds in room.
• Removable safety gates for stairs and, if you have a pool, a gate around it.
• Cordless window blinds.
• Keep all household cleaning products, liquid laundry packets, medicine, and chemicals securely stored and out of reach.
• Mounted flat panel TVs to avoid tipovers. Be sure to place heavier, box-style TVs on low, stable pieces of furniture.
• Use brackets, braces, or walls traps to secure unstable and top heavy furniture to avoid tip overs.
• Water heater set at no higher than 120 degrees Fahrenheit to avoid scalds.
• For a more complete list of child safety risks and tips, visit Safe Kids Worldwide’s website.  

........of course that's not all.... a common sense tells us that we should't have any glass top tables, wall mirrors , sharp corner furniture, standing lamps etc...

If your home is safe for kids and you want to host them , then write a feedback with ALL THE EXTRA COSTS you had and still have to make it suitable for kids: 200€ for just 1 baby (crib, high chair, linens, towels, dishes...) , then CO and fire detector, safety gates, loundry service for bedding, proffesional cleaning service (they pee in bed, leave stains on sofa, carpet...) and all the extra effort and time-is-money you put into it ( to assemble and disassemble the crib, bring it to the storage, extra cleaning time etc...) I am sure ABB is familiar with accounting and will understand the numbers