Youth categories need revision (ages 2-12)

[Jen-Marie0]

Hi I would love to see this get revised and revive this conversation with the new host advisory board starting up.

I completely agree that creating a family friendly environment is different for children that are school-aged vs. toddlers.

We have the same type of problems where the age range of 2-12 is too broad. A walking infant to a 4/5 year old will touch everything and push every button and climb every shelf and play with everything. The only way to host a safe environment for a walking infant to a 4/5 year old is to have virtually nothing in your unit or to have things in your unit that you don't mind replacing.

I see value in 3 categories or really just a revision to the infant age range would be wonderful. Infants - 4/5 years old that are crawling/walking need a safe environment without things to break or cause injury.

I am a parent - I know what small children do - and when I am on vacation I don't want to worry about other people's stuff.... so we do need to make a change if we are going to empower hosts @Stephanie.

Too many people abuse the infant category and bring older toddlers to avoid extra fees or guest counts and more importantly these guests put their children at risk by not following the rules stated by the hosts. When I have a loft ladder in my cabin or tiny house it is definitely a liability for a toddler to climb it or sleep in the loft. 

We need to change the categories for safety of guests and to protect our host community. We need to help the lodging industry see that this is important and be the change that is necessary for the future of hosting.

[Laura2592]

@Jen-Marie0 yes-- the "infant" category is often just a way around not paying for a child. We saw guests with two "infants" arrive a ten year old with an IPad and what seemed to be a teenager on our Ring camera. Claimed not to understand that the kids needed to be counted and we had additional guest charges. Not the best experience. 

[Stephanie]

Hiya @Jen-Marie0 ,

Fantastic idea. I've just moved your new comments and others replies to a brand new thread and tagged HAB. This is so fresh insight and feedback can be shared by yourself and fellow hosts.

Thanks,

Stephanie

[Louise0]

Stephanie, you do realise that hosts have been asking for this simple change since pretty much the beginning of (Airbnb) time?  Perhaps as well as bumping up the thread you might consider finding out why it's always ignored.

[Vibeke14]

I agree. The ‘not suitable for under two’ is not enough. They bring toddlers anyway and when you find your unit left in a way that takes you 2 days to tidy, clean and replace broken things, it’s just ‘“sorry, we have a toddler ;)”

I got a chair reimbursed, but the disrespect and the extra time to clean and find a suitable chair, no.

[Laura2592]

yes I agree. We can't host infants/young toddlers because we have some very steep, funky stairs and have had some parents complain. We used to host them and quickly realized that some parents who "vacation" are also "vacationing" from supervising their young children.  Just too much liability. SInce taking that off the listing I have had more than one potential guest beg to book or lament that they are not being treated fairly when they can't. Airbnb won't be there in court with me as we defend ourselves against a liability suit. So no infants for now.

I would also like to see a pets button with a number and type. It could be set up with a message to remind individuals if they are trying to book a no pets listing that they need to present proof of service animal status or find somewhere else to stay. 

[Jen-Marie0]

Thank for your input @Laura2592 

[Fred13]

I look at it with these categories and reality in mind:

Ages 1-2: safe grounds, the darling one could only crawl around like a lizard and couldn't wreck anything.

Ages 1-4: the 'creature' will touch everything below 3 feet and the host should expect to have to paint their entire place below 3 feet.

Ages 4-12: pure hell, they are constantly on the move and will pull, yank, touch and use everything in sight.  They should be paying double what adults do. With  some real unruly 'kids' (aka mindless parents) make that triple.

/Maybe after a 2nd cup of coffee this morning I will see things differently, but I doubt it.

[Jen-Marie0]

@Fred13  we have to find ways to like our guests 🙂 It is ok to say no to hosting children at your place but if you do keeping a reality check that they may use more resources or cause more havoc is important in how you set up your place and charge per night.

[Ann72]

@Jen-Marie0  Welcome to @Fred13's sense of humor, which I find delightful.  He's a super experienced host.  We all need a sense of humor to survive at times, I think!

[Jen-Marie0]

Thanks @Ann72  - yes a sense of humor is good - I am still new to the community as an active participant! 

[Fred13]

   Oh @Jen-Marie0 coincidentally right now I got 4/7 young kids staying at the island, since is a real 'Kid's World' and we promote that. I spend quite a few hours today teaching them how to use the sea scooters etc. We just always razzing on the board what 'terrorist' they are,  all in jest. 🙂

   The only exception was 'Regalito' (the 'gift' in Spanish),  now that 7-year old was a real anarchist, his 30-year old parents already looked like they were ready for retirement.

[Vibeke14]

@Jen-Marie0  I just found out from my neighbour that the two guest booked and checked in has brought their daughter and their grandchildren that appears to be under 4 and 2 years old. And they brought an extra fold-out bed. All this without informing me and without my approval. My unit is for max 4 people and I state not suitable for under 2.  My neighbour spoke with them and asked them to consider other residents in the building. The grandfather didn’t say much and the grandmother and daughter looked hostile. I don’t live at the same place. 
Definitely not ideal or suitable Airbnb guests.

[Sarah977]

@Fred13  "Ages 1-2: safe grounds, the darling one could only crawl around like a lizard and couldn't wreck anything."

You apparently haven't spent much time around little kids. My girls were all walking by the age of 1 or thereabouts. 

The "infant" category shouldn't be age-based, but based on whether the child is mobile on their own. It's true a crawler can't do much damage, but does raise safety concerns as they could fall down stairs, etc.

[Jen-Marie0]

Agree @Sarah977 ! With clarity on mobility that would help so much - we don't want to say no to families with infants that are not mobile but we do want to keep walking infants safe.