Guest wants to have home birth with midwife in my Airbnb?

[Kari2653]

Hi Everyone!  This is a first one for me, so I wanted to find out how others dealt with this situation? A couple had booked my Airbnb for 1 week in September, they told me they lived far from the hospital.  My place is 5 min from hospital, so they would be close when the time comes to have baby.  Today, they just messaged me and asked if they could have a home birth with a midwife at the Airbnb, instead of going to hospital. They said they would pay extra, and that it is really clean and won't ruin anything.  Apparently, this is becoming a thing for couples to rent hotel rooms or Airbnb's now to do home deliveries.   I'm not 100% opposed to it but I am mainly concerned about any liability if things go sideways or if it's not as "clean" as they say and items or furniture is non-salvagable?  I haven't been able to find any specific information on Airbnb about this situation but would really appreciate some feedback from anyone who may have gone through this? 

Thanks for your time!

Kari

[Anonymous]

@Kari2653  This doesn't make sense to me. If they're not choosing to have the baby at the hospital, why do they need an Airbnb near the hospital? If they want a home birth, why aren't they doing it at home?

Your gorgeous listing does look like a clean and calming space, and perhaps these guests aren't fortunate enough to live somewhere as comfortable. And maybe they just want to have a hospital nearby as a backup option if there are complications. But their maneuver smells like a bait-and-switch, and I'm not inclined to take them at face value. Also, if the baby comes earlier than the projected due date, they're probably going to insist on a refund. So personally, I'd tell the guests that the space is not suited to their unique needs and advise them to cancel. Airbnb might grant a neutral cancellation as well, if a guest's intended use for the home amounts to a medical procedure.

But perhaps there are some hosts out there who have had awesome experiences with facilitating childbirths. I've heard of many weird uses of Airbnb rentals, but this is a new one to me. 

[Kari2653]

@Anonymous Thank you so much for your feedback. I appreciate it. I am going to talk with my guests to learn more about their situation and the process of home birth,  if I don't feel comfortable with what I'm told,  I will ask them to cancel. 

[Branka-and-Silvia0]

@Kari2653  this is not the first post about it, I've seen another one a few years ago.

There is no such thing as a "clean" child birth, many sheets are stained during the process, and later 🙂 Waterproof mattress protectors are needed

I don't get this stupid trend... I mean, we are lucky to be able to give birth at the hospital, many women were not and still are not so lucky.

[Amanda660]

I remembered that too  @Branka-and-Silvia0 

https://community.withairbnb.com/t5/Hosting/Guest-failed-to-mention-advanced-pregnancy-and-upcoming-...

[Kate867]

@Kari2653  It could be that they want a home birth which can be a more relaxing experience  but their own home is not very close to a hospital in case of an emergency and rapid intervention is required.  However, giving birth does involve an awful lot of ‘fluids’ and as we all know, babies decide when they are coming and not normally at a time of our choosing.  So, although the guests are saying they will make sure it is all left very clean, you cannot be 100% sure this will be the case.  Many guests stay, agree to leave clean and tidy, yet cleaners arrive to find that they have actually left a ‘pig sty’ behind them.  You may then find you have a very short period of time to get it sorted out before other guests arrive.  The other problem is how long will they book for?  What happens if they book a two week slot, but baby arrives early… or late?  You may then find yourself with a last minute cancellation and not much chance of rebooking those dates out.. or them wanting to stay longer and you have either agreed to block your calendar for some additional time or not have the availability.  In your position I would not really feel entirely comfortable with a booking for these reasons.

[Amanda660]

How did you get on with chatting to them @Kari2653?

[Kari2653]

Hi @Amanda660  I did talk to Airbnb about the ramifications of me cancelling the reservation if I don't feel comfortable with the change of plans.  I was told I would be penalized if I cancelled now and that it was best for me to let the couple know my concerns about how I was not comfortable with their "new" plans of home birth. Hopefully, this would prompt them to cancel the reservation.  If they don't decide to cancel the reservation, I have to wait until they show up on the property until I can contact Airbnb to let them know they are in violation of our agreement, knowing that we are not comfortable with hosting a home birth.  I certainly hope it does not come to this, this is not a situation I want to be in at all.   After I got the direction from Airbnb, I sent them a message to regrettably inform them that I am not comfortable with being their host for their planned home birth and listed a few of my concerns.  I told them it would be best for them to find a place that would be welcoming and more suited for their needs.   I sent that 2 days ago and they haven't replied to my message.  I will send another follow-up message next week to see if I can get a response to figure out if they plan on cancelling? I'll keep you posted!  

[Mark116]

@Kari2653   That's very disappointing to hear.  I can't understand why Airbnb wouldn't give you a penalty free cancellation upon finding out that guests wanted to stage a major medical procedure at your home, putting you and your property at great risk due to liability issues.

[Anonymous]

@Mark116  My thoughts exactly. In all likelihood it was just another outsourced agent who was neither trained nor paid well enough to process the nuances of the countless situations they're asked to help with. But that said, the guests are still technically entitled to keep their confirmed booking under its original intent and not carry out the childbirth there, so I guess they should have the option of choosing.

Honestly I think the guests were misrepresenting their intentions from the beginning, to get a foot in the door. But it takes more evidence than we have before us to prove that.

[Kari2653]

Hi @Anonymous  Yes, you are right, they are technically entitled to keep their confirmed booking under the original intent to be close to our local hospital. Even if they are misrepresenting themselves by telling me their change of plans a couple weeks after they booked, it still would not be an "allowable" cancellation for me.  If you misrepresent your intentions for a party, that is different story.  I think any misreprentation should be good enough reason for a host to cancel.  At the end of the day, I will give my guests some more time to respond to my message and if they do not respond I will assume that they will be going through with the home birth. I will end up cancelling their reservation if they won't cancel on their own. I don't think it's fair that I would have to pay and get a review of my cancellation from Airbnb. I really am not comfortable with creating a scene at my house if they show up with a midwife and then wait for Airbnb to intervene. For now, I will stay hopefull that my guests look for a better place to welcome their baby and I won't have to cancel. 

[Kari2653]

Hi Mark, @Mark116  It is disappointing that I can't cancel without being penalized.   I was sent this link to show Airbnb extenuating circumstances and unfortunately my situation doesn't fit any of these accepted cancellation reasons. 

https://airbnb.com/help/article/1341

[Helen3]

I don't agree with the CS team - did the guest book using IB - if so you can cancel because you feel uncomfortable with the guests booking because of the change in circumstances @Kari2653 

Under 

• The listing does not fit the needs of the guest

If you have it under your house rules that only the guests on the booking can be at the listing - you can also confirm that a midwife or other guests wouldn't be allowed at the listing. 

I agree with @Anonymous  I think the guest wanted a home birth from the off but left it till the last minute to tell you hoping it would be too late do anything about it. 

[Kari2653]

Thank you @Helen3  I will definetly look into this! I do have IB.  The agent had told me I already accepted the booking so I couldn't cancel. 

[Helen3]

The CS is talking bollocks @Kari2653  you accepted the booking I'm good faith. The guest changed to goalposts. Call them back and insist !!!!