I set house rules as not suitable for children but somebody just booked with a two year old child.

[John400]

I have just started hosting and am expecting my first guest on Monday but someone else just auto-booked the double room for December with their wife and 2 year old child.  

I'm not really sure whether the apartment is suitable for young children but I would prefer to avoid accepting children, at least for a while until I get used to hosting.  

Is it not against the rules for them to book with a child when I have stated no children in the house rules section?  If I cancel will it negatively effect me in some way?

Many thanks in advance for any help and advice.

[Susan241]

Yes you can 

[Laura---and--Daria0]

Modifica le impostazioni. Ci sono due fasce di età: da zero a due anni e dai due ai dodici. Per tutte e due si può decidere di inserire  "non adatto", poi ti viene richiesto di specificare le ragioni.

[Allyson56]

I have had this problem occasionally where guests just show up and they have a small child or two. I allow them to stay, of course,  however, this is a couples retreat for peace and quiet. We have two units . The guests in the other unit are not expecting kids at the pool or gardens...they come here for a break! I am in the process of re-wording my listing because this has happened three times in six months.

[Kelly65]

Turn off instant book and ensure your household rules that guests must agree to, stipulate that you accommodate adults 18yrs and over only. When they submit their booking request, make sure you reiterate this policy and have that conversation with them, before deciding to accept/decline the booking request. it's your property - your rules. We don't accept children, because our property is also our private residence and we choose not to accept the risk of damage and the inconvenience that may involve (potential closure and loss of future booking revenue, as things repaired), but we most certainly choose not to have the disturbance. You will fine, some guests won't even show you the courtesy of reading your listing description and household rules... some will even lie and turn up with children anyway... cover yourself and if they do turn up and you don't want that risk, you are within your rights to turn them away and cancel their booking. Of all the platforms I use, Airbnb is the one where guests try their hardest to take advantage and are routinely dishonest... and sadly Airbnb has evolved more and more over time to encourage and enable this conduct. Booking.com is better in this regard and beyond that, better still is having your own website (which I do) to take bookings direct.

[Cassie150]

What if renting adult totally disclosing children AND willing to pay full price? You could even add a "child waiver or extra deposit'. Some of these posts seem a bit harsh!  I'm battling Cancer, been in hospital majority of last year and simply wanted to spend four or five nights with my daughter and my two grandchildren on the beach having fun. I didn't even know you could restrict children I guess it's going to be a battle trying to find a place to stay even if I'm willing to write a bigger check, sad but true. 

[Kelly65]

There is nothing harsh about a host determining their own policies . This is their investment and how they operate it, is their decision entirely. To state the obvious - if a guest doesn't like what is offered, then it is their responsibility to search for something that does suit their needs. 

[Amanda2243]

Respecting a property owners age requirements is not harsh or sad.

It Is just respecting the owners request, because it's their property.

It's Nothing personal against anyone.

[Imogen43]

I have just had the same thing. No children accepted as my property is not safe for toddlers, yet someone booked with a small child.

[Cassandra-Or-Michael0]

Oh wow. I'm so glad I found this thread! I am currently looking for a place to rent for a week over Christmas.

May I give a bit of a renter perspective?

We have 6yo (by then) twins, who I included in the filters, and yet I have noticed several places that have the rule "not suitable for children and infants". If I didn't already look at rules just in case, for insane/weird things (rare, but they exist) that will not fly for us, I suppose I might miss it. I would think that including kids in my search would weed out places they aren't welcome, but that apparently isn't the case.

Confusion is added by seeing reviews that mention kids. Obvious mistakes or inconsistencies of host-written text compared to rules or amenities can also further the confusion. If they made a mistake there, is the kids thing a mistake too?? I also tend to look and look again at SO many listings, across different platforms, that something like that has potential to get overlooked.

In the end, I do not want my kids where they are not wanted. It doesn't feel good, almost like an attack at times, despite knowing it's not. My kids have never done damage to someone else's property, but they certainly could. I could too, but acknowledge it's more likely for a kiddo, even just from lack of experience. Parents leaving a mess infuriates me. It's ridiculous, and makes it harder for the rest of us. You clean up after yourself and your kid. Period. ...or better yet, EXCLAMATION! But, I understand sometimes it's simply not safe, or at least perceived as unsafe. Whatever the case,  I must respect it, no matter what the reason is

May I suggest, and agree with others who suggested, to add words clearly stating that children under XX are not allowed? That would help with the confusion, and add an extra chance to see it.

Anyway, thank you to everyone here who commented about it! I'm going to go through my saved listings now and make sure any with that rule get cleared out!

[Kelly65]

That's correct... even if a host has a setting that states children 12yrs and over only, Airbnb will still deceptively show their property in search results for people travelling with children under this age. I've reported it numerous times to Airbnb and never received a response. It is clearly deliberate. As of today, I now discover Airbnb, have without consent of the host or even informing them, that they've removed this limitation feature completely... As a host, I have instant book switched off and clearly state in household rules, guests must read and agree too, that we accommodate adults 18yrs and over only. 

[E75]

I absolutely do not want to book to anyone under 18yrs of age, so no children are allowed. Is that allowable verbiage to use? Please advise and thank you

[Huma0]

@E75 

I use that on my listing and I have had no problems with it so far in terms of getting into trouble with Airbnb. The system itself only allows you to choose no guests under 12 years old, so you kind of have to spell it out in your listing. 

The day Airbnb tells me I HAVE to accept under 18s will be the day I leave the platform.

[Kelly65]

The system doesn't allow for that anymore... I had always had that setting in place nad stipulated adults only 18yrs and over in the household rules that guests must agree too and I didn't use instant book and instead told guests I expect they message a booking request and specify the reason for their trip, number and ages of guests... I then decide who I do and don't accept. Today I discovered Airbnb have remnoved this setting with no notification or consent from me... it's clear it's a change they've imposed on all hosts and if you don't have instant book switched off, then you will be getting bookings for children and have no idea until they turn up. Airbnb is violating hosts policies withiut their knowledge and treating hosts with disrespect.

[Huma0]

@Kelly65 

I have no idea if that was the case before, but I have been hosting in my own house since the summer of 2016 and, since then, there was no way to specify in the settings no under 18s, only no under 12s. I always had to spell out no under 18s in my listing description or house rules.

[Renee609]

Thank you, could you please tell me how/where you set up your listing so that people cannot book children under 12?