Minimum Age

[Jacqueline1621]

New Guest asked minimum age? She hasn't provided any profile? how do I answer without sounding discriminating and/or wanting to know how old she is?

[Joan2709]

@Jacqueline1621 

Airbnb only requires guests to be 18 or older when creating a profile. Many Hosts of whole home listings do set an age requirement to help prevent parties for larger groups. Some Hosts have HOA restrictions that set a minimum age. Some Hosts mention the listing is not suitable for infants or children for safety reasons.

If you want to set a minimum age for booking, you would need to add that in your additional House Rules on the Listing. Some Hosts also ask for photo IDs to verify age and add that to their addl House Rules. If she is asking what your requirements are, she probably has tried to book another listing and was told she didn't meet the age requirements of the Host to book that property.

If you have concerns about this guest, I would first add any age restriction you have in your additional House Rules first and if you want to add the photo ID requirement. I would also take a look at their reviews. If they are a new guest with no reviews be wary. 

You can respond after you have set your age requirement (if any) and simply state we require the primary booking guest to be XX age and that they be on property for the entire stay (be sure to add that to your addl House Rules). This is to prevent 3rd party bookings, where the guest doesn't meet your age requirement, so gets a friend or family member who does to book the stay, even though they won't actually be on property - 3rd party bookings are not permitted by Airbnb.

Airbnb Age Restrictions 

https://www.airbnb.com/help/article/1620

3rd Party Bookings

https://www.airbnb.com/help/article/427

[Kitty-and-Creek0]

@Jacqueline1621 

Good Glorious Morning - such a great question ~

Most states have age requirements for signing a business contract, so this is one you should know in this case, perhaps? 

How many guests on the reservation? Is this for only her? What is her goal for the stay and  reason for visiting your location? 

I am a firm believer in communication, which is one reason I take booking requests. I'd take her questions as a good sign, and informative - a red flag - and ask my own to her. One is where is she coming from and what is her reason for staying. Also, for her to please complete her profile right away. Guests see all our information so it is important that we also see theirs. Hosts feel more comfortable when we have that information, and we can personalize the space and provide recommendations for their goals. 

@Joan2709 has some terrific recommendations and references. 

Do let us know how this turns out!

[Alex]

Hi @Jacqueline1621!

Hope you are having a lovely week. Did you check the answers you got in the thread from Kitty and Joan? I'm sure they will help you a lot in order to know how to act in this kind of situations. 🙂

Hope it helps! 

Alex