No child policy

[Beth4592]

New to airbnb.  I've stated that our place isn't child friendly, but just got a request from someone with excellent reviews, and they want bring their children 9 and 6. We have space for them, but our semi-open stairwell concerns me. Can I give permission as long as they are aware of the stairs? Can I make exception to my own rule or are their possible legal issues if I allow them to bring children and someone gets hurt?

[Debra300]

@Beth4592,

You can adjust your policies to allow just about anyone to stay at your property.  Yes, you may be held legally responsible for any injuries to anyone who is a guest, regardless of their age.

[Sarah977]

@Beth4592  Guests who request that you make special exceptions to your rules for them are not a good risk. It's indicative of disrespect and entitlement which may very well be demonstrated in other objectionable behavior during the stay.

It's a good idea to stick to the rules you have decided are best for you and your listing and not let guests wheedle you into giving in to their against the rules requests.

It doesn't mean you have to hard line about everything all the time. If perhaps you have a guest in residence for 2 weeks, who has proven to be a great, respectful and appreciative guest, who says her niece is coming to town for the weekend and might it be possible for her to spend the Sat. night with the guest, you might very well decide to say sure, even if you would normally charge extra for a second person on a booking.

But guests whose starting point is "make an exception for me", not a good idea. 

"I'm sorry, but I can't make an exception to my house rule on XX. It would negate my insurance policy. I'm sure you'll be able to find another listing which meets your needs ", is the sort of response hosts often have to give.

[Huma0]

@Sarah977 

I agree. When I still did short term stays, I got a lot of requests from people with kids. Most of them hadn't even read the listing/rules otherwise they would have known that I don't accept under 18s. I had to really emphasise this point in my listing to get these requests to stop.

When told that I don't accept children, almost every guest would try to persuade me to make an exception because their child was wonderful. Some became very persistent and even aggressive. One tried to IB again, this time changing the booking from 1x adult + 1 x child to 2 x adults (she was actually booking for herself and TWO children when the maximum occupancy is two, which I had already explained to her). She was unable to IB, I'm guessing because she had a bad review. 

Another guest told me that there was something wrong with me and I must be a horrible person. I never said I don't like children. My listing is not child friendly and, if the children are very young, my cats are likely to be traumatised! In addition, my other guests have booked on the assumption that they will not be sharing the house with kids.

It was actually the last point that persuaded most of these persistent guests to go away, but not all of them. An upshot to having the no child policy is that it alerted me to how pushy and entitled these people were. I would not have wanted to host them even without the kids.

[Sarah977]

@Huma0  This erroneous concept that hosts hate dogs or children because they don't accept them as guests is so weird. I have 3 daughters and 6 grandkids. I love kids and my previous home in Canada, where I raised my daughters, was totally kid friendly.

But my current house has an upstairs balcony with a waist high railing and a 4 meter plunge to a concrete walkway- a sure death experience for a child. There's no way I could in good conscience have people here with kids who aren't friends or family who I know for sure would never take their eye off the child. 

And there are way too many young parents these days who have their eyes glued to their cell phones instead of their kids. 

[Huma0]

@Sarah977 

Yes, I know. It seems that some people take it as an affront, almost an insult to their child, that you won't accept them. It's such a strange thing to take personally when it's already listed as a policy and therefore clearly applies to everyone!

I've very rarely received requests from pet owners though. I do remember a girl who wanted to bring her elderly cat who sounded adorable and a guy with a dog who he said was cat friendly, but I had to say no because my cats would freak out if either a dog or another cat was suddenly introduced to the household. These people understood as soon as I explained it to them. I don't ever remember anyone getting irate with me because I said I couldn't accommodate their pet.

Requests from people with kids have been quite different (and far more frequent). I would say that the vast majority of them were not prepared to accept no for an answer, which I find odd. Why would you want your child to stay somewhere that is potentially not safe for them?

When my niece was little, I would watch her like a hawk but you are right, we can't assume that total strangers would do the same. Only recently, I was in a major underground station (London Bridge) and saw a tiny child (don't think she was even three years old) trying to navigate her way down a large flight of stairs amidst rushing commuters. It wasn't clear immediately who she was with.

Okay, her mother was carrying a baby so perhaps it was impossible for her to hold the little girl's hand at the same time, but she was several paces ahead so couldn't even keep an eye on her. Of course I, and several other people stopped, because we we worried for the child. People actually always stop and help a parent when they have buggies etc. to get down the stairs. There are also lifts at that station, so I don't know what the mother was thinking.

[Laura2592]

@Beth4592 we have very steep stairs as well and don't accept what Airbnb terms "infants." People still try to book. Our insurance will not cover injury of kids under 2 without major modifications to our home, which is historic. So the easier solution is just say no. 

Guests ask us constantly for things we don't offer. It can be tempting to take the booking and hope for the best, especially if things are slow. But we have learned from experience that this doesn't typically turn out well. I would stick to my guns on this request. Heaven forbid a kid gets hurt. Guests who think rules don't apply to them are seldom the guests you want. There are plenty of other places to book.