Airbnb is allowing unlimited kids under 2 for FREE!

I assumed that was the case too. Our house rules says (in caps) ‘CHILDREN NOT ACCEPTED’.

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I allow children but charge. However we are on septic and the septic backed up into the house. After digging up the yard to find the problem-BABY WIPES!!!. Cost me about $1500 in repairs and loss of rentals.

Try microsoft edge.
I tried on IE, firefox, opera, and chrome. I was only successful in seeing this “feature” on microsoft edge.
I sent an inquiry to my friend, who has a listing that allows 4 guests. They have a 1br with a king bed and a pull out sofa. A maximum of 4 guests is allowed.
It let me send an inquiry to ask about: 4 adults, 5 infants.
I of course didn’t want to actually book - so I just sent an inquiry - but it sure kept showing me the “Request to book” link.
It might just be a “fresh” browser too. I had all the other open for a few days to a week. The edge browser was freshly opened.

Apparently, this whole infant thing has been going on for a while. Just google: airbnb + infant.

I’m here for my one guest booking. Nevermind my dozen babies. Now be a darling and grab me an extra tissue or two.

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Thanks. I did read that thread the other day. This was a discussion months ago on this forum, and I recall it went away. I looked up the old thread and was @azreala I believe who started the thread where 6 guests and 3 infants. came through.

Here it is:

http://www.airhostsforum.com/t/infants-option-for-number-of-guests-that-doesnt-count-towards-total-number/3879/54

If you’re referring to Air’s tick box in your listing indicating no children 12 and under, the answer is no. You can check that box, as I have, and your place will be available to book with apparently as many “infants” as you want.

Your listing isn’t going to be affected because you have a max occupancy of 1 guest.

Indeed you can’t. And I believe that part of the discrimination email we all received is also related to this. Most people thought it was to avoid discrimination in color, race, religion, gender, sexual orientation, etc but nobody though it was also a way to open every Airbnb listings to every family with kids.

Airbnb let us mark our listings as “Not suitable for kids” in our house rules and we can also leave the Family Friendly box unchecked but none of this means that kids not allowed. It will only help you warn guests that your place isn’t well prepared for kids. If you decide to literally write in your listings that kids are not allowed it might be interpreted by Airbnb as a violation of their the new terms in the antidiscrimination policy.

I’m just trying to be objective on how things seem to be but this doesn’t mean I’m happy with the new “kids allow everywhere” change or the other one “babies don’t count as people, bring five!”.

As other people mentioned Air is getting a bit abusive in some policies and part of this is because there is huge grown in the supply in relation to the demmand. They need to bring more guests to the platform and they don’t have any problem if some hosts leave the platform by chasing that goal.

I believe the antidiscrimination policy is just being done in steps, in order to get Air to their goal of all instant booking.

Even the statement “may or may not be suitable for children” is a federal violation in the U.S. Some hosts can legally discriminate, but it must be behind closed doors. Others hosts cannot discriminate. Even if legally you can discriminate, it is against the law to advertise no children allowed in housing/renting.

I am positive Air is aware of this. But many of these companies hide behind laws that say they aren’t responsible for what is on the internet. Anyway, I have a feeling that “may or not be suitable” will also disappear. They just don’t want to make all these changes at once, due to fear of too many hosts leaving. At least not with all the changes of increasing commission, and relaxing cancellation policies.

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The anti-discrimination policy is the reason why this this is happening. Part of the Fair Housing Act of 1968 (pushed in the days after MLK was assassinated) is that landlords cannot discriminate against tenants with children – familial status. (The exceptions, of course, include senior housing, etc.) Since AIR is trying to get in line with federal anti-discrimination laws, familial status is necessarily one of the protected categories, in addition to race, religion, nationality, etc.

Interestingly, hotels and restaurants can legally ban children (BnB’s and resorts do this) since they are operating under the 1964 Civil Rights Act which prohibits discrimination in public accommodation based on race, sex, national origin, religion, (and didn’t include familial status as a protected category).

So the legal team at AirBNB clearly knows that we cannot define ourselves as hotels (since this opens the door to zoning regulations, safety requirements, city inspections, sprinkler systems in case of fire, etc. and the entire rationale of us avoiding all that is we’ve been saying, “We are not hotels!”). If we are not defining ourselves as commercial businesses but as landlords renting out residential space then this means we our held to the Civil Rights Act of 1968 which included familial status as a protected category.

I don’t know if this means babies have to be free and I don’t think that this is something that AIR wants to actively promote since a mismatch of guests with kids/hosts who can’t have kids will produce miserable, unhappy guests (And guest satisfaction seems to be AIR’s priority).

In the meantime, do all you can to dissuade guests with young children from booking. For those on IB, I don’t know what this means…

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If you go to rent your place on Craigslist long term, you get a message before posting that says you can’t describe the people, only the place. You can’t say “quiet single professional preferred.” This discriminates against families.

Cabin is right. There are way more hosts than guests, so Air feels entitled to apply the policies they want to reach their goals. Their goal seems to be all instant book, free babies and free cancellation policies. I would trust Cabin’s instincts as she correctly called the course of Homeaway a year before it happened!

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If this were true, then Air would have already removed any discriminatory advertising (from listings) regarding children. By presenting the check boxes and encouraging hosts to advertise age limits, is putting hosts at huge risks to pay thousands and thousands in fines.

But Air is more concerned with their bottom line. For those of you who read the Homeaway forum, there have been reports of two separate owners facing lawsuits for advertising not suitable for children.

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If they tell me I have to allow young children, I’ll tell the guests that it’s quite likely their adorable little baby will get snatched up by a giant owl or another bird of prey, of which we have many. If they’re OK with that, then so am I. But they’re still paying me the $25 extra guest fee. I might waive it if the baby actually becomes bird food.

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If anyone is interested, here is the section of the law that lists who is exempt. However, note that subsection C still applies:

Nothing in section 804 of this title (other than subsection ©) shall apply to–

(1) any single-family house sold or rented by an owner: Provided, That such private individual owner does not own more than three such single-family houses at any one time: Provided further, That in the case of the sale of any such single-family house by a private individual owner not residing in such house at the time of such sale or who was not the most recent resident of such house prior to such sale, the exemption granted by this subsection shall apply only with respect to one such sale within any twenty-four month period: Provided further, That such bona fide private individual owner does not own any interest in, nor is there owned or reserved on his behalf, under any express or voluntary agreement, title to or any right to all or a portion of the proceeds from the sale or rental of, more than three such single-family houses at any one time: Provided further, That after December 31, 1969, the sale or rental of any such single-family house shall be excepted from the application of this subchapter only if such house is sold or rented (A) without the use in any manner of the sales or rental facilities or the sales or rental services of any real estate broker, agent, or salesman, or of such facilities or services of any person in the business of selling or renting dwellings, or of any employee or agent of any such broker, agent, salesman, or person and (B) without the publication, posting or mailing, after notice, of any advertisement or written notice in violation of section 804© of this title; but nothing in this proviso shall prohibit the use of attorneys, escrow agents, abstractors, title companies, and other such professional assistance as necessary to perfect or transfer the title, or
(2)rooms or units in dwellings containing living quarters occupied or intended to be occupied by no more than four families living independently of each other, if the owner actually maintains and occupies one of such living quarters as his residence.

©For the purposes of subsection (b) of this section, a person shall be deemed to be in the business of selling or renting dwellings if–
(1) he has, within the preceding twelve months, participated as principal in three or more transactions involving the sale or rental of any dwelling or any interest therein, or
(2) he has, within the preceding twelve months, participated as agent, other than in the sale of his own personal residence in providing sales or rental facilities or sales or rental services in two or more transactions involving the sale or rental of any dwelling or any interest therein, or
(3) he is the owner of any dwelling designed or intended for occupancy by, or occupied by, five or more families.

This is subsection C:

© To make, print, or publish, or cause to be made, printed, or published any notice, statement, or advertisement, with respect to the sale or rental of a dwelling that indicates any preference, limitation, or discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, handicap, familial status, or national origin, or an intention to make any such preference, limitation, or discrimination

I would say that Air hosts certainly seem to fall into a grey area.

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Well, yes, and they are being a bit loose with the rules - they want us to be independent contractors - ok - no problem - no benefits, no payroll taxes, withheld, etc.

However, an Independent Contractor is to be allowed just that - independence. If they begin dictating closely how we do our jobs it is going to muddy the waters.

They were clear in the TOS that they have no obligation towards us if the guest they place in our homes is a lunatic, that they can not control our behavior or theirs, but, they are telling us who we can and can’t rent to.

I have an independent contractor working in my basement right now. I’m not telling him what type of studs, nails, equipment, etc to use - because he’s independent - hired to do a job the way he knows how to do it, according to his standards of excellence.

If I went down and said "you have to purchase lumber from the USA only - no imported lumber, and I want the wood screws placed every two inches, etc., he would become my employee.

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I’m feelin’ gray right now…

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Obviously, you can simply add something like this to your listing:
• lead paint may or may not have been used to paint this house

This will keep all those babies and toddlers far, far away. Might keep a few adults away too if they don’t know that you would have to chew on the baseboards in ingest any lead. Always a down side.

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Craiglist surprisingly does an overall great job of explaining FHA. For anyone interested, this is what their guidance is on advertising discriminatory statements:

Are there any exceptions to the advertising laws?

[top]
Under federal Fair Housing law, the prohibition on discriminatory advertisements applies to all situations except the following:

Shared Housing Exemption – If you are advertising a shared housing unit, in which tenants will be sharing a bathroom, kitchen, or other common area, you may express a preference based upon sex only.

Private Club and Religious Exemptions – A religious community or private club whose membership is not restricted based upon race, color, or national origin may restrict tenancy only to its members in a property that it owns, and may advertise to that effect.

Housing for Older Persons Exemption – As discussed below, certain complexes for elderly persons are exempt from prohibitions on familial status discrimination, including the prohibitions on discriminatory advertising.

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