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Airbnb Age Policy: Answers to Common Questions from Hosts
To keep all Airbnb users safe, the platform enforces minimum age requirements. Not only do they keep the host and guests staying at the property safe, but these age restrictions can also have a positive impact on the wider community and industry as a whole.
To find out how these age requirements can impact you, here’s a quick overview of some of the most commonly asked questions. Check out strategies and tools that you can implement to rent responsibly and stay within the Airbnb age requirement, as this article will explain.
How Old Do You Have to Be to Rent an Airbnb?
First things first, guests who want to book an Airbnb rental must be at least 18 years old.
In fact, according to its Terms of Service, you also need to be 18 to create an Airbnb account, whether as a guest or a host. This means that there’s also the same minimum age requirement for hosting.
How Does Airbnb Prevent Underage Guests From Booking?
To help enforce this minimum age, an Airbnb guest must provide proof of age when they book a rental. Documents that are accepted are a driver’s license, a passport, or a national identity card.
Depending on the country where the listing is located, hosts may also be obliged by local law to check ID when guests check in. This is, for instance, the case in European countries like Portugal and Germany.
Are There Any Exceptions to the Airbnb Age Limit?
The short answer is yes. There are certain instances where younger Airbnb guests are allowed to stay at the property.
Minors can stay under an adult’s reservation
Airbnb's policy is such that only the person who is making the reservation has to meet the age requirements.
For example, in the case of families traveling together, children younger than 18 are allowed to accompany their parents. Minors just can’t create their own Airbnb account or stay at a rental on their own.
Also, parents will need to double-check that the property is indeed suitable for kids and that each additional guest is registered for that reservation.
Regional variations
In some states and cities in the United States, as well as a few other countries like Canada, the United Kingdom, Spain, and France, guests need to be at least 25 years old and have a minimum of three positive reviews (and zero negative reviews) to book an entire home in their hometown or local area.
Guests who don’t meet this criterion are still allowed to book any type of listing as long as it’s not in their local neighborhood. Alternatively, if they need to stay locally, they can book a hotel room or a private room on Airbnb.
It’s also important to keep in mind that the age requirement might be different for other countries. If in doubt, it’s best to reach out to Airbnb support.
Why Does Airbnb Have an Age Policy?
There are a few strong reasons.
Unauthorized house parties
The Airbnb platform introduced a specific rule regarding guests younger than 25 in certain cities and regions a few years ago to help reduce unauthorized house parties. While these parties are a rare occurrence, some of them have been linked to fatalities.
This also helps protect under-18 travelers from unsafe or inappropriate situations and ensures they’re accompanied by a responsible adult. Besides, it's a measure to prevent potential rowdy guests from disrupting neighbors.
Local laws
It’s also important to remember that your Airbnb rental doesn’t operate in a vacuum. While you’ll need to adhere to Airbnb’s age requirement and other policies, you’ll also need to consider local laws.
That said, local law mostly focuses on long-term rentals to ensure all citizens have access to fair housing, but it’s still worth checking first.
Liability and insurance concerns
Airbnb’s insurance and liability protections are structured around adult account holders. By restricting bookings to people 18+, Airbnb reduces legal and financial risks tied to accidents, damages, or disputes.
Age Policy vs. Discrimination Rules
While Airbnb has an age policy, it still doesn’t give hosts free rein to reject a reservation request based on age. Airbnb hosts will also need to keep Airbnb’s nondiscrimination policy in mind.
In the nondiscrimination policy, you’ll find specific guidance about considering a potential guest’s age and familial status. This policy makes it very clear that Airbnb hosts aren’t allowed to use different terms and conditions based on the age of a guest or his/her familial status.
They may also not use this criterion to decline a reservation.
Entire Home vs Shared Room Age Restrictions on Airbnb
Let's clear up possible misunderstandings regarding the age policy for different listing types.
Entire Home
Booking an entire rental may have stricter age requirements. In fact, the 25-year rule applies only to entire homes. Allowing younger people to stay unsupervised, especially in groups, calls for caution based on Airbnb’s history.
Shared Rooms
With a shared room, the situation is different. Since the host is present on-site, the only age requirement is that the booking guest must be at least 18 years old.
What if A Guest Violates Airbnb's Age Policy?
To book on Airbnb, every guest must provide a valid ID or other official document. Violating the age policy can lead to the cancellation of current and future bookings.
If a guest provides false age information or tries to bypass the restrictions, Airbnb may suspend or permanently ban their account.
Can Hosts Themselves Set Age Restrictions on Airbnb?
Hosts cannot impose specific age restrictions on the booking guest unless required by local laws or regulations. For example, in Florida, hosts can set an age minimum of up to 25 for the guest making the reservation.
This requirement must be applied to all potential guests and clearly communicated before booking. This is possible because the state of Florida allows short-term rental hosts to set lawful age requirements for guests reserving a property.
Strategies to Avoid House Parties
Age is only but a number, after all. The platform acknowledges that older guests can also become “bad guests”. The reverse is also true and most younger guests will treat your vacation home respectfully.
As such, hosts will also need to incorporate other strategies into their hosting routine to reduce the likelihood of their Airbnb rental being used as the venue for the next big event.
Here are a few ways worth exploring:
Use a screening service
There are apps, such as Truvi or Autohost, that can double-check the guests’ details. Included in its checks is comparing the guest’s phone number and email address to authoritative databases.
For US guests, it will also check the US sex offender register. While it doesn’t run thorough background checks, it’s still a useful service and, aside from preventing parties, it can also minimize fraudulent bookings.
Send pre-booking messages
You send a pre-booking message before confirming a reservation to better understand the guest’s intent. Tools that send automated messages, like iGMS, can help with this.
Often, just from the style of their messages and responses, you can get a sense of who the guests are and why they are traveling. Combined with checking their profile and review history, this will give you a clearer picture.
Invest in noise monitoring
In addition to using a guest screening service, it’s also a good idea to invest in a noise monitoring tool. Hosts can, for example, check out Alertify or Minut.
Basically, it will monitor the noise levels inside the rental. If it exceeds a specific limit, the host will be notified.
Just like you expect your guests to be upfront and open about their reservations, it’s only good business practice to extend guests the same service and disclose the presence of such a device prior to booking.
In fact, one of the conditions that Airbnb sets for the use of noise monitoring devices is that these must be clearly disclosed in the listing description.
Prohibit parties in your house rules
Hosts can also include a section about house parties in their rules. Aside from disallowing house parties or events, here are examples of other rules that they can include to protect themselves, their property, and the neighborhood's peace.
- This Airbnb rental is located in a residential area. The quiet hours are between 11 p.m. and 8 a.m. to ensure that our neighbors can enjoy a night of undisturbed sleep.
- If a neighbor reports excessive noise, your reservation could be terminated, and you’ll be asked to leave our property, and you’ll lose any rental amount already paid.
- No more than four visitors are allowed during the day.
- It’s the responsibility of the renter to ensure that all other guests comply with the house rules.
- Please park your vehicle in the designated space only. If you need to park on-street, please consider our neighbors by ensuring that you don’t block access to their properties.
- Smoking is not permitted anywhere inside the property. If you want to smoke, you may only smoke outside in the designated area.
- In the event that damage to the property or its content is not covered by our insurance or it exceeds the security deposit, the cost to repair or replace will be billed to the guests.
Even if your vacation home is suitable for guests of all ages, it’s still a good idea to include a specific rule about children.
Use your house rules as an opportunity to remind the adults in the group that children should be supervised at all times and that they remain responsible for the safety of any children who stay at the property.
Create your Airbnb listing for a specific target guest
The platform’s nondiscrimination policy allows hosts to highlight specific features that could make the vacation rental unsuitable for guests of a certain age.
For example, if there’s a steep staircase without a baby gate, hosts can draw attention to this and note that the property is unsuitable for toddlers.
This also means that if you want to avoid hosting certain age groups like college students on spring break, you can, for example, emphasize that your property is located in a quiet, residential neighborhood.
Though, it needs to be factually correct. In other words, you may still not reject their booking, but you may write an accurate description of your property that will discourage them.
Set a two or three-day minimum stay
If you’re concerned about hosting larger groups of younger guests, one effective strategy is to require a two or three-night minimum stay.
Most guests who are only looking for a quick party spot prefer a one-night booking so they can come in, celebrate, and leave the next day without much commitment.
If you decide to set a longer minimum stay, you immediately make your property less attractive to those types of travelers. Guests such as families, couples on vacation, or small groups of friends, are usually planning longer stays anyway.
How Does the Age Policy Apply to Airbnb Experiences And Services?
Hosts who offer Airbnb Experiences or Services might want their offering to have some “party vibe”, but they still need to consider age restrictions.
For example, if you're teaching a cocktail masterclass where alcohol will be served, local law is very clear about the minimum age requirement.
In other cases, the law will be less clear and you’ll need to use your own discretion. You can also refer to these guidelines to ensure your Airbnb Experience or Service remains a positive one for all participants.
Should you set an age limit for Airbnb Experiences and Services?
If you’re offering an Airbnb Experience or Service, the Airbnb platform also lets you set a minimum age.
Hosts can set age minimums for their listings—up to 21 for Experiences and up to 18 for Services, or as required by law (provided the requirement is applied to all guests and disclosed before booking).
Depending on the type of activity that you offer, you might want to consider doing this.
Here are a few factors to keep in mind when deciding if your Experience or Service will be suitable for all ages:
- The physical demands of the activity
- The venue’s own age restrictions
- The type of content
- Whether alcohol or adult content will be involved
For example, if it involves a long hike across dangerous terrain, toddlers might have the energy but lack the physical strength to participate. In this case, limiting it to older age groups will be recommended.
As for the content, consider what your offer entails. It might be about an appropriate topic, but if there will be a lot of swearing, it’s better to exclude younger ears.
How do you set an age limit for Airbnb Experiences and Services?
To set an age requirement for your Experience, you can follow these steps:
- Click Listings on your desktop app and select the listing you want to edit
- Under Listing editor, click Guest requirements
- Click Minimum age and make your selection
- Click Save
FAQ
Can minors ever book an Airbnb on their own?
No. Only guests 18 or older can create an Airbnb account and make bookings. Minors can stay only under an adult’s supervision.
Do children count toward the total guest count?
Yes. Even if under 18, children must be registered as additional guests for the booking.
Are there age requirements for co-hosts?
Yes. Co-hosts must also meet Airbnb’s minimum age requirement of 18.
Can a host refuse a booking because a guest is under 25?
Only if required by local law. Otherwise, Airbnb’s nondiscrimination policy prohibits refusing bookings based solely on age.
Do local laws override Airbnb’s age policies?
Yes. Hosts and guests must comply with both Airbnb rules and applicable local regulations regarding age and rental eligibility.
Can a listing mention that it’s unsuitable for certain age groups?
You can hint at it in your listing description, as long as the description is factual (e.g., steep stairs, no baby gates, quiet neighborhood), but hosts cannot refuse the booking based on age alone.
Optimize Your Airbnb Hosting Experience with iGMS!
Addressing Airbnb FAQs about age and party restrictions is crucial for maintaining a harmonious and lawful hosting environment. iGMS is here to support hosts in managing such concerns effectively.
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