When are infants overcapacity allowed in a reservation?

Understanding infant overcapacity policies is essential for property managers and hosts listing on vacation rental platforms. An infant is defined as a child younger than 2 years old. If your property allows children, most booking channels will automatically permit at least one infant to stay over your property's maximum capacity at no additional charge.

Infant Overcapacity Policies by Booking Channel

Airbnb

Airbnb has a clear distinction between infants and children in their occupancy policies:

• Infants are defined as children under 2 years old
• Children are defined as ages 2-12 years old
• Infants stay for free if your property allows children
• Children (2-12 years old) are priced the same as adults
• Guests can bring up to 5 infants over your property's maximum capacity

Booking.com

Booking.com allows limited infant overcapacity:

• Guests can bring 1 infant (under 2 years old) over your property's maximum capacity

Holidu

Holidu offers flexible infant accommodations:

• Infants under 2 years old stay for free
• Everyone else counts as an adult for occupancy purposes
• There are no restrictions on the number of infants allowed over your property's maximum capacity

VRBO

VRBO has a different approach to infant accommodations:

• Infants and children both count as adults for occupancy calculations
• No infant overcapacity allowance is provided

Important Considerations for Property Managers

Policies Cannot Be Changed

These infant overcapacity policies are set by each booking channel and are part of the terms and conditions you agreed to when listing your property. You cannot modify these policies for individual listings or channels.

Description Restrictions

It is not possible to add restrictions or additional information regarding infant overcapacity to your property's description on any booking channel.

Managing Unwanted Infant Bookings

If you do not want infants exceeding your property's capacity, you have one option: set your property to "children not allowed" in your amenities settings. To do this:

1. Go to Configuration on the top-left side of your property settings
2. Navigate to "Amenities"
3. Navigate to "Children"
4. Select "Children Not Allowed"

Cancellation Consequences

If you choose to cancel a booking because of an infant exceeding your property's capacity, this action will be recorded as a host cancellation by the booking channel. Host cancellations can result in penalties, including lower search rankings, account warnings, or suspension from the platform. It is important to review booking details carefully before confirming reservations to avoid these consequences.

Summary

Most major vacation rental platforms automatically allow at least one infant to exceed your property's maximum occupancy at no extra charge when children are permitted. The specific number of allowed infants varies by platform, with Airbnb being the most flexible (up to 5 infants) and VRBO being the most restrictive (no overcapacity allowance). These policies cannot be changed, so if you have concerns about overcapacity bookings, disabling children at your property is your only option.