When are infants overcapacity allowed in a reservation?

Understanding infant overcapacity policies is important for property owners who accept children at their vacation rental. Different booking platforms have varying rules about how many infants can exceed your property's maximum capacity. This guide explains the policies across major platforms and what you need to know.

What is considered an infant?

An infant is a child younger than 2 years old. Most booking platforms allow infants to stay at properties that accept children, often with special accommodations or pricing.

Infant overcapacity policies by booking channel

Airbnb

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

Booking.com

• Guests can bring 1 infant (under 2 years old) over capacity

Holidu

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

VRBO

• Infants and children count as adults
• No infants are allowed over capacity

Important policies to understand

These policies cannot be changed

The infant overcapacity policies are set by each booking platform as part of their standard terms and conditions. When you list your property on these channels, you automatically agree to their policies. You cannot modify these settings for individual booking channels or adjust how many infants are allowed over capacity.

You cannot add restrictions in your property description

It is not possible to modify or add restrictions to your property's description regarding infant overcapacity. The platform policies override any personal restrictions you might want to add.

Disallowing children is your only alternative

If you do not want infants exceeding capacity at your property, the only option is to set your property to "children not allowed" in your amenities settings. To do this:

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

Be aware that disallowing children will significantly reduce your potential guest base and booking opportunities.

What happens if you cancel due to overcapacity?

If you cancel a booking because an infant is exceeding capacity, this will be considered a host cancellation by the booking platform. Host cancellations may result in penalties, including:

• Lower search ranking visibility
• Negative impact on your cancellation rate
• Potential account warnings or suspension
• Loss of superhost status (if applicable)

It is important to accept bookings according to the platform's policies to maintain a good standing with your booking channels.

Summary

Infant overcapacity policies vary significantly across booking platforms. Airbnb allows up to 5 infants over capacity, Booking.com allows 1 infant, Holidu has no restrictions on the number of infants, and VRBO does not allow any infants over capacity. These policies are fixed and cannot be changed. If you want to prevent infants from exceeding capacity, you must disable children at your property entirely.