Babies Are Not Real People

[Highlands John]

I'm sorry, I know we've covered this topic ad nauseam but we don't accept babies and young children, the house isn't suitable, we're not insured for extra people in the rooms and we don't need the agro, especially babies crying during the night and waking other guests (which we've had in the past).
So I've just received an email from someone booked for next week asking for cots for their two babies? On the booking they put two adults, no mention of anyone else. It's on our booking page, it's on our T's&C's which they agreed to when they booked.
What makes me angry is the way they turn it around and make it like it's my fault. "we're about to leave for our holiday and we won't have anything booked for xday night".
Aaaahh!!!!

 

[Specific]

So I've just received an email from someone booked for next week asking for cots for their two babies? On the booking they put two adults, no mention of anyone else. It's on our booking page, it's on our T's&C's which they agreed to when they booked.
Aaaahh!!!!

I am sorry, but if it said no babies on your website, or on the OTA rules, then it is perfectly acceptable to tell them to find other accommodations. You might have to forget about the cancellation fees, to be accommodating, but at least you won't have to deal with unwanted guests

 

[Flower]

Pushy guest wanting to have it their way. They probable FEEL WHAT IS A SMALL CHILD or TWO BRING.
It won't be a problem? Or may be they got their places mixed up on booking????
It always makes one feel bad not taking them.. But then again you decided that small people cannot work in your B&B for a good reason. It hard to turn down. BUT you do it for a very good reason.

 

[Highlands John]

So I've just received an email from someone booked for next week asking for cots for their two babies? On the booking they put two adults, no mention of anyone else. It's on our booking page, it's on our T's&C's which they agreed to when they booked.
Aaaahh!!!!

I am sorry, but if it said no babies on your website, or on the OTA rules, then it is perfectly acceptable to tell them to find other accommodations. You might have to forget about the cancellation fees, to be accommodating, but at least you won't have to deal with unwanted guests.

I've found them a couple of places with vacancies that will take them, I've even refunded their deposit (partly to strike a sympathetic tone with them, but mostly because I'm pretty sure that that night I'll re-let the room).
Thank heavens they emailed and didn't just turn up!!

 

[Highlands John]

Pushy guest wanting to have it their way. They probable FEEL WHAT IS A SMALL CHILD or TWO BRING.
It won't be a problem? Or may be they got their places mixed up on booking????
It always makes one feel bad not taking them.. But then again you decided that small people cannot work in your B&B for a good reason. It hard to turn down. BUT you do it for a very good reason..

Pushy guest wanting to have it their way. They probable FEEL WHAT IS A SMALL CHILD or TWO BRING.
It won't be a problem? Or may be they got their places mixed up on booking????
It always makes one feel bad not taking them.. But then again you decided that small people cannot work in your B&B for a good reason. It hard to turn down. BUT you do it for a very good reason.

Agree and in my experience parents have rose tinted view of their own children......"ooooo, isn't little johnny cute crying for his feed", whilst all the other guests are clamping pillows around their heads trying to block out the noise and go back to sleep!!!

 

[user 26]

It's bad form and downright rude to push bringing small children and babies to places where they don't belong.
Unfair to those who pay for a babysitter only to have someone 'entitled' show up with little ones. Unfair to a guest at a place intended for adults only to be kept awake by a baby crying.
Unfair to lay a guilt trip on an innkeeper who has spelled out the policy beforehand
It's not the little ones' fault.
In my location I couldn't exclude children but I made it quite clear the difficulties involved with them staying. Absolutely they were 'people' and I didn't run a 'kids stay free' kind of place. You bring them, you pay for them.

 

[Silverspoon]

So I've just received an email from someone booked for next week asking for cots for their two babies? On the booking they put two adults, no mention of anyone else. It's on our booking page, it's on our T's&C's which they agreed to when they booked.
Aaaahh!!!!

I am sorry, but if it said no babies on your website, or on the OTA rules, then it is perfectly acceptable to tell them to find other accommodations. You might have to forget about the cancellation fees, to be accommodating, but at least you won't have to deal with unwanted guests.

I've found them a couple of places with vacancies that will take them, I've even refunded their deposit (partly to strike a sympathetic tone with them, but mostly because I'm pretty sure that that night I'll re-let the room).
Thank heavens they emailed and didn't just turn up!!
.

I had one guest call on her way to say she and her 12 year old daughter were on their way. WHAT? She made the reservation for one person. Our policies are strict...not suitable for children under the age of 18. Period. She planned to attend her conference for 5 days and leave the child alone in the house with us. Nope. Not going to work.
In the end, after many phone calls, we found her a place to stay with her child. We did not return her 2-night deposit because we were not able to rebook the room mid-week on short notice. I have never had second thoughts on it. She knew what the policy was and was just trying to make it difficult for us to enforce it.

 

[Generic]

I'm very tempted to add a note in all my OTA listings or the email that they receive once booked that states at the top one of the two sentences....
1. Please note that you have reserved for x people and the maximum occupancy is y people. Anyone over the x is charged $20 per person if prebooked, $50 at the door. Anyone over the y maximum occupancy is billed $500 per person. These are per night charges. Please govern yourself accordingly. (We accept cancellations within 2 hours of this notice at no-charge.)
2. We only take children over the age of X and they must be included in the x people you have booked for. If you arrive with extra people, or a child under the age of X, your booking will be cancelled for violation of our terms of agreement with no refund. (We accept cancellations within 2 hours of this notice at no-charge.)
And every once in a while... We do not have cots or cribs, so if you request a crib or cot, please be aware that we will buy one and bill you for it. You will be welcome to leave with it, though, as we don't accept children, so we have no use for it.

 

[Jcam]

So I've just received an email from someone booked for next week asking for cots for their two babies? On the booking they put two adults, no mention of anyone else. It's on our booking page, it's on our T's&C's which they agreed to when they booked.
Aaaahh!!!!

I am sorry, but if it said no babies on your website, or on the OTA rules, then it is perfectly acceptable to tell them to find other accommodations. You might have to forget about the cancellation fees, to be accommodating, but at least you won't have to deal with unwanted guests.

I've found them a couple of places with vacancies that will take them, I've even refunded their deposit (partly to strike a sympathetic tone with them, but mostly because I'm pretty sure that that night I'll re-let the room).
Thank heavens they emailed and didn't just turn up!!
.

I had one guest call on her way to say she and her 12 year old daughter were on their way. WHAT? She made the reservation for one person. Our policies are strict...not suitable for children under the age of 18. Period. She planned to attend her conference for 5 days and leave the child alone in the house with us. Nope. Not going to work.
In the end, after many phone calls, we found her a place to stay with her child. We did not return her 2-night deposit because we were not able to rebook the room mid-week on short notice. I have never had second thoughts on it. She knew what the policy was and was just trying to make it difficult for us to enforce it.
.

its one good thing about CRB (Criminal Record Check) you have to have one in the UK to have anything to do with children or vulnerable people - ie terribly sorry but we are not CRB you can't leave your child with us. (ie not a cats chance in HELL!)

 

[Highlands John]

So I've just received an email from someone booked for next week asking for cots for their two babies? On the booking they put two adults, no mention of anyone else. It's on our booking page, it's on our T's&C's which they agreed to when they booked.
Aaaahh!!!!

I am sorry, but if it said no babies on your website, or on the OTA rules, then it is perfectly acceptable to tell them to find other accommodations. You might have to forget about the cancellation fees, to be accommodating, but at least you won't have to deal with unwanted guests.

I've found them a couple of places with vacancies that will take them, I've even refunded their deposit (partly to strike a sympathetic tone with them, but mostly because I'm pretty sure that that night I'll re-let the room).
Thank heavens they emailed and didn't just turn up!!
.

I had one guest call on her way to say she and her 12 year old daughter were on their way. WHAT? She made the reservation for one person. Our policies are strict...not suitable for children under the age of 18. Period. She planned to attend her conference for 5 days and leave the child alone in the house with us. Nope. Not going to work.
In the end, after many phone calls, we found her a place to stay with her child. We did not return her 2-night deposit because we were not able to rebook the room mid-week on short notice. I have never had second thoughts on it. She knew what the policy was and was just trying to make it difficult for us to enforce it.
.

And like you I've done my best to find somewhere suitable for these people but at the end of the day they ignore/didn't read the terms and conditions so the situation is entirely their own making and I'm under no obligation to find an alternative.

 

[Highlands John]

I'm very tempted to add a note in all my OTA listings or the email that they receive once booked that states at the top one of the two sentences....
1. Please note that you have reserved for x people and the maximum occupancy is y people. Anyone over the x is charged $20 per person if prebooked, $50 at the door. Anyone over the y maximum occupancy is billed $500 per person. These are per night charges. Please govern yourself accordingly. (We accept cancellations within 2 hours of this notice at no-charge.)
2. We only take children over the age of X and they must be included in the x people you have booked for. If you arrive with extra people, or a child under the age of X, your booking will be cancelled for violation of our terms of agreement with no refund. (We accept cancellations within 2 hours of this notice at no-charge.)
And every once in a while... We do not have cots or cribs, so if you request a crib or cot, please be aware that we will buy one and bill you for it. You will be welcome to leave with it, though, as we don't accept children, so we have no use for it..

I went another route, my T's&C's state under the "Termination Policy" that we have the right to cancel a booking and refuse entry if the number of people checking in is greater than the number declared at booking.

 

[user 26]

So I've just received an email from someone booked for next week asking for cots for their two babies? On the booking they put two adults, no mention of anyone else. It's on our booking page, it's on our T's&C's which they agreed to when they booked.
Aaaahh!!!!

I am sorry, but if it said no babies on your website, or on the OTA rules, then it is perfectly acceptable to tell them to find other accommodations. You might have to forget about the cancellation fees, to be accommodating, but at least you won't have to deal with unwanted guests.

I've found them a couple of places with vacancies that will take them, I've even refunded their deposit (partly to strike a sympathetic tone with them, but mostly because I'm pretty sure that that night I'll re-let the room).
Thank heavens they emailed and didn't just turn up!!
.

I had one guest call on her way to say she and her 12 year old daughter were on their way. WHAT? She made the reservation for one person. Our policies are strict...not suitable for children under the age of 18. Period. She planned to attend her conference for 5 days and leave the child alone in the house with us. Nope. Not going to work.
In the end, after many phone calls, we found her a place to stay with her child. We did not return her 2-night deposit because we were not able to rebook the room mid-week on short notice. I have never had second thoughts on it. She knew what the policy was and was just trying to make it difficult for us to enforce it.
.

I had one guest call on her way to say she and her 12 year old daughter were on their way. WHAT? She made the reservation for one person. Our policies are strict...not suitable for children under the age of 18. Period. She planned to attend her conference for 5 days and leave the child alone in the house with us. Nope. Not going to work.

Crazy! You are not a Disney Cruise with kid-care. Around here, we are CORI'd . But that guarantees nothing. With the assumption that the child is 'old enough' to be left alone and you would be responsible? What about other guests in the building? Is the child supposed to stay locked in the room all day, refusing entry to housekeeping? Or sit in the common areas and grounds alone? What about food? What if there was a fire or medical emergency? What if she went for a walk and wandered away? That is just sad. The poor kid.
I was what we called a 'latch key kid'. A few hours each day. It wasn't ideal. But it wasn't all day in a strange place.

 

[gillumhouse]

So I've just received an email from someone booked for next week asking for cots for their two babies? On the booking they put two adults, no mention of anyone else. It's on our booking page, it's on our T's&C's which they agreed to when they booked.
Aaaahh!!!!

I am sorry, but if it said no babies on your website, or on the OTA rules, then it is perfectly acceptable to tell them to find other accommodations. You might have to forget about the cancellation fees, to be accommodating, but at least you won't have to deal with unwanted guests.

I've found them a couple of places with vacancies that will take them, I've even refunded their deposit (partly to strike a sympathetic tone with them, but mostly because I'm pretty sure that that night I'll re-let the room).
Thank heavens they emailed and didn't just turn up!!
.

I had one guest call on her way to say she and her 12 year old daughter were on their way. WHAT? She made the reservation for one person. Our policies are strict...not suitable for children under the age of 18. Period. She planned to attend her conference for 5 days and leave the child alone in the house with us. Nope. Not going to work.
In the end, after many phone calls, we found her a place to stay with her child. We did not return her 2-night deposit because we were not able to rebook the room mid-week on short notice. I have never had second thoughts on it. She knew what the policy was and was just trying to make it difficult for us to enforce it.
.

I had one guest call on her way to say she and her 12 year old daughter were on their way. WHAT? She made the reservation for one person. Our policies are strict...not suitable for children under the age of 18. Period. She planned to attend her conference for 5 days and leave the child alone in the house with us. Nope. Not going to work.

Crazy! You are not a Disney Cruise with kid-care. Around here, we are CORI'd . But that guarantees nothing. With the assumption that the child is 'old enough' to be left alone and you would be responsible? What about other guests in the building? Is the child supposed to stay locked in the room all day, refusing entry to housekeeping? Or sit in the common areas and grounds alone? What about food? What if there was a fire or medical emergency? What if she went for a walk and wandered away? That is just sad. The poor kid.
I was what we called a 'latch key kid'. A few hours each day. It wasn't ideal. But it wasn't all day in a strange place.
.

We have one that referred to himself as a "latch key kid" and our jaws dropped! We asked him how he thought that since I worked graveyard shift and his Dad worked day shift (or went to school day shift. I will give him that for a few months I worked full-time days and full-time graveyard (which is almost where it put me). Most of the time, one or the othr of us was home when kids were home.

 

[Generic]

So I've just received an email from someone booked for next week asking for cots for their two babies? On the booking they put two adults, no mention of anyone else. It's on our booking page, it's on our T's&C's which they agreed to when they booked.
Aaaahh!!!!

I am sorry, but if it said no babies on your website, or on the OTA rules, then it is perfectly acceptable to tell them to find other accommodations. You might have to forget about the cancellation fees, to be accommodating, but at least you won't have to deal with unwanted guests.

I've found them a couple of places with vacancies that will take them, I've even refunded their deposit (partly to strike a sympathetic tone with them, but mostly because I'm pretty sure that that night I'll re-let the room).
Thank heavens they emailed and didn't just turn up!!
.

I had one guest call on her way to say she and her 12 year old daughter were on their way. WHAT? She made the reservation for one person. Our policies are strict...not suitable for children under the age of 18. Period. She planned to attend her conference for 5 days and leave the child alone in the house with us. Nope. Not going to work.
In the end, after many phone calls, we found her a place to stay with her child. We did not return her 2-night deposit because we were not able to rebook the room mid-week on short notice. I have never had second thoughts on it. She knew what the policy was and was just trying to make it difficult for us to enforce it.
.

I had one guest call on her way to say she and her 12 year old daughter were on their way. WHAT? She made the reservation for one person. Our policies are strict...not suitable for children under the age of 18. Period. She planned to attend her conference for 5 days and leave the child alone in the house with us. Nope. Not going to work.

Crazy! You are not a Disney Cruise with kid-care. Around here, we are CORI'd . But that guarantees nothing. With the assumption that the child is 'old enough' to be left alone and you would be responsible? What about other guests in the building? Is the child supposed to stay locked in the room all day, refusing entry to housekeeping? Or sit in the common areas and grounds alone? What about food? What if there was a fire or medical emergency? What if she went for a walk and wandered away? That is just sad. The poor kid.
I was what we called a 'latch key kid'. A few hours each day. It wasn't ideal. But it wasn't all day in a strange place.
.

We have one that referred to himself as a "latch key kid" and our jaws dropped! We asked him how he thought that since I worked graveyard shift and his Dad worked day shift (or went to school day shift. I will give him that for a few months I worked full-time days and full-time graveyard (which is almost where it put me). Most of the time, one or the othr of us was home when kids were home.
.

I was a latch-key kid. My parents both worked and I had to let myself in. And every once in a while I would forget my key, so I would push the AC in until I could open the window next to it. Then open the next window and finally the big window so that I could push myself into the house. Never did tell my parents that I used to do that when I forgot my key.

 

[Aussie Innkeeper]

What makes me angry is the way they turn it around and make it like it's my fault. "we're about to leave for our holiday and we won't have anything booked for xday night".
Aaaahh!!!!

my mantra in cases like this??? "Your failure to plan does not, for me, an emergency make." Feel free to adopt/adapt as applicable.

 

[Breakfast Diva]

What makes me angry is the way they turn it around and make it like it's my fault. "we're about to leave for our holiday and we won't have anything booked for xday night".
Aaaahh!!!!

my mantra in cases like this??? "Your failure to plan does not, for me, an emergency make." Feel free to adopt/adapt as applicable.

.

What makes me angry is the way they turn it around and make it like it's my fault. "we're about to leave for our holiday and we won't have anything booked for xday night".
Aaaahh!!!!

my mantra in cases like this??? "Your failure to plan does not, for me, an emergency make." Feel free to adopt/adapt as applicable.

I had a situation yesterday that fit that bill! You just have to stay strong on your policies.

 

[TheBeachHouse]

Had this happen this past weekend.
Two sets of twins. 10 and 6. Very well behaved, but still, they are children. The didn't even throw rocks in the pond!! But they did take up three of four breakfast tables on the deck on a beautiful morning. And they ate all the bacon!!!
We were glad when they checked out.