Child Policy Opinions

[MtnKeeper]

Agree too wordy. Just be sure that whatever rules you show on your website that you enforce. We were empty during a midweek and let someone bring their young one for two nights. Then out of the blue someone booked a two night stay for that same time. She was a teacher who was told us when she arrived they're "getting away from kids and stayed with us because we are a couples destination." She was not happy there was a kid here. I was able to move her to the best room I have with fireplace and jacuzzi at no charge and avoided a problem. But guests should get what we advertise so this won't happen again.
I also just changed our policy to say that "The _______ was designed for couples getaways and all rooms have a maximum occupancy of two guests." On our booking engine it listed as well and there is a box stating this that they have to check the box that they're read it. We did this because two ladies brought their 12 and 14 year old kids who were well behaved. However, they left dirty socks in the great room which the mother said "a dirty sock here or there is expected" (REALLY), were in the hot tub very early morning waking other guests and then they left the 14 year old and went out to dinner because he didn't want to go. My son had a concert that evening and I wasn't going to miss it but was worried about the kid being here alone for hours, not only with other guests but those other guests also leave alcohol in the guest refrigerator. I'm not taking responsibility for kids and they often feel it's no problem so they just do it no matter what your rules. Good luck, it's always a hard one.

 

[Generic]

Here's my rewrite...
The Innkeepers at the Wildflower welcome you. Our home is a near-century-old historic building and designed to give all of our guests a timeless experience they'll enjoy. We happily accept children aged 6 years or more. Please note that children must be accompanied by an adult at all times while on property and respect the quiet and privacy of others. If you have any questions about our policy, please contact us prior to arrival and we'll do our best to make your visit the best it can be..

noPE...Still too wordy. Just state the facts. We cannot accept children under age 6. Children must be supervised at all times by their parents.
.

Should check local laws. We cannot forbid them, just discourage them. Hence we went with: No children under 7 without prior written agreement.

 

[JBloggs]

Knee jerk reactions will bite you in the butt.
#1 rule for rules - k.i.s.s. (the more you add the less they read). The more you add the more people you will put off.
When I see those rules I say either a) the innkeepers are overbearing and control freaks, or b) they have a lot of unruly kids who stay there and I wouldn't want to stay there.
Notice I didn't say policies, they read as rules, and nobody likes to be told what to do, especially when you are taking MY money. If I want to eat pizza in my room, I am going to eat pizza in my room. This is the reason people choose hotels over B&B's, we don't need rulers over how we live/act.
End comment: You are either family friendly or not. You cannot be all things to all people, pick what you want to be.
(2nd end comment - I 100% understand why you wrote what you wrote and trying to implement changes to make things run smoother, I am an innkeeper too, but it is not about us, so make policies you can live with, and your guests will appreciate).

 

[JBloggs]

Another example of putting people off:
If you have a difficult cancellation policy, I won't stay with you. If a hotel gives me a lax policy, and you give me a difficult policy AND keep some of my money, I will not book a room with you. Period. Full stop. Keep $25-50 of my reservation when I follow the rules you set up? No thanks.
If you make it difficult to book, difficult to cancel, then you won't get my hard earned $.

 

[happykeeper]

Here's my rewrite...
The Innkeepers at the Wildflower welcome you. Our home is a near-century-old historic building and designed to give all of our guests a timeless experience they'll enjoy. We happily accept children aged 6 years or more. Please note that children must be accompanied by an adult at all times while on property and respect the quiet and privacy of others. If you have any questions about our policy, please contact us prior to arrival and we'll do our best to make your visit the best it can be..

noPE...Still too wordy. Just state the facts. We cannot accept children under age 6. Children must be supervised at all times by their parents.
.

LOL

 

[happykeeper]

Here's my rewrite...
The Innkeepers at the Wildflower welcome you. Our home is a near-century-old historic building and designed to give all of our guests a timeless experience they'll enjoy. We happily accept children aged 6 years or more. Please note that children must be accompanied by an adult at all times while on property and respect the quiet and privacy of others. If you have any questions about our policy, please contact us prior to arrival and we'll do our best to make your visit the best it can be..

noPE...Still too wordy. Just state the facts. We cannot accept children under age 6. Children must be supervised at all times by their parents.
.

Should check local laws. We cannot forbid them, just discourage them. Hence we went with: No children under 7 without prior written agreement.
.

Yep you gotta be legal wherever you are

 

[Copperhead]

I agree, keep it simple. You do not need to explain why you have this policy. (Note: this is as much for my ears!) K-I-S-S
I could not help but get a chuckle out of your original post:
"an ongoing discussion and disagreement between the two of us. I've searched for posts on here and found some helpful information, but diverse opinions."
Yep, 2 or people and a topic and you get this every time!

"Children 12 to 18 years old:
The rambunctious behavior rule as stated above also applies.
Respect for other guests is an absolute must. Teasing, gesturing, or rude behavior is not allowed.
Profanity is absolutely prohibited anywhere on the property.
Mobile phones and tablets must be placed on silent when used in common areas.
Music on headphones must not be able to be heard by other guests."
Unfortunately this applies to some so called adults.

 

[Morticia]

Agree too wordy. Just be sure that whatever rules you show on your website that you enforce. We were empty during a midweek and let someone bring their young one for two nights. Then out of the blue someone booked a two night stay for that same time. She was a teacher who was told us when she arrived they're "getting away from kids and stayed with us because we are a couples destination." She was not happy there was a kid here. I was able to move her to the best room I have with fireplace and jacuzzi at no charge and avoided a problem. But guests should get what we advertise so this won't happen again.
I also just changed our policy to say that "The _______ was designed for couples getaways and all rooms have a maximum occupancy of two guests." On our booking engine it listed as well and there is a box stating this that they have to check the box that they're read it. We did this because two ladies brought their 12 and 14 year old kids who were well behaved. However, they left dirty socks in the great room which the mother said "a dirty sock here or there is expected" (REALLY), were in the hot tub very early morning waking other guests and then they left the 14 year old and went out to dinner because he didn't want to go. My son had a concert that evening and I wasn't going to miss it but was worried about the kid being here alone for hours, not only with other guests but those other guests also leave alcohol in the guest refrigerator. I'm not taking responsibility for kids and they often feel it's no problem so they just do it no matter what your rules. Good luck, it's always a hard one..

A dirty sock here or there is no big deal? How about if it was in their room when they checked in? Or on their table at breakfast? Yeesh people!
And, yes, we've found clothing in the living room in the morning. Always a pleasure. :-(

 

[Morticia]

Another example of putting people off:
If you have a difficult cancellation policy, I won't stay with you. If a hotel gives me a lax policy, and you give me a difficult policy AND keep some of my money, I will not book a room with you. Period. Full stop. Keep $25-50 of my reservation when I follow the rules you set up? No thanks.
If you make it difficult to book, difficult to cancel, then you won't get my hard earned $..

We're charging that cancellation fee for wasting our time and taking money from our pocket when we run the deposit. It probably has cut down on reservations because we're no longer running 10% cancellations.

 

[gillumhouse]

This is my entire policies section on my policies page:
Policies For Our Bed & Breakfast

• Children must bring at least one well-behaved adult as chaperon
• Any additional fees for ancillary items /special requested items (i.e., flowers, chocolates or other) requested during your stay will be charged to your credit card used for your deposit unless you request otherwise at the time of the request.
• Breakfast will be served at the time requested - between 4 A.M. and 10 A.M. please

 

[TheBeachHouse]

This is my entire policies section on my policies page:
Policies For Our Bed & Breakfast

• Children must bring at least one well-behaved adult as chaperon
• Any additional fees for ancillary items /special requested items (i.e., flowers, chocolates or other) requested during your stay will be charged to your credit card used for your deposit unless you request otherwise at the time of the request.
• Breakfast will be served at the time requested - between 4 A.M. and 10 A.M. please

.

I had a couple arrive and the first thing out of their mouths was, "What are the rules?"
I wondered if they'd heard horror stories about B&B's having too many 'rules.'
I told them, "No smoking and be respectful of other guests. Other than that, we don't have rules!"
They gave us a great review.

 

[ChrisandShelley]

Now let me say first- that I have put my foot in my mouth a few times in the past, so I am inclined to hold up and ask...
What kind of guests do you get?
A policy like what you posted makes it seem as if you are one block from Sugar High Amusement Park with hundreds of crazed kids running wild through the streets and your b&b.
Do you have guests like that?.

We've really only had one experience with two grandmothers and a room full of 6 to 10 yo girls. They were rowdy, but they were the only ones here, so we just let them go. We've had children come and they were just fine. A regular couple bring their grandkids and they are very well behaved. I guess reading all the horror stories just makes me want to be preventative.
The reality is that we rarely have children between 6 and 12 stay with us. I'm probably being overly paranoid.

 

[ChrisandShelley]

Here's my rewrite...
The Innkeepers at the Wildflower welcome you. Our home is a near-century-old historic building and designed to give all of our guests a timeless experience they'll enjoy. We happily accept children aged 6 years or more. Please note that children must be accompanied by an adult at all times while on property and respect the quiet and privacy of others. If you have any questions about our policy, please contact us prior to arrival and we'll do our best to make your visit the best it can be..

I like some of the wording there, more positive. Thanks for the input.

 

[Morticia]

Now let me say first- that I have put my foot in my mouth a few times in the past, so I am inclined to hold up and ask...
What kind of guests do you get?
A policy like what you posted makes it seem as if you are one block from Sugar High Amusement Park with hundreds of crazed kids running wild through the streets and your b&b.
Do you have guests like that?.

We've really only had one experience with two grandmothers and a room full of 6 to 10 yo girls. They were rowdy, but they were the only ones here, so we just let them go. We've had children come and they were just fine. A regular couple bring their grandkids and they are very well behaved. I guess reading all the horror stories just makes me want to be preventative.
The reality is that we rarely have children between 6 and 12 stay with us. I'm probably being overly paranoid.
.

We've really only had one experience with two grandmothers and a room full of 6 to 10 yo girls. They were rowdy, but they were the only ones here, so we just let them go. We've had children come and they were just fine. A regular couple bring their grandkids and they are very well behaved. I guess reading all the horror stories just makes me want to be preventative.
The reality is that we rarely have children between 6 and 12 stay with us. I'm probably being overly paranoid.

In that case you handle it either before taking the reservation (sorry, there is a limit of 2 guests per room and children must have an adult in the room with them) or, when the noise is going on (as when I had to tell 2 kids their behavior was unacceptable and I expected them to walk in the house and not slam the door) . (I got applause for telling the kids to shape up. I had no idea I had an audience. The kids basically ceased speaking to me for the next 5 days but they walked in the house and didn't slam the door.)
Since we now only have 2 rooms with 2 beds, instead of 4 rooms, we've cut down on the number of kids at any given time. It helps me a lot. Kids need more space than our rooms provide. And given that they are run ragged while they're here, they need quiet space to melt down.
It's always a tough call.

 

[Morticia]

This is my entire policies section on my policies page:
Policies For Our Bed & Breakfast

• Children must bring at least one well-behaved adult as chaperon
• Any additional fees for ancillary items /special requested items (i.e., flowers, chocolates or other) requested during your stay will be charged to your credit card used for your deposit unless you request otherwise at the time of the request.
• Breakfast will be served at the time requested - between 4 A.M. and 10 A.M. please

.

I had a couple arrive and the first thing out of their mouths was, "What are the rules?"
I wondered if they'd heard horror stories about B&B's having too many 'rules.'
I told them, "No smoking and be respectful of other guests. Other than that, we don't have rules!"
They gave us a great review.
.

I had a couple arrive and the first thing out of their mouths was, "What are the rules?"
I wondered if they'd heard horror stories about B&B's having too many 'rules.'
I told them, "No smoking and be respectful of other guests. Other than that, we don't have rules!"
They gave us a great review.

We really should come up with some very 'kindergarten' rules: play nice, be respectful, share with others. (I'm having a tough time with the smoking 5 year old picture in my head.)

 

[happykeeper]

Here's my rewrite...
The Innkeepers at the Wildflower welcome you. Our home is a near-century-old historic building and designed to give all of our guests a timeless experience they'll enjoy. We happily accept children aged 6 years or more. Please note that children must be accompanied by an adult at all times while on property and respect the quiet and privacy of others. If you have any questions about our policy, please contact us prior to arrival and we'll do our best to make your visit the best it can be..

I like some of the wording there, more positive. Thanks for the input.

.

Thanks. We are working with our new assistant innkeeper right now and the hardest part about training are the linguistics. So many folks are used to committing the cardinal sins of hospitality.

 

[JBloggs]

Allowed one child for a so-called whole house, but we do have one room with non "whole house" guests now as well. The little girls (maybe 7?) is quiet and sweet around the adults, at check in which they showed up at 10pm without calling, she was above our room running back and forth for an hour.
Today, special breakfast which was easy enough as it was no "this" in the meal, and I was cooking it at that time. But I went in a moment ago and mom is at one end, and dad at the other end and no little girl. I mention to mom that we have ponds that are over her head, one is 6 feet deep. She is fully offended. "She is not out there," she said, "she is upstairs." I said she needs to be attended to, that is what I am saying, if she goes out and walks across the rocks in the middle she will fall in, they are only for looks. "She would never walk across the rocks" she replies rudely.
Oh and the people to the right said "We were out there last night and looked at the ponds and they didn't look that deep" arguing with me in a conversation that had nothing to do with them. I turned to them and said "we built the ponds, the first one is 6 feet deep."

 

[Lee2014]

Allowed one child for a so-called whole house, but we do have one room with non "whole house" guests now as well. The little girls (maybe 7?) is quiet and sweet around the adults, at check in which they showed up at 10pm without calling, she was above our room running back and forth for an hour.
Today, special breakfast which was easy enough as it was no "this" in the meal, and I was cooking it at that time. But I went in a moment ago and mom is at one end, and dad at the other end and no little girl. I mention to mom that we have ponds that are over her head, one is 6 feet deep. She is fully offended. "She is not out there," she said, "she is upstairs." I said she needs to be attended to, that is what I am saying, if she goes out and walks across the rocks in the middle she will fall in, they are only for looks. "She would never walk across the rocks" she replies rudely.
Oh and the people to the right said "We were out there last night and looked at the ponds and they didn't look that deep" arguing with me in a conversation that had nothing to do with them. I turned to them and said "we built the ponds, the first one is 6 feet deep.".

Yup! And the painted 11 ft deep on the pool side is correct here as well….

 

[Jcam]

Allowed one child for a so-called whole house, but we do have one room with non "whole house" guests now as well. The little girls (maybe 7?) is quiet and sweet around the adults, at check in which they showed up at 10pm without calling, she was above our room running back and forth for an hour.
Today, special breakfast which was easy enough as it was no "this" in the meal, and I was cooking it at that time. But I went in a moment ago and mom is at one end, and dad at the other end and no little girl. I mention to mom that we have ponds that are over her head, one is 6 feet deep. She is fully offended. "She is not out there," she said, "she is upstairs." I said she needs to be attended to, that is what I am saying, if she goes out and walks across the rocks in the middle she will fall in, they are only for looks. "She would never walk across the rocks" she replies rudely.
Oh and the people to the right said "We were out there last night and looked at the ponds and they didn't look that deep" arguing with me in a conversation that had nothing to do with them. I turned to them and said "we built the ponds, the first one is 6 feet deep.".

you can drown in 2 inchest of water - depth is irrelevant - I totally agree with you no unaccompanied children, perfect example was in the UK not long ago family of 3 parents dealing with 2 children turned back on 3rd toddler age for less than a minute where he toddled on to a miniature train track and was killed was literally the time it took to scold 2 kids and turn back and he was gone.

 

[gillumhouse]

Allowed one child for a so-called whole house, but we do have one room with non "whole house" guests now as well. The little girls (maybe 7?) is quiet and sweet around the adults, at check in which they showed up at 10pm without calling, she was above our room running back and forth for an hour.
Today, special breakfast which was easy enough as it was no "this" in the meal, and I was cooking it at that time. But I went in a moment ago and mom is at one end, and dad at the other end and no little girl. I mention to mom that we have ponds that are over her head, one is 6 feet deep. She is fully offended. "She is not out there," she said, "she is upstairs." I said she needs to be attended to, that is what I am saying, if she goes out and walks across the rocks in the middle she will fall in, they are only for looks. "She would never walk across the rocks" she replies rudely.
Oh and the people to the right said "We were out there last night and looked at the ponds and they didn't look that deep" arguing with me in a conversation that had nothing to do with them. I turned to them and said "we built the ponds, the first one is 6 feet deep.".

Kids are faster than any adult can imagine IF it is something THEY want to do, know they should not do, or are just being sneaky. The only time they move in slow motion is when they are told to do something. Unfortunately, it seems that parenting today means the kids raise themselves.
And anyone who has the temerity to suggest a parent should actually WATCH the kid is told they are wrong. A recipe for disaster.