When are infants overcapacity allowed in a reservation?

Understanding infant overcapacity policies is essential for property managers and hosts listing on multiple platforms. This guide explains how different booking channels handle infants who exceed your property's maximum capacity.

What is considered an infant?

An infant is defined as a child younger than 2 years old. Infants are typically treated differently from older children across most booking platforms, often staying free of charge when your property allows children.

Infant overcapacity policies by booking channel

Airbnb

Airbnb has the most flexible infant overcapacity policy among major platforms:

• Infants (children under 2 years old) stay free if your property allows children
• Children aged 2-12 are priced the same as adults
• Guests can bring up to 5 infants over your 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 flexibility with infant pricing and capacity:

• Infants under 2 years old stay free; all other guests count as adults
• There are no restrictions on the number of infants allowed over your maximum capacity

VRBO

VRBO treats infants differently:

• Infants and children both count as adults toward your maximum capacity
• Overcapacity infant reservations are not automatically allowed

Key policies you should know

These policies cannot be changed

The infant overcapacity policies outlined above are part of the terms and conditions you agreed to when listing your property on each platform. You cannot modify these policies or add custom restrictions specific to infants in your property description.

No property description modifications allowed

It is not possible to modify or add restrictions to your property's description regarding infant overcapacity policies. Each platform's terms govern how infants are handled automatically.

Your options if you don't want infants exceeding capacity

If you prefer not to allow any guests (including infants) beyond your maximum capacity, your 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 selecting this option will prevent all families with children, including those traveling with infants, from booking your property.

Important considerations about host cancellations

If you choose to cancel a booking because an infant is exceeding your property's capacity, this will be considered a host cancellation. Host cancellations may result in penalties from the booking channel, including potential impacts to your cancellation rating and search visibility. It is recommended to review guest composition carefully before accepting bookings to avoid this situation.

Summary table of infant overcapacity policies

Platform	Infant definition	Infant pricing	Overcapacity allowed
Airbnb	Under 2 years old	Free	Up to 5 infants
Booking.com	Under 2 years old	Free	Up to 1 infant
Holidu	Under 2 years old	Free	Unlimited infants
VRBO	Under 2 years old	Counts as adult	No automatic allowance

Preparing for infant guests

When a reservation includes infants exceeding capacity on platforms like Airbnb or Holidu, you should:

• Plan your property setup accordingly to safely accommodate additional guests
• Ensure adequate sleeping arrangements and amenities are available
• Review your house rules to confirm they accommodate infant guests
• Do not cancel the booking due to infant overcapacity, as this will be flagged as a host cancellation

Need more help?

If you have questions about specific bookings or infant policies on your account, contact your booking platform's support team for clarification. Each platform offers dedicated host support to address concerns about guest composition and capacity management.