When Are Infants Overcapacity Allowed in a Reservation?

Understanding infant overcapacity policies is essential for property managers and hosts who accept children. Different booking platforms have varying rules about how many infants can stay beyond your property's maximum capacity. This guide explains the policies across major platforms and what you need to know.

What Is 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, with many offering free stays or special overcapacity allowances.

Infant Overcapacity Policies by Platform

Airbnb

Airbnb allows the most flexibility when it comes to infant overcapacity. Here are the key details:

• Infants (under 2 years old) stay for 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 has a more restrictive policy for infant overcapacity:

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

Holidu

Holidu offers the most flexible infant policy among major platforms:

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

VRBO

VRBO treats infants differently from other platforms:

• Infants and children both count as adults
• There is no special overcapacity allowance for infants

Important Things You Need to Know

These Policies Cannot Be Changed

The infant overcapacity rules listed above are part of the terms and conditions you agreed to when listing your property on each platform. You cannot modify or override these policies, nor can you add restrictions to your property description regarding infant overcapacity.

If You Don't Want Infants Over Capacity

If you prefer not to allow infants exceeding your property's maximum capacity, the only available option is to set your property to "children not allowed." To do this, follow these steps:

1. Go to Configuration (top-left side of your dashboard)
2. Navigate to Amenities
3. Navigate to Children settings
4. Select "Children Not Allowed"

Keep in mind that this setting will prevent all children, including infants, from booking your property.

Cancellation Penalties for Infant Overcapacity

If you cancel a booking because an infant exceeds your property's maximum capacity, the cancellation will be recorded as a host cancellation. This may result in penalties from the booking platform, including potential impacts to your cancellation rate and future visibility. It is strongly recommended that you review booking details before accepting reservations to avoid this situation.

Quick Reference: Infant Overcapacity by Platform

Platform	Maximum Infants Over Capacity	Infant Cost
Airbnb	Up to 5 infants	Free
Booking.com	1 infant	Free (typically)
Holidu	Unlimited	Free
VRBO	None (count as adults)	Paid

What Should You Do?

Review your property settings and ensure your maximum capacity reflects the realistic number of guests you can accommodate without infants. Monitor your bookings regularly and check guest details before confirming reservations. If you have concerns about overcapacity bookings, consider adjusting your children policy or reaching out to your booking platform's support team for clarification on specific reservations.