When are infants overcapacity allowed in a reservation?

Understanding infant overcapacity policies is important for hosts who accept children in their properties. Different booking channels have different rules about how many infants can stay beyond your property's maximum guest 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, and many channels allow them to stay at no extra charge when children are permitted at your property.

Infant overcapacity policies by booking channel

Airbnb

Airbnb has the most flexible infant overcapacity policy among major booking platforms.

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

Booking.com

Booking.com allows a limited number of infants beyond your property's capacity limit.

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

Holidu

Holidu offers unlimited infant overcapacity allowance when children are permitted.

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

VRBO

VRBO has a different approach to infant policies compared to other platforms.

• Infants and children count as adults on VRBO
• Infants do not receive special overcapacity treatment

Important policy notes

There are several important restrictions and considerations regarding infant overcapacity policies:

Cannot be modified

These infant overcapacity policies are part of the terms and conditions you agreed to when listing your property on each platform. You cannot change these settings, and it is not possible to modify or add restrictions to your property description regarding infant overcapacity.

If you do not allow children

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

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

Cancellation penalties

If you choose to cancel a booking because of an infant exceeding your property's capacity, this will be considered a host cancellation. Host cancellations may result in penalties from the booking channel, including potential damage to your cancellation record and lower search visibility.

Summary table

Booking Channel	Infants stay for free	Overcapacity allowance
Airbnb	Yes (if children allowed)	Up to 5 infants over capacity
Booking.com	Yes (if children allowed)	1 infant over capacity
Holidu	Yes (if children allowed)	Unlimited infants over capacity
VRBO	No	No overcapacity allowance

What you should do next

Review your property settings to understand which channels you list on and their respective infant policies. If you have concerns about infant bookings, consider adjusting your children policy settings or communicating expectations clearly in your property description. Remember that you cannot reject a booking solely based on infant numbers without facing potential penalties.