Hey everyone,
After the announcement of the new pet fee, I’ve seen lots of conversations going on in the Community about animals.
With that in mind, I think this is a great opportunity to celebrate non-human co-hosts - and to be honest, I can never pass up the chance to ask you for pet photos. 😸
I know lots of you mention your pets on your listings and some even feature lovely photos of them, but I would love to know more about your experience hosting with a pet.
Do your pets interact with guests? Have you got any nice stories - and photos - to share? 🐕✨
Thanks,
Liv
We have two cats and two dogs. Our space is an apartment over our garage. While it is totally private, their beach access walkway goes alongside our deck area. Our dogs always go to greet our guests and they love petting them. Many return guests (and some first timers) bring treats for our pups.
One of our cats spends a lot of time outside, and she loves to go hang out with our guests. We get a lot of happy feedback from our guests, many miss their pets while they are on vacation. The only embarrassing thing for us is that Kitty Baby (the outdoor cat) will often bring our guests special "gifts". But so far all the guests have laughed this off as "oh we have cats too, just means they love you..." haha.
We put photos of all our pets in our listing and explain that while they don't roam in guest spaces (except Kitty Baby) that they will be around and would love to say hello.
We've even had guests request to take our dogs on beach walks, which the dogs love!
These two greet our guests as they walk by. Sometimes our guests even ask if they can take them for walks on the beach!
Our cat Bijoux has become the official greeter for our property. As soon as a guest arrives, she runs to the meet them at the entrance to the apartment. She's not able to leave our enclosed backyard, so our guests are her entertainment. She gets lots of attention, and will even curl up in a lap when guests are sitting on the patio.
Most of my guests see my cats as a major bonus. I mostly host long term guests and many of them are missing their pets back home, but even short term guests seem to appreciate the cuddles and the purrs.
Pinot is the most confident of my three cats. She definitely rules the roost. One thing she loves to do is jump onto any bed I am trying to make. It doesn't matter if I tell her I have a new guest about to arrive, need to make the bed and her antics and floof are not helping matters. She loves to burrow under duvets and blankets.
Yesterday, I had a new guest arriving and Pinot burrowed under the bed. She refused to get out. Luckily, said guest had already told me that she was 'obsessed with cats' so I left the little monster in there. The guest, it turns out, was delighted by Pinot's behaviour. "Your cat is the the cutest, cuddliest kitty ever," she told me some hours later.
So, I guess I have to give Pinot some kudos for being a good co-host...
We have doggie day care here at our Airbnb. So lots of little four leggers running about. They are better hosts than we are. Kidding. My little girl loves the men and our daycare Pom loves everyone. Then some just lay in the sun and watch.
My property was my grandfathers home, his cat Suzie still lives on the property. She has a full paragraph in the description. She is the welcome party for every guest. Almost everyone of our guests leave an honorable mention in our guest book or in the online review. Most says she is the best part of the stay! Some have even threatened to take her home. We really hope they don't because she is a little piece of Big Papa!
