**CAUTION - New Pets Callout Causing Confusion

[Joan2709]

Airbnb has added a new callout to the first page of a listing under Pets and it is causing confusion for guests! It makes it seem like the guest doesn't have to add pets to the reservation unless they are bringing more than 2????  😱😳!

Thanks to @Dana1757 for pointing this out!  Please provide feedback to Airbnb to change the wording ASAP! 

https://www.airbnb.com/help/feedback

It should say:

“Bringing pets? Be sure to add them here"  (or something similar)

The system automatically limits the number of pets chosen based on what the Host has chosen in House Rules:

@Rebecca @Bhumika 

[Andrea6232]

Ciao @Joan2709 

For once, Airbnb has listened to you! Now it appears like this:

[Joan2709]

@Andrea6232 

Just checked...it's still the same as shown in screen shot (at least in the U.S.) 🤔 

I don't think the callout appears unless you accept pets?

[Andrea6232]

@Joan2709  this is what appears on my listing from an Italian IP:

[Joan2709]

@Andrea6232 

But your listing doesn't accept pets right? (it's greyed out)

I believe the callout only appears if the listing accepts pets.

Try an incognito search for your area and add the "pets allowed" filter. Look at some of those listings and you'll see the callout.

[Andrea6232]

@Joan2709 right, my listing does not accept pets 😉

[Andrea6232]

@Joan2709 and yes, navigating in incognito I see the same callout as you!

[Bhumika]

Thanks for sharing this @Joan2709 ! I have made a quick note of it and passed it forward to the team 👀 

[Joan2709]

@Bhumika 

Thank you!!! 👏

[Lorna170]

@Bhumika  and @Joan2709 

To chime in here, the callout wording is confusing to guests.  What is worse however, is the wording under the Pets line "Bringing a service animal?"  I have had MANY guests tell me post booking that they are bringing their dog(s) but they did not add them to the booking as they are not service dogs.  

It should be "more than 1 pet", and the reference to service animals should appear once the guest has entered a number into the pet field.

[Joan2709]

@Lorna170 

Great idea! I don't think the wording about Service Animals should appear on the primary page either. It just encourages the "fake service animal" problem.

[Greystone0]

Thank you @Joan2709 !!!

..and just some further observation for AIRBNB.

PETS: is plural, implying 'multiple' from the get-go and by multiple anything more than 1 is plural. Also "pets" is whatever the guest has as a pet (dog, cat, bird, something else). In the US at least, this is mostly about a 'dog'.  But the word "pets" isn't the same as "dog" and the word 'pets' doesn't = dog in english. It should at least appear like this "Pet(s)" or better yet "pet dog(s)"

We list on another site and the options are:

Cat: (with a quantity)

Dog: " "

That's it. So if something else, in theory guest should pre-ask.

People ask "do you accept pets?" well yes, sort of. We accept 1 PET DOG. Not 'pets". 

Guests will try at every turn to make this work in their favor and the vagueness doesn't support a host that only is willing to have "1 dog" in their home.

To add insult to injury the comment about service dogs mixed with 'is it a pet' just makes people want to say "it is a service dog". We had an AIRBNB guest with 4 service dogs (one individual claimed all four where his service dogs). What does one do? This guest and his 4 dogs came and went and the dogs were fine but it felt like a violation none-the-less.

So, that's my rant - sorry Joan for adding.