Pet fee - how much do you charge?

[Alice-and-Jeff0]

Was just thinking about my pet fee and was wondering what everyone else charges? 

[Brittany542]

After reading through all of these fantastic answers and suggestions, and the desire for Airbnb to fix the pet charges… 
this is where I am landing. 
We don’t allow pets, because cleaning after dirty people, (have only had 2, out of 50 guests) just seems easier than dirty people and dirty dogs, slobber, toe nail scratching wood floors, etc..
But we are considering, a 2 month stay inquiry with a labordoodle. 

Maybe:
$300 refundable animal damage fee.
$650 cleaning fee. (Cleaners come 2x a month @$100 a time + $150 move out clean).
And no pet fee. Or maybe $100. (It’s 2 months). 

1 dog, must be approved, contract signed and deposit paid 3 days before arrival.

[Gerri7 · Accepted solution]

We charge $20 per night per dog, and collect a fully refundable $250 security deposit per dog. Our maximum is 2 dogs. Guests are asked to complete and sign a copy of our Dog Agreement (contract). We have several restrictions - no puppies under 1 year, dogs must be spayed or neutered (less likely to mark, to be aggressive, to roam, often are more calm, etc.), dogs must be well behaved on leash, and owners must agree to keep dogs on leash whenever they are outdoors. We have lots of wild critters here - bear, deer, turkeys, fox, eagles, coyotes, etc., and the leash rule is intended to protect wildlife as well as the dogs and our neighbors.  It is amazing how few problems we've had. Vacuums are available to guests at both of our homes and we tell guests if they clean up after the dog/s and there are no damages, we'll refund 100% of the deposit. I don't know how many visiting dogs we've had over the years, but it's a lot. The owners are thrilled to be able to bring them along on vacation, and we have found that dog-owning guests are often better than those without pets. In 5 years we have only withheld money once from the deposit. We have dogs ourselves and allowing them at the rentals is really a win-win. 

Sorry this is so long, but I want to add a comment about the new restrictive policy Airbnb has implemented. If you check the 'pets accepted' box, their default is 5 animals (!!! right??) and you're required to enter a per-stay fee. The host has no flexibility to charge per night, instead of per stay.  

My workaround is to message guests immediately after booking with a copy of our Dog Agreement. The Agreement contains information about our fees and deposits. I bill through the Resolution Center and, after the stay, I promptly refund the deposits. Not ideal, but there doesn't seem to be any other way to do it.

[Pawel49]

Hello,  i have a different question regarding animals.  How often do you have booking with a pet? Is it like every second booking or 1 in 10? Did you have cats? Thank you 

[Gerri7]

No to cats. I love them, but they go where they want and will shed all over everything. Also, many will jump up on counters, etc. and it's too easy for items to be knocked off and broken. Not to mention scratching. I don't know of any VR owner that allows cats.

We have bookings with dogs often in summer - at least 50% of guests. In winter it's much less. 

[Anabel242]

Hi gerri,

Your reply was very helpful,  do you think you can send me the pet agreement/ contact,  i am needing it asap. I'm a new host and i have s family wanting to bring 5 pets.  2 cats and 3 dogs. 

[Gerri7]

Please scroll through this thread and you'll find it. 🙂

[Mihai117]

Very good this article! 👍👍

[Ptown0]

The problem with the billing and then refunding through the resolution center is both they and you get charged Airbnb fees, twice, which seems ridiculous and unreasonable for dealing with the pet security deposit. I know they say they provide Aircover insurance but putting down a simple security deposit usually makes people think twice about brining an unruly dog - because it’s their money, not some huge corporation, that’s going to pay for damages.  But it would allow for a smaller security deposit request - in your case $250 seems reasonable and would cover any additional cleaning or small issues like a peed on rug. 

[Gerri7]

I agree with you 150%. 

[Samuel947]

I feel that Airbnb is intentionally keeping the pet policy restrictive. They can easily give hosts the option of hosting pets by the count and per night or fixed fees. Plus add options for refundable deposit.  If they need help with design/coding, I can assist because the issue is ridiculous. But I am sure programming is not the problem. This flexibility for pets is way overdue. 

[Gerri7]

Well said, and I think you're right. Sometimes they forget that the host is the true customer. Nothing to rent = no income. 

[Vivian1237]

Where did you source you dog agreement? I would love to see it. And how do you charge the $250

[Lauren3607]

This may be a silly question - where do you send the dog agreement for the guest to sign prior? Do you ask for their emails to send? I know airbnb has their emails, but I don't think they are provided unless I am mistaken..

[Gerri7]

Not a silly question at all. If an instant booking comes in and the guests indicate they're bringing pets, I message them to say 'thanks again for booking' and attach a copy of our Dog Agreement. It's awkward and unprofessional that they can't see it until after they book.

I also tell them in the message that if they have any objections to the terms and conditions, or to the per-night fees, they can cancel and receive a refund of any amounts they've already paid.

When they send the signed dog agreement, I bill them through the Airbnb Resolution center.

As much as I hate having to handle it this way, I will tell you that guests have always been fine with it. They're so happy to be able to bring their dogs (2 max) that a little inconvenience doesn't seem to upset them. 

Hope this helps - there is just no easy way.

Gerri

[Mirko198]

...one more question: would you be willing to send copy of your Do Agreement that you send to your guests, please?

**[Contact details removed - Community Center Guidelines] - Please note that it is not allowed to advertise or share contact details on the Community Center.

[Gerri7]

There's a copy of the Dog Agreement content in this post. Hopefully you'll be able to see it if you scroll through the messages. 🙂

[Mirko198]

Hello Gerri7

Airborne allows guest to be charged per stay which cannot be more then base price. base price is per day lets say 100/day  x 30 days =3000 and fro dog  would be 100 fro 30 days. I tried to enter 600 but did not allow me. do you use this charge per stay allowed by airbnb?

thank you

[Gerri7]

No. I bill separately through the resolution center. It's the only option that gives us any flexibility.

[Samuel947]

Hi Gerri, thanks for the details and sharing your ideas. One question: what if a guest instant books before accepting your pet agreement? Or maybe you don't do instant booking?

Thank

Sam

[Gerri7]

Hi Sam,

We do accept instant bookings for guests with prior positive host reviews. I mention in our listings that we charge per night, per dog, subject to conditions outlined in our dog agreement.

When an instant booking comes in, I send a customized email to the guest immediately, explaining that I'm limited as to what I can specify in the 'pets allowed' section, and I share a copy of our Pet Agreement for them to complete and return. If all is ok, I explain that airbnb will contact them with a request for payment of dog fees. I also explain that if they have any concerns or aren't willing to follow our policies for any reason, or object to the fees, I will issue a full refund of what they have paid toward their stay. I apologize for the inconvenience and any confusion.

It is a frustrating, inefficient, awkward process, and it ticks me off every time I have to do it this way. Airbnb really dropped the ball on this and I wish they would fix it. It's just a matter of programming within their system.

The good news is that not one guest has cancelled because of this backwards approach. They're generally thrilled to be able to bring their dog/s and our nightly fees are less than what they'd have to pay to board them.

Hope this helps. 

Gerri