support animals

[Thomas2611]

We have a concern.  We recently had a couple of requests to stay at our place with service animals.  There is not enough guidance on the Airbnb website regarding this new topic.  It is so easy for guests to abuse this privilege by calling any pet a "support animal" and there seems to be nothing the host can do about it.  The Airbnb docs don't say what we should do if a guest says they will be bringing 4 large dogs, who shed, as service animals.  There is no way for the host to verify that they are all necessary.  Our space is only big enough for so many people, and yet we cannot count 4 large dogs against that number?  We cannot protect future guests from the allergens that will certainly be left behind?  We cannot charge more for cleaning or deposit when there is more wear and tear on our property?  There is no way to connect that guest's reviews from other hosts with their animals if the do not always take their animals with them?  Why do pets get more free rights than children?  

[Colleen253]

@Thomas2611 

https://www.airbnb.ca/help/article/1869/assistance-animals

Refer to the policy above. It’s pretty clear imo. The cards are stacked against those with no pets listings, but there are some tools in there one can fight back with. AA’s are not to be left unattended in the listing, for starters. You can point that out to the guest. 

When composing a review for people who have claimed ‘assistance animal’, and it’s clear they are taking liberties, while you can’t mention the animal (the review is likely to be removed), you can mention inability to follow house rules, (and problematic communication if appropriate) and mark down in stars accordingly. Click would not host again. 

[Branka-and-Silvia0]

My dog.... and my mum and my daughter and my best friends are my emotional support. If I bring them with me I expect them to stay for free.

[Heidi639]

Do you have a letter from a licensed physician and that it is renewed each year?
ESA's do not have the same rights!
May want to look that up on the ADA site.

If an owner has a no pet policy in place, then you shouldn't be bringing an ESA with you.  
They are not a service animal.

[Lorna170]

@Thomas2611   Up front, I do accept pets.  HOWEVER, I charge for pets, and that fee goes directly to housekeeping for the extra work involved in cleaning up the cabin and yard after a pet.

I am getting increasing numbers of persons claiming that their pet is a service animal or ESA and they will not pay the pet fee.  I have started sending these folks (the bogus ESA owners) a document that outlines the circumstances under which their ESA is welcome, i.e., barking behavior, being with the owner at all times, not left in the cabin unless crated, leashed while outside, has shots etc.  I ask for the name of the veterinarian and a credit card for reimbursement of damages attributable to the animal.  I do not ask for any information about what the animal does for the guest.  

Guess who cancels their booking or volunteers "we forgot" to pay the pet fee.  

[Heidi639]

First off there is a BIG difference with a "service animal" and a "ESA, emotional support pet".

I recently found out that Airbnb will be asking the guests if they are bringing a pet, service animal or ESA.
Is Airbnb asking for proper vet records that the pet is UTD on all shots?
What if someone gets bit?
Who is going to be responsible?  Airbnb? lol I bet they won't stand behind us owners/hosts.

Our resort does not allow pets but service animals are allowed and have to be by law.
ESA's do NOT have the same rights as a service animal.  They are not allowed in public places.

Did Airbnb even look this up on the ADA site?  I'm sure they didn't!

Anyone with an ESA has to have a letter from a licensed physician which needs to be renewed every year.

Do many people know this?
NOPE and you get people bringing their pets to stores, restaurants, vacation rentals thinking, oh they have to allow my ESA, or lie and say that their pet is an ESA.
WRONG! 
These people have no clue what they are talking about.

So, now I am in a bad situation with listing my property on Airbnb.
Anyone can easily say that they have and ESA and not provide any proof.

My resort, there is a strict "No pet policy" and it is stated in my listing, "No pets allowed".

If a pet has been caught in my unit by any employee or security at our resort, I can be fined $250.00 PER day as long as the guest is in my unit by the HOA.

How am I going to prove that they have a legal letter from a physician?  
I'm not!

So, with that said, I will mostly likely will be removing my listing from Airbnb along with tons of other people with this new question that is being asked to guests that are booking.

[Emilie]

Hi @Heidi639,  

Our policy has been updated to honour your concerns in regards to ESAs, giving you more control over pet fees. You can find more information here. 

Hope this helps, and thanks again for your feedback!

Emilie

[Kerry158]

Our listing is an allergy free space and a pet/animal free space because my son, 17, is very allergic to dogs/cats and he helps me clean our studios. This is his work.

Also, I have had many guests tell me thank you so much for having a clean allergy free space because they cannot stay in hotels because of their severe allergies.

The problem is we have had three people come in a row that have ESAs. The first person didn’t tell us and snuck a pitbull into our unit and we heard a dog barking and so we looked in the windows and there was a dog in a crate on our silk and wool carpet. The man left for the whole day to go to a wedding. When he left and I was starting to clean the space I stepped in a big wet spot. There was a giant wet puddle of pee that’s soaked through onto the wood floor. He said it wasn’t a pet that it was a support animal. He was a military guy and I did not feel comfortable asking him for reimbursement. This is a silk and wool rug that originally cost $6000 and I need to have it dry cleaned. I spent three days trying to get the urine stain out by putting it on my deck and washing it with shampoo, vinegar, and then using animal urine enzymes, vacuuming with baking soda. It’s imperative to get the smell out or another dog will pee on the same spot.

The next guest, a couple, showed up with an ESA dog. The dog wandered off leash and into our laundry area and we had to tell them their dog was loose. We live in a area with many coyotes and also the dog should be leashed. Then the woman slipped and said that she was so happy to be delivering the dog to her daughter to whom it belonged. So they lied when they inquired saying that her husband needed his ESA dog.

And I can’t believe it right now we have an Instant Book for someone who has a dog! Did I get on some kind of algorithm that allows animals? I’m going crazy here because my main employee, who is my son, cannot work in the space.

We have high-end furnishings, wool rugs and leather sofa and chair and antique Japanese cabinets.  We wanted to make it very beautiful.

Unfortunately, we will need to leave Airbnb even though this is a source of income to pay for his college. We love working together and saving for college. 

[Thomas2611]

@Kerry158 , you should definitely request reimbursement for the damage.  What is Aircover for, and what is a deposit for, if not for problems like that?  

[Donny-And-April0]

@Thomas2611 

We also have this issue few days ago Her review was all about harassing them because of their service dog. First and foremost, we love dog as we have our own! We as a host love to welcome every guest as they arrived to feel at home, and she’s complaining about as soon they arrived we harass them, it just happen they brought a service dog but it’s nothing to do with that, we just want to welcome them and explain the situation. We’re very much aware of the law and the rules and policy in airbnb about service dog, but since we’re an Airbnb with no pet policy, hope guest will considerate enough to tell the host in advance that they have service dog which we’re not against with is, law is law! At least  for us to prepare early as possible to find someone to help us do the cleaning as it’s not a regular cleaning at all but deep cleaning, we need to do that in order for us to protect the next guest if they have allergy issue. We’re in a remote area, in a mountainous region, our next city will be an an hour and a half if we’re lucky to find someone to help us. Luckily, we don’t have the same check out as we do have 2 cottages and I’m the only one on that day to clean as my husband is working , and hurray we have a late check-in , or else we’re screwed, fyi I clean it for 6 hours! We’re trying to explain to her that in the near future and to help other host too, give us an advance notice to prepare because not all airbnb are in a big city that you can easily find a cleaner and not all host have their own cleaner,we’re in a remote area and I resigned from my job as we can’t find any cleaner and need to do it on my own!  And obviously he didn’t read our listing about us on the site 😊she’s complaining about it! Though we live in the property, we have our own entrance, our 2 cottages have their own entrance gate and different parking area too . It’s very private and fully fenced! The only thing shared is the laundry area which it’s black and white in our listing. We call the airbnb and they can’t do anything about it because they didn’t violate the review policy guidelines. To use word like harassment is already against the review policy when you’re lying. ABB didn’t even care and listen to your explanation. We’re so disappointed!