Charging for Pet Fees

[Lisa400]

Why oh why does Airbnb refuse to have a "pet fee" button????  I have a very busy guest house with a pool and I am pet friendly.  Guests love being able to swim with their dogs and I'd say that 95% of my guests bring a pet(s).  I do charge for pets through "extra services" "resolution center"  but it is such a pain to go through all of these extra steps and then follow-up afterwards.  The majority of the time there is confusion for the guests and I end up having to walk them through the process of making the payment.  It is an extra irritation for both sides.  I am also listed on another vacation rental app and it is such a breeze when I get a booking with them because they have a simple button for the guest to check to automatically charge them the pet fee.  So whats the problem Airbnb? 

[Lisa723]

@Lisa400 I don't think anyone outside of Airbnb understands why they have ignored hosts' pleas for this for years. WIth 95% of your guests bringing pets, though, why not just build it into your regular rates and advertise "no pet fee"? (You could alternatively offer a discount for no-pet stays.)

[Alexandra316]

@Lisa400 I think that Airbnb just doesn't want anything to do with pets. Pets are specifically excluded from their host guarantee, for example. This change has been requested hundreds of times on this forum - probably thousands - as well as in every host listening event I've ever attended, and here we are still without it. I don't think there's any other explanation. If they acknowledged that pets were being brought by guests,  maybe they'd have to start paying out when there were damages. 

I think that the ultimate cruel trick that they play with this is making hosts take people's support animals - not service animals, but support animals that aren't protected by law in many places - under threat of being delisted for discrimination, and then not paying out for those damages. 

I also host a lot of pets, and I don't charge a fee specifically because they make it so cumbersome. I just roll it into the price. 

[Helen3]

As 95% of your guests have pets can you not build one pet into your day rate. Then you only have to charge those with 2 pets or more

[Maria14684]

But how much do I charge?