Pet

[Michele1600]

Hello everyone. I am 2 months into hosting and I have loved every minute of it. I allow pets for a fee. 80% of my guests bring their dogs. My guest currently checking out has their pet and complained about dog smell in the house and finding a few fleas. Of course this is a concern but I believe comes with renting and Airbnb that accepts pets. Thoughts? I don’t like to push back on my guests but also stand behind my cleanliness haven’t gotten any other negative feedback.

[Anonymous]

@Michele1600  A flea infestation is a pretty serious issue that would likely qualify the guest for a refund. I think you need to show that you're taking it seriously. That might mean amending the booking to advance the guest's checkout date and refund the remaining nights so that you can get a pest control service in.

[Michele1600]

Thanks for the advise. My Airbnb is in the South a few fleas here and there are common. As long as you pet is treated they die off. If a guest saw a few fleas that is far from an infestation and shouldn’t require a refund.

[Anonymous]

@Michele1600   Fleas lay about 50 eggs per day. "Just a few" today can be a full-blown infestation tomorrow. Even if you don't see it as a big deal, neither your guests nor Airbnb will be persuaded by your argument. A review from a guest saying they reported fleas and you did nothing about it will kill your listing - I certainly wouldn't take my dog somewhere with a laissez-faire attitude to fleas.

[Michele1600]

I take it very seriously my guests checked out and i went thru the whole house and not one flea. Reached out to my previous guest and  they had no issues. I was reaching out to the community to get a sound board and you took a few fleas and turned it into an infestation. I had a roach in one of my visits and i would never say there was an infestation. I easily could have and tried to get a discount which i hear on other forums is a common practice by guests. Thanks for you help but I think you are misunderstanding my questions and the situation.

[Anonymous]

@Michele1600   The only question you asked was:  "Thoughts?"  Well, you got thoughts.

I hope that you don't have an infestation, but even if you don't, the guest must have been bothered or else she wouldn't have brought it up. To push back against the complaint would definitely not help. Assuming that the fleas will be mentioned in the forthcoming review, you might want to start thinking about how you'll convey in your public response the efforts you've made to investigate and resolve the issue.

[Michele1600]

I have 4 dogs and if i found a flea on one of them at a friends house i wouldn’t blame my friend.  Just finding the balance when receiving feedback. 

[Helen744]

@Michele1600 I imagine that you also accept guests without dogs ? If I stayed with you and I found a flea on myself then I would be very unhappy. I think you should try and see this from the humans point of view because the dogs dont have credit cards.H

[Helen744]

the way to find fleas if they are around is to vacumn the whole house and then tip out all the dust outside onto white paper or similar . You will see them fairly quickly. Fleas can lie dormant for a long time and warmer weather causes them to hatch . Not your fault but as Andrew says , one day they are not there and then they are .Most of us are always watching for various itty bitty creatures. Dealing with them quickly is always best .H