Hostile message from potential guest, in reference to my Pet Policies

[Dawn402]

I received an initial message last night, from a potential guest, inquiring about my Pet Policies.  Message as follows:

"Hi I’m planning a trip to visit my parents who live in Bristol at the end of September and we would like to bring our dog and I see that you do have some options but just to discuss or a first I have a Cavalier King Charles spaniel he is eight years old and very quiet sleeps most the time his name is Nigel and very lovable we probably won’t be there very much as my dad is in a nursing home and will be visiting him throughout the day. Please let me know if you are open to letting us bring our dog and also I wanted to check with you on the location in Portsmith I’m familiar with certain areas I know with the shopping areas are and grocery stores but I know there’s other spots that are not too familiar for me." - *DISCLAIMER: The wording/spelling in her message is verbatim; grammar usage was not altered by me, in any way.  

My response message:

[Greetings xxxx,

We do allow one dog, in the room which you are inquiring about. Our pet polices are as follows:

*A non-refundable pet fee of $50, per night, will be incurred.
*Pet must weigh 15 pounds or less.
*One pet allowed, per room.
*Pets are prohibited from lying on/sleeping on our beds/linens or furniture and must be crated while you are not in your room.
*Pets cannot be present in the dining area during breakfast service, per state and local health department regulations.
*Should any of the other quests be allergic to, have an "aversion to" or be afraid of dogs, we require that he/she be kept in your room, when other guests are present in the common areas (living room, kitchen and dining area).
*Pet must always be on a controlled leash, when not inside of the guest room.
*Pet must be walked only on the designated pet area(s) of the property.
*Guest is responsible for cleaning up after their pet on the outside property and properly disposing of the waste in the outside designated trash receptacle.
*Guest room is subject to damage inspection, at any time and upon checkout.
*Noise/Disruptive complaints: If the Innkeeper receives more than 2 (two) complaints, alternative arrangements must be made for your pet.
*In the event that your pet has an "accident" - there will be a charge for necessary cleaning and/or a charge of 100% of fair replacement value, should any non-repairable damage occur to the property, including, but not limited to guest room, furnishings, rugs, décor or linens.

We also require a signature and date on all these policies. The document can be emailed to you.

Kindest regards,

Dawn - Innkeeper]

*NOTE: In addition, I sent her a separate response message, in reference to her inquiry about the location of my property, advising her that it is in close proximity to the local town hall and police station.  I did not offer the exact location. 

Due to the fact that I had not received a response, after an hour and a half, I then sent her a follow up message and declined her inquiry to book.  

[Hello xxxx,

Since you haven't responded back to my email, I am assuming that our pet policies do not suit your needs.

Respectfully,

Dawn - Innkeeper]

She responded an hour and a half later:  

"I read over your pet policy and I don’t understand why you charge $50 a night for a pet fee which means it would cost us $200 to bring our dog with us to state your property which is more than what hotel would charge also how can you charge $50 a night for a pet fee but if my dog has an accident there’s an additional charge on top of that don’t you think that’s a little excessive honestly I don’t want to stay at your property just for that reason alone because that is just totally an equitable for the customer and it seems to me that you might be trying to make a profit off of somebody else’s circumstances of having to bring your pet with them. Hardly believe they actually cost you $50 a day to have a pet sit there and sleep in the bedroom honestly let’s be fair about this I think this Airbnb ancillary charges are getting a little out of control which is really too bad because it’s going to force people like us who are looking for accommodations to go back to using hotels because it’s on affordable to stay at Airbnb’s because of all these additional charges I hope you take my thoughts and comments into consideration when setting your policies and setting your rates because it’s going to come around again where people are gonna be using Airbnb anymore because the prices are just getting out-of-control think about it." - *DISCLAIMER: The wording/spelling in her message is verbatim; grammar usage was not altered by me, in any way.  

I proceeded to report this user to AIRBNB and sent her the following message:

[Due to the hostility in your message, I have reported you to AIRBNB customer service. Please refrain from sending any further messages to me.]

She responded, immediately, with the following message:

"My questions and my comments are totally legitimate and warranted if you’re gonna put yourself out there and do business you have to be prepared to handle questions and concerns from customers whether you like them or not and I hardly find anything in my tone or my questioning hostile their confrontational and assertive but not hostile don’t confuse the two." - *DISCLAIMER: The wording/spelling in her message is verbatim; grammar usage was not altered by me, in any way.  

My response:

[Definition of confrontational: tending to deal with situations in an aggressive way; hostile or argumentative.  
As previously requested: Please refrain from contacting me again. Thank you.]

Her response:

"I think I’m going to have a conversation with Customer Service myself and see where we go with this. And the definition of hostile is belligerent violence and combative and I would never describe any of the messages I sent you as the above."  *DISCLAIMER: The wording/spelling in her message is verbatim; grammar usage was not altered by me, in any way.  

My response:

[I'm sure they they would love to hear from you. Best of luck with that.]

*The conversation ended at this point.

As of this morning, I have yet to receive any form of communication from AIRBNB on this matter.  I attempted to block the aforementioned user, however I am not able to do so, via the AIRBNB site.  

Any suggestions, as to how I should proceed with this issue??

*ON A SIDE NOTE; THIS USER HAS THE FOLLOWING DETAILS LISTED ON HER PROFILE:

"I’m a very private person and periodically travel within the domestic US and internationally. When I use Airbnb my main focus is the trip and I really don’t want to spend time socializing with hosts and prefer to go about my own business and not engage in small talk. I’m extremely neat and orderly. I choose potential listings that reflect similar surroundings to my home; neat, tastefully decorated, comfortable and efficient. Also I try to leave things exactly the way I found them and I take very good care of the place while I’m there. Most importantly for me is that the bed is comfortable and is accessorized with quality pillows and linens, frankly nothing is more unsavory than old used pillows that have an unpleasant odor, stubby sheets and flimsy comforters or duvets. Most of the time I’m gone and not lounging at the property. That being said I really depend heavily on quality and restful sleep and if I didn’t sleep well enough I probably won’t return to the place. I’m fair and straightforward with the business aspect of Airbnb as far as scheduling and payment. Finally I really wish the communication system would be more flexible within the Airbnb universe. It seems cumbersome to have to use the app to send and respond to text messages regarding scheduling logistics. I think providing the option to communicate live initially between the host and guest prior to finalizing the transaction would possibly minimize confusion."  - *DISCLAIMER: The wording/spelling listed above is verbatim; grammar usage was not altered by me, in any way.  

[Sarah977]

@Ute42  I have a friend who says that dogs that small aren't actually dogs, they're a form of rodent 🙂

[Ute42]

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@Sarah977  I do allow dogs in my listing and my experiences with very little dogs are not good. They're the ones who make the most noise and try to bite everyone which is rediculous. German Sheppards and Golden Retriever behave much better bc they know they are a dog, they don't have to prove it all the time.

[Sarah977]

@Ute42 That's because small dog owners confuse their dogs with babies and coddle them and think everything they do is lovable and cute, including jumping up on your lap with their dirty paws. "Aw, he likes  you!"

[Branka-and-Silvia0]

@Sarah977 @Ute42 

😄 loool

as our Robin ones said: it's not a small dog, it's teeth on four legs 😄

Btw where is Robin?

[Ute42]

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@Branka-and-Silvia0  , @Sarah977 

I wonder if there's an anti-discrimination policy at airbnb for small dogs. If so, we're all in deep trouble.

Yes, where is Robin, haven't heard from him for a while.

But @Letti0 is back by the way.

[Branka-and-Silvia0]

@Ute42  I wonder when Airbnb will introduce "no charge for puppies up to 2 y,o" :))))

[Ian-And-Anne-Marie0]

@Ute42 

@Dawn402  has a No Pets policy. $50 is not excessive, they can chose not to bring their dog. If Dawn wanted to charge $1000 per dog she could. Why would guests want to book Dawns places if they were planning to bring a dog? Her listing clearly says "No Pets". The guest decides whether they want to bring snapper along and if they do they need to pay the punitive fee as stated. No argument. Its there, upfront as an additional charge.

Dawn obviously doesn't and wouldn't charge per HBpound. Your calculation of cost per HBpound would mean heavy people would need to pay more which I do think guests would be more offended by than a stated "no pets" waiver.

[Ute42]

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@Ian-And-Anne-Marie0 

Dawn has a no pets policy now, but she didn't have it before. On Tuesday she wrote:

• I am considering not allowing pets at all...

She changed her policy yesterday or the day before.

Yes, she can charge $50 or $1000 for a dog, bc that's the freedom of free enterprise. At the same time this is a joke. In terms of weight she is charging 20 times more for a little dog than for a human being. If she wants to „deter guests from requesting to bring them“ why doesn's she just tick the „no pets box“ in her listing. And that's what she finally did.

And by the way my calculation doesn't mean „heavy people would have to pay more“ bc prices at airbnb go up per person and not per pound. If a 180lbs person pays $0.16 per pound, a 360lbs person pays only $0.08 per pound – right?

This entire thread about hostile messages, endless dogrules and ridiculous nightly rates for dogs is nonsense from start till the end. Dawn finally realised this and ticked the „no pets box“. I'm not even tagging her in order not to provoke an answer.

[Dawn402]

@Ute42 - Your comment - "Dawn has a no pets policy now, but she didn't have it before." is erroneous.  

I have 4 rooms total and allow dogs in two of them.  I have not changed my pet policy on these two rooms.  

[Ian-And-Anne-Marie0]

@Ute42 

Dawn's policy on pets hasn't changed. If you check out her listings its exactly the same as it was when this thread started. As to charging by the pound - !@£%&*! 🙂

Her "no pets" policy states her position. If pressed she 'might' accommodate pets but only for specified sizes at a price. Guests have the option to pay - or not. Its not a negotiable value, but at least Dawn is making an effort to compromise.

[Ute42]

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@Dawn402 ,

ok. So You have 4 listings. 2 of them have a no pet policy, 2 of them have a 1 dogpound is $3,33 per night policy. You have this policy in order to „deter people to bring them“.

Dawn, can we make it clear and short: You don't like dogs in Your places, is that right?

If so, tick the no pets box in all of Your listings and You won't get hostile messages anymore.

[John1574]

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@Ute42 @Dawn402 

This makes sense as it doesn't cause a surprise for people who are looking for a place that takes dogs, by searching using  search parameters, for "dogs allowed".

It just dawned on me (he he) that people search for listings that allow dogs, so it makes sense that if you don't want dogs in your BnB, just don't check that box. Then you don't have to engage with pet owners at all.

But shoulda, coulda, woulda, it's all water under the bridge now.

But what a story and what a character. I'm glad you shared the story. And it seems you made the correct adjustments. That's how you do it!

But this is how we often learn,through our mistakes. No harm in that as long as we make each mistake only once, learn from it and move on.

As we often hear on the forum running an AirBnB is a constant process of problem solving, tweaking, and on the fly adjustments.

But, Man, was that whole, entire story a fun read.

I never knew there were characters like that, and her profile as a guest is a real wake up call. What was she thinking? Did she think she was making herself attractive to hosts with that diatribe?

It could be this person has a personality disorder and if so, she is more to be pitied than scorned.

But who, in their right mind, would want to host her . . . and her dog?  After reading that.

-

[Dawn402]

**[Inappropriate content removed - Community Center Guidelines]

[Bec19]

Oh my goodness this Dawn person has really gone too far.  Sending a message such as this to someone full of such vile racist insults because they gently questioned her odd dog policy. Her responses are full of nothing but self justification and heavy handed determination to be right as per the person trying to book a room with her dog then reporting them to airbnb because she questioned the charge of $50. I would drive across the country to avoid staying with someone like that. Where is common sense and compromise? Nowhere to be seen. 

[Dawn402]

@Bec19 - Scroll back through ALL of the defamatory posts, which the host Ute, wrote to me.  Maybe then, you will comprehend the reason behind me reaching my limit, of tolerating her complete disregard for me and my business decisions.