No Pets - Ejecting guests who bring dogs against the rules

[Janet-And-Stuart0]

Dog owners are interesting people ... I own dogs and love my dogs.  They are a part of my team at my house ... help protect the home from external threats like deer and cougar in my neighborhood ... and they are my good friends.  But my dogs have rules ... they can't wander the house and can't go into my bedroom areas ... and they can't visit my lake cabin that I rent on AirBnB.

Most dog owners cheat because they think their dogs are "special" and "well behaved".  And they try to sneak dogs into the properties they rent on AirBnB which is often against the rules set of "No Pets".  And of course ... many dogs owners think nothing of sleeping with their dog in the bed and in the linens you are renting them.  When dog owners cheat ... what can you do ?   

You can eject dog owners who cheat and you have every legal right to.  In a hotel, if a guest breaks the rules, the inn keeper can forcibly eject a guest if a correct process is followed.  I explain upfront in my listing that I will eject any guest and the guest's entire party if they break the No Pets rule.  You can see some detail of the law here at this link:

https://hotels.uslegal.com/removal-of-guests/

Is this "bad for business" ... NO ... and the reason it is not bad for business is because most guests expect that a "No Pets" policy means they are staying and renting an abode where dogs and pets have not been.  Having a strong policy that you enforce says to these guests who prefer the "No Pets" policy that what they are buying is indeed a "No Pets" abode.  A hotel that advertises "Pet Friendly" might as well run sign that says "A dog slept in the bed you will rent from us the previous night."  Now that would be truthful and that would definitely be bad for business.  As well ... pets add costs for cleaning and pull down the quality of the lodging you are selling.

I'm looking to AirBnB for a more assertive policy to backup the renters that have guests who violate the "No Pets" rule.  Financial penalties should be levied against the rule breakers.  So far ... AirBnB has been very wishy washy regarding the issue which does not show much respect for our properties and the hard work we invest in them to keep them clean and bright.

And one last point regarding Emotional Support Animals ... these are not "Service Animals" as defined by the ADA.  There is no legal obligation to support such animals that I am aware of.    A doctor's letter or "official card" does not turn an Emotional Support Animal into an ADA Service Animal. 

This is not intended as legal advice ... but only pointing out the information I am aware of by searching online.

[Alexandra316]

@Janet-And-Stuart0 While you're correct that support animals are not service animals and are therefore not covered by the ADA, Airbnb's corporate policy does not make a distinction between the two and if a guest makes a complaint that you didn't allow them to stay with their emotional support animal, you can be delisted under the terms of their nondiscrimination policy. See https://www.airbnb.ca/help/article/1869/what-is-an-assistance-animal for all the details. As per Airbnb, the only reason you can refuse to host a support or service animal is if it poses a health or safety risk to you or your family. You aren't allowed to charge a fee for service or support animals either.

[Janet-And-Stuart0]

OK ... so anyone can sneak a dog into a home you're renting them with a dog that they self declare is for "Emotional Support" with no other documentation or otherwise and allow them to sleep in my bed and then crap and piss on the way out the door ?  And still AirBnB has the ability to publish a "No Pets" policy ?  AirBnB is trying to have it both ways and it's not going to happen.

We have zero area for dogs like a lawn or otherwise for them to use because the space we rent is so small.  

Something just dosn't add up there ... sounds like a health hazard to me.  

Guests with allergies who see our posted "No Pets" policy rely on it being a "No Pets" rental as well ... which is also a health issue.

I'm going to stick with my policy that AirBnB allows me to state up front "No Pets" in bold letters.

If there is an ADA Service Animal issue ... we'll address that separately from an "Emotional Support Animal" issue.  We have 90 stairs to get to the cabin ... so no one with a disability has ever inquired about our place so far.

Thanks for sharing.

[Deborah1208]

I once wanted to see how hard it was to get an emotional support license for a pet. This was after a horrid American Airline flight where a great big mastiff smacked the back of my seat with its tail for 3 hours. The answer is this. Pay the fee, send the picture and they will send you a license. 

I know, as my 2000# Draft Horse Stallion has an emotional support license. (I might have lied about his weight), so, he has papers, are you going to let him in the house?

[Ann489]

@Janet-And-Stuart0    I agree with 100%.   We have a strict "no pet policy" due to a family member's severe dog allergies and you bet we enforce it 100%.  We had to ask Airbnb to make a note on our account which exempts us from hosting anyone with a service animal. 

I feel that if the presence of someone’s service animal poses a danger to my health, I will choose my health over their need. My health and the health and well-being of my family comes first. Period. It seems crazy to me that a law that is designed to prevent discrimination because of a disability also, by design, enables endangering someone else's health. I highly, highly doubt that ADA regulations were intended to allow that kind of scenario.

[Shannon261]

@Ann489 love hearing the feedback. We recently have had someone complain about their ESA Pit bull dog not being allowed on our property but I have an allergy to dogs as well. How did you get this "note" on your account and how do you usually respond to guests that ask about bringing pets? They always say we are discriminating and the last thing we want is to be sued  

[Ann489]

@Shannon261    I simply called Airbnb and explained the situation.  Luckily, we have only had two requests by guests wanting to bring their dogs.  Only one of them was an actual service dog---the other an ESA.   In both instances, the guests were understanding when we explained the situation (our seven-year-old grand daughter, who is profoundly disabled, has severe dog allergies. She is blind and non-verbal, and we have to be very cautious around her).

[Ian-And-Anne-Marie0]

In the last couple of years we have come across multiple examples where otherwise 'house pets' have had certificates purchased to fulfil them as ESA when they're nothing of the sort, particularly in travel. Airlines are onto this now and have recently been reviewing their rules, but the problem will still persist, and particularly in the Americas.

Heres an example of one of the reasons why we don't allow pets... This is from a 'clean' commercially laundered duvet cover where the dog owner has allowed their dog to sleep in a hotel/holiday let bed which is not theirs yet they feel entitled to allow their dog to use the bed and bedding like their own.

[Kelly149]

ABB ToS specifically disallow damage reimbursement for any pet damage so I’m amazed that hosts agree to host pets at all

[Sarah977]

@Janet-And-Stuart0  Love your post and wholeheartedly agree. I am also a dog owner and don't allow pets in the private room I list. I've never had a guest arrive with a pet, but I'd have no problem refusing them entry if they did. 

My reasons for not allowing pets are that my dog (as well as the many dogs I've had throughout my life) are never allowed on the furniture-furniture is for people. A dog that is used to sleeping in bed or on the sofa will do so everywhere and the owner will allow it to. My dog is also an alpha female. She has terrorized other females on her territory and around the neighborhood and while she is now old  and it happens seldom anymore, if she decides another female dog poses a threat, there is little I can do about that, it's in her DNA. She used to terrorize one of my neighbor's female dogs (not the other) every time my back was turned, until one day when I went over to visit and there was an empty dog food bag sitting just inside the front door on it's way out to the garbage. The neighbor's dog was sitting right next to it, and when my dog walked in, their dog, defending the empty bag, ripped a 3 inch peice of skin off my dog. That was the end of my dog messing with her.

All I need is some guest suing me and getting me delisted because my dog attacked their theirs. Nor can I afford to go through an entire package of lint rollers because a guest sleeps with Rover.

[Ann72]

@Janet-And-Stuart0  I agree that people who sleep with their dogs in beds that are not their own are, well, disgusting.  I do allow pets, but in the house rules and the house manual I say that if they let their pets on the bed they'll forfeit their entire security deposit.  My eagle-eyed housekeeper, armed with lint rollers, can always tell.  You know and I know and everyone here knows that Airbnb won't support me if I ever have to try to enforce this.  But guests don't know that it's unenforceable, and the thought of paying the fine seems to have deterred them so far.  I instituted this rule after the very first guest of the season let her dog get on the linen bedcover with muddy paws.  She actually paid the dry-cleaning fee promptly, but honestly, how was she brought up???

[Sarah977]

@Ann72  I've had many dogs throughout my life and never allowed them on the furniture- not the sofa, not the armchair, not the bed. It really flabbergasts me how many dog owners seem to think that it's somehow "mean" if they don't let the dog do that. As if a dog would ever think to do that on their own if the owners hadn't ever encouraged it in the first place. I can't imagine why anyone would want to live with dog hair on the furniture, or have to constantly be vacuuming it up- it's bad enough having to sweep it up from the floor.

It's one reason I don't like cats- you can't actually train them not to curl up on the furniture (or train them to do or not do anything, for that matter). You can boot them off 20 times a day and as soon as you turn your back, they're up there again.

My dog, which is quite large, is terrified of thunderstorms, and when we have them, it's the only time she wants to be up on the sofa, and I do let her, as she's obviously in primal panic mode. I've figured out that she just feels somehow vulnerable on the floor- I think she can feel the storm through the floor- she actually starts panting about 10 minutes before lightning and thunder starts- she can feel it coming, which kind of amazes me. But the instant the storm has passed, she jumps off the sofa- it isn't a place she's used to hanging out and doesn't really feel comfortable there. And if it's nighttime, there is no way I'm letting a 70 pound dog on the bed, even though she's tried a few times, especially not one who's panting and pacing and won't lie still. So she just has to deal with her panic as best she can in the corner of my room on the floor.

I had an aquaintance who was living in her van for a short while while looking for a house to rent. She had a pot-bellied pig that slept in bed with her- how's that for disgusting?

[Rowena29]

Hey @Sarah977 

Now dont' get me wrong - I wouldn't allow a  pig in my bed.

BUT did you know that if given the opportunity, pigs are actually very clean?

Much cleaner than dogs. 

And I'm a dog lover. 

(  I have a pet pig, but not a potbelly, -  he's huge and has tusks and occasionally tries to rape my husband, so definitely not welcome in our bed!)

Cheers

[Sarah977]

@Rowena29  Yes, I've heard that pigs can be, in fact, quite clean. I'm sure they don't shed copious amounts of fluffy undercoat that goes bouncing across the floor like tumbleweeds and sticks to everything, either.

The pig trying to rape your husband is the funniest thing I've heard all day.

[Rowena29]

My husband certainly didn't think it was remotely funny at the time.  He was squatting down in the pen changing a tap washer when the pig amorously  approached. He ( the pig) weighs close to 400 kg so the interaction was not exactly tender...   

I remain the only person in the household game enough to go into the pen with him.  

You just need to smack him on the snout if he gets a bit out of line and he's easy to manage (although I wouldn't' care to get between him and his desire to get to the food trough, those hooves are like stiletto heels)

Watching his incalculable pleasure slurping  sour milk or cheese is still one of my great joys...

We have 3 dogs, the youngest is a Harlequin Great Dane. I absolutely adore her, but I cannot BELIEVE the amount of hair she sheds - she easily rivals the tumbleweed undercoat of the German shepherd. She's not allowed on the furniture either, other than an old sofa which is her bed,  but occasionally I find her sleeping up on the pool table....

I can just imagine the havoc they'd all wreak at an unfamiliar house, which is why I completely understand people's reluctance to host pets.  Although I frequently  think young children are just as work intensive and not nearly as entertaining.