Pet (cat) on Property, Guests Don't Read Listing

[Jennifer464]

I'm at my wits' end with guests not reading the listing, house rules, etc.  My listing states there is an indoor/outdoor cat on the property.  There is a picture of just him posted, he is mentioned in the listing and also in the house rules everyone must agree to. I'd say 75% of my bookings don't know there's a cat till they arrive or days before they arrive.  I am getting very tired of having to deal with the "emergency" situation for each booking,but I am also concerned that no one is reading the house rules. 

Has anyone else had this issue?  What did you do about it?

[Lawrene0]

When something like that keeps getting missed, @Jennifer464 , I make it part of my welcome message to the guest - the first message I send them after they instant book. 

Yours might be:

"Did you read that we have a cat? If that's a surprise, please take a moment to read the full description (under "Read more about the space") and rules (under "Read all rules") and our guidebook and photo captions. We like any surprises to be good ones!"

[Jennifer464]

Thank you @Lawrene0 !  I am going to steal this wording. 

[Helen3]

Hi @Jennifer464 

If you want guests to realise a cat sometimes lives there I would suggest you put the photo of the cat much earlier in the listing and mention it in your intro, not just in the 'other things to note'./

[Sarah977]

@Jennifer464   Like Lawrene said, it's important to message guests when they book to reiterate anything about our listings we've found is problematic as far a guests not thoroughly reading the listing, or that could be a potential problem.

For each host, this will be different- in my case I reiterate that that it's a 20 minute walk to town and the beach, that the room is for 1 person only, and that I have both a dog and a cat, altho they are both outside pets.

You can also add to that message that just in case a guest has allergies and didn't notice that you have a cat, they can cancel and receive a full refund within 48 hours. If they know that they might lose their money if they lollygag about re cancelling, that will usually move things along so they cancel and your calendar opens up again.

[Linda-And-Richard0]

@Jennifer464One of the first things I read in your information was about Wally, the Airbnb cat.  A person would have to be an IDIOT to miss it.  He is mentioned in several of your reviews and his picture is in the photos of your listing.  Perhaps his photo should be moved to a more prominant location.  Maybe a message that reads "Wally the cat anxiously awaits your arrival."  My only guess is potential guests look at dozens of properties before making a selection and then forget what they have seen or read about regarding a listing.

[Sarah977]

What's astounding to me is that people who have allergies to dogs or cats wouldn't take the initiative to make sure that a listing has no pets, and doesn't accept them. You'd think if you were going to be miserable, sneezing and having your eyes swell up and not being able to breathe properly in the presence of animals,  you'd message a host about it before you booked. Do people just not take responsibility for anything  these days, including their own health?  It would be like someone in a wheelchair booking a place without checking that it wasn't up 3 flights of stairs with doorways wide enough to accommodate them.

[Jennifer464]

@Sarah977 exactly! And I have to say that 75% of the people who claim to be giving alwefic stay and leave raving reviews anyway. I have not been as nice on the return as I believe an honest review helps the next host. I am very much turned off by Airbnb hosting lately. None of my damage claims have been approved and guests are extremely high maintenance. I’ve even been reprimanded by Airbnb for accepting a reservation request that the guest sent but after accepting they said they needed kitchen supplies that were gluten free and all bedding must be down free. AFTER they requested to book.

[Jennifer464]

Oh and @Sarah327 Sayulita is on my list for my next surf trip (in Santa teresa, CR for the last 5 months). I’ll keep you in mind!

[Sarah977]

@Jennifer464  Cool- definitely contact me if you are coming to Sayulita- I've never hosted another host before. You just have to promise you won't be one of those host/guests I've read about here who offer constant "constructive criticism" about everything and leave bad reviews 🙂

Have you ever watched J.P Sears' Youtube videos? If not, you should check out his "How to Become Gluten-Intolerant". You'd get a kick out of it- he's quite hilarious.

[Sarah327]

Weird, I keep getting copied into this conversation thread and I have never commented... I think you've been choosing the wrong @ Sarah : )