Pet issues

[Debby89]

Hey all, I'm new to hosting but I do accept well behaved pets. I wonder, how do you deal with the few quests who let pets have free roam of the home when specific area , (a whole room with separate entrance) is clearly the pet playroom?  And what about small damage such has leaving a door propped open and the wind breaks the arm off the door, (cost to replace $30 but NUISANCE for sure during turnover dates.) What do you "let go" and what do you ding with fees from deposit?  The pet hair on the sofas is really annoying!

[Lorna170]

@Debby89   First, there is no "deposit".  It is fiction.  It is not charged to the guest pre or post-rental.

If you accept pets, charge a pet fee to compensate for the annoyance of pet hair on the sofas.  Not all pet owners are irresponsible, but if Fido is allowed on the couch at home, he will be on the couch at the rental property.  Confining pets to a pet playroom is also not usual for many pet owners.  My "pet" peeve is when the pet is allowed to sleep IN the bed and I have to remove pet hair from the washer and dryer filters.  It's really fun taking off the washer impeller and breaking out the extension vacuum wand tool for the dryer.  

As to damages like the "arm off the door" my rule of thumb has been that unless the damage exceeds a certain dollar amount (as determined by my property owner's insurance policy and my tolerance for bad actors) I chalk it up to the cost of doing business, document the expense of the repair for my taxes, and move on.  Of course, if they have destroyed the shelves in the refrigerator (true story) causing cancellation or inconvenience to the next guest, then I go after the guest and the OTA.

[Colleen253]

@Lorna170 Funny, I also have a true story about broken fridge shelves. Boggles my mind how this even happens. 

[Debby89]

Thanks for the info about the broken arm on the storm door-it's more of trying to get parts and fix it these days. And, they didn't tell me so I went to clean and found it with new guest due in 4 hours.

But I do not understand when we post CLEAR rules about,  pets welcomed but confined to a specific room, (this is a LARGE room, empty, with windows and a baby gate allows both sides to see one another.) I'd be THRILLED to have this type of set up when I traveled-I'd hate to say no to pets but it limits future guests with allergies and such.