When to disclose about dogs on property?

[Luana130]

Hi, I don't know if I should mention my dogs on my listings... I currently don't, but I have seen a lot of hosts who do, even though they have a similar situation to mine. 

My dogs have no contact with guests. I have a large four story house, that I divided into 9 individual apartments. The main entrance to the house is on the third story (it's a hill), which is the street level. My apartment is on the ground level, and I have a private backyard where my dogs roam free. Guests have no acess here as they stay on the three levels above mine. 

I always thought about my house as a regular building, with neighbours around. If you rent an apartment in a building you don't mention that a neighbour one or two floors below or above have pets. So I never mentioned.

Should I? 

[Sarah977]

@Luana130  If the dogs don't come into contact whatsoever with guests, and don't bark, then I don't see any reason to mention it. However, if the dogs ever move through any spaces which the guest also has access to, like a stairway or hallway, then you should mention it. People with severe dog allergies could have their allergies triggered simply by walking through a space which dogs have been and if there's a possibility that they could be disturbed by dog barking, I'd mention that in your listing

Also, if you have a central heating system, there can be dog allergens coming through the heating ducts..

[Luana130]

Hi, no, they don't come into contact with guests, barking is normal, nothing out of the ordinary (they sleep with us, so no barking at all at night). They only have access to the stairs when we are taking them for walks which (unfortunatelly) is only a couple of times a week, and they are on a leash then.

No central heating (northeast of Brazil, no need), and no cental AC either, and my property is dog friendly, if someone has severe allergies they should not be renting it.

[Sarah977]

As they have access to the stairs, which it seems the guests also use, like I said, an allergic guest might experience issues- the fact they are on a leash in that area of course has nothing to do with that. 

I understand that an allergic guest should be able to see that your property is dog-friendly and not book if they have allergies, but it seems that many guests do not thoroughly read the listing info.

Since it's no big deal for you to mention the dogs in your listing info in a place the guest will hopefully notice, like maybe a photo in the gallery,  it's better to mention it than not- that way if a guest complains, you are covered- you've mentioned it and the guest failed to pay attention.

I say in my listing description "Dog and cat on premises- Please do not book if you have pet allergies."

[Branka-and-Silvia0]

@Luana130  I share your opinion, we rent an apartment in 3 story building and I don't see any reason to mention any of my neighbor's dog, cats or kids in my listing.

[Andrea-and-Francis0]

I believe in full honest disclosure to guests as I want them to be honest with me when situations arise example when something breaks. I pet sit occasionally in the house we live in that is upstairs & the basement apartments are in the basement & I have it disclosed on my listings as the dogs occasionally bark, make noise & for allergy reasons as well as just being honest. It's better to be honest & disclose then have a guest unhappy & want to relocate or write a bad review.

[Linda108]

Perhaps I am missing something, @Luana130 , but is there a down side to mentioning the presence of your dogs?  While there is little chance of a problem from what you have described, if it helps prevent any issues for a guest, why not disclose?

[Anonymous]

@Luana130  I agree with  @Linda108   -  what do you stand to gain from not disclosing the presence of dogs in downstairs units?  Guests who are afraid of dogs, sensitive to barking, or severely allergic are not going to be a good fit for your home anyway, even if you're 100% certain they won't make direct contact with the pets.

You don't necessarily have to tick the "pets live onsite" box, though. In the "Other things to know" tab there's also a "potential for noise" subcategory. What you enter here is highlighted for guests during the booking process and displayed next to your House Rules on the listing. This could be a useful place to indicate that dogs live in the main floor and yard. It's also advisable for people living in inner-city apartment buildings to state the obvious here and say that guests may be exposed to street noise and neighborly sounds, because you won't believe how many people believe they're entitled to total silence even in the middle of a big city, and review you harshly when reality doesn't rise to their expectations.