guests who are afraid of animals

[Mary696]

Looking for suggestions on how to respond to potential guests who are afraid of animals.  I currently have a guest who reserved my room a few weeks ago.  She is due to check in today.  She now brings up the fact that she is afraid of dogs and wants to know if I can put my dog in another room when she arrives.  I told her as gently as possible that my dog is very friendly, and I can't 'lock up' my dog due to her anxiety.  I also have a potential guest who is afraid of dogs, also wanting me to lock my dog up and to be sure that my dog stay away from him.  I don't want to be rude, but I also will not lock my pets for anyone.  It does say that my pets have free rein of the house with the exception of my guest room.  Any suggestions on what to say to these potential guest?  Or should I update my profile with more detail?  Thanks in advance!! 

[Rowena29 · Accepted solution]

Hi @Mary696 

I haven't got a lot of ideas about how to deal with the very unreasonable guests that are already asking you to keep your dog locked up the day they are due to arrive (!!!!)  They either have not read your listing right to the end ( very possible) or entitled and think you shoudl adjust your home living arrangements to suit them. Or both.   You can do without these sorts of guests.

here are a few ideas to head it off  guests likes this before too much time has elapsed, or prevent them from booking at all. 

Provide a photo of your dog early on in your gallery   - people tend to look at the pics more than they read. Include a caption saying your dog is friendly and roams about the common areas of the house freely

You could include the fact you have a dog again in your pre booking message ( think you have instant book, so you have a pre booking message option)

And finally after receiving a booking I would confirm the presence of your dog again ..

Hi  xxx thanks for booking,     blah blah.   a few things I need to point out. I'm sure you read the listing and saw that I have a dog.  He roams the house and I am not able to lock him away when guests stay.  This is nonnegotiable. If  this makes you uncomfortable in anyway you have 48 hours to cancel without penalty.   Otherwise I look forward to hosting you on...

Just my thoughts - hope its of some help

Cheers and Merry Xmas

[Anonymous]

@Mary696, @Rowena29 makes some good suggestions here. You absolutely should decline the potential guest who wants your dog locked up. You might also consider overriding your cancelation policy to allow an out for the one due to arrive in 2 days, as it's likely to be a fraught experience for both of you.

In my opinion, your situation is not well suited to Instant Book. Having a shared home with a dog in the house really begs for an extra step of discussion to make sure the guest is truly suitable for this environment before accepting the booking. And if you're repeatedly getting attention from people with aversion to animals, that means your dog is not featured prominently enough in the listing. If you include him in the lead photos and emphasize the canine co-host at the top of your listing description, you stand a far better chance of attracting pet lovers, who are really the only people who are appropriate for your setup. 

[Linda108]

Your guest's request is totally out of order, @Mary696 .  I agree with both @Anonymous and @Rowena29 .  I checked your reviews and 11 of them mention the dog in a very positive way.  A picture including the dog along with a friendly reminder in either the pre approval message or the welcome message is also a good idea.  I have done all of this for my private room listing and I do have IB as well.  

[Mary696]

Thank you all for your input!  I will update my profile and see about adding or rearranging my photos.  Happy Holidays to you and yours!!