Add the pet fee at the time of reservation and the damages caused by the pets should be cover by the host's guarantee or secure deposit

Fernando1561
Level 5
Sarasota, FL

Add the pet fee at the time of reservation and the damages caused by the pets should be cover by the host's guarantee or secure deposit

Airbnb does not have a specific section to add a fee for pets and the option to charge it through the Resolution Center or adjust the cleaning fee, It is not the correct way, because  many times  If you ask for the fee  thru the Resolution Center Guests do not want to pay it and they get upset, leaving  a bad review.

THAT IS WHY AIRBNB MUST SOLVE THIS PROBLEM NOW AND HAVE THAT SPECIFIC OPTION TO BE PAID BY THE RESERVATION TIME

Likewise, the Host Guarantee does not cover damages caused by pets, even when Guests paid the secure deposit ,   it doesn't cover any damages caused by pets.

PLEASE HELP ME  TO CALL, WRITE TO IRBNB SO THESE REQUESTS BECOME VIRAL BECAUSE IT IS BENEFIT  TO EVERYBODY( HOSTS)

15 Replies 15
Sarah977
Level 10
Sayulita, Mexico

@Fernando1561  Hosts have been requesting this for years. Airbnb obviously doesn't care.

VRBO has it automatically put in the listing. Why can’t Airbnb do the same?

Mike-And-Jane0
Level 10
England, United Kingdom

@Fernando1561 Given that Airbnb do not make it easy to collect a pet fee and do not pay out for pet damage under the host 'guarantees' why not just make your listing pet free.

Clearly pets seem to cause lots of damage so I have sympathy with Airbnb not wanting the expense of covering this. Of course where they are being a bit naughty is when they keep suggesting hosts allow pets in their listings.

I thought they would of least covered some of the damage on the security deposit that I require on my listing.

Airbnb is everything what they encourage the hosting community to be: sneaky, dishonest, lacking transparency. "A bit naughty," is a huge understatement. Airbnb is shamelessly taking advantage of the hosts, pets are just jet another super disturbing issue,  No honest company would encourage it's partners (hosts) to be pet friendly and at the same time refuse by their policies to cover pet damage. All the Airbnb's policies regarding pets are dangerous and damaging for the hosts. Jet some idiots, including us, still welcome pets as we saw our hosting mission as making this world better place, one guest at the time. Seems like the pet friendly listings and hosts are forced dealing with the same or more damage done by Airbnb than pets themselves.  Disturbing!

Kathleen710
Level 5
Decatur, GA

Can I have a no pet policy amd charge someone that brings a pet?  I have a guest now that brought two pets in and told me that they were service dogs and did not pay the pet deposit.

Ii had a guest that came in for two months and was running a pet shelter out of my house.   A neighbor had counted 13 dogs in my front yard.  Needless to say my house was destroyed and Airbnb does not cover any damage caused by pets.  

How can I protect my house and what recourse would I have?

@Kathleen710 Yes you can but it would make no sense whatsoever - What you cannot do is charge for a service animal as they are not classed as pets.

Any pet can be called a service pet or emotional support?? Can I require documentation?

Can I ask for prof of this?

@Kathleen710 There is no proof if a dog is a service animal. According to the ADA, you can ask the hander two quesitons: (1) is the dog a service animal required because of a disability? and (2) what work or task has the dog been trained to perform? They don't get any paperwork or anything, so there is nothing to show.

 

However, that's a bit irrelevant in the case of Airbnb, because they require that you treat support animals the same as service animals, and you can get fake paperwork for support animals by buying it from the internet.As long as a guest claims that their pet is a service or support animal, they're pretty much good to go. 

 

The good news is if the animal is a support or service animal they are required to stay with their handler at all times, so if you notice the animal being left alone you can say something. Also, any damage is theoretically covered by the host guarantee (for what that's worth). 

@Kathleen710 You can absolutely state no pets and say that you will charge for any unathorized pets in your listing. However... collecting the fine is difficult. You would need to be able to convince the guest to pay the fine, because Airbnb won't cover arbitrary fines under the Host Guarantee  (and they don't cover pet damage at all anyways). So you'd have to catch the guest on check in and get them to pay immediately, not wait until they had checked out, because once they're gone, there is no incentive to pay. Personally, if I didn't allow pets in my listing, I'd be more inclined to ask them to leave than to fine them, but if you don't want to lose the money for the booking and want to allow them to stay, a fine may be the way to go. 

John5097
Level 10
Charleston, SC

@Kathleen710 

I'm very cautious about asking questions about pets. I don't think host can ask if the dog is a service dog or ESA. Host also can't ask the extent of someones disability. So I don't see the point of asking what disability the service dog is for, if they have already claimed its a service dog, and ABB clearly states they aren't going to require any proof. Service and ESA animals are part of Airbnb non discrimination policy, and ABB strongly encourages guest to report host who they think violated this, then host fate is hands of a CS rep. So, most of what I have is guest just bring their dogs and don't mention it to host. 

 

I think a better approach, if guest does mention ESA or service dog, host could offer a dog bed, and also have a ready list of rules for pets that might include not letting them on the bed or furniture. Host could include this in their house guide. 

 

I would also like to see this change. If I allowed pets I would want to know ahead of time to have the space ready, a dog bed, change of bedding specifically for pet owners, general safety. 

 

Host Guarantee may cover extra damages by service animals specifically but likely not damaged bedspread, mud, dirt, etc. And the host would risk retaliatory review. 

 

If you notice damage or dog isn't housebroken then host can request the animal not stay but can't ask guest to leave. And most of the time guest are good at sneaking them in and host won't know until after check out. 

 

At any rate, in my opinion, Airbnb would need to make some changes to their policy and booking process to improve the situation for both host and guest. 

 

So while host can ask what task the dog is trained for, a host may then be tempted to ask if the guest has this disability that would violate the discrimination policy and ABB isn't going to require any kind of documentation for ESA or service animals. And a guest may interpret even asking any questions about their pet or misrepresent the conversation, which in my experience is the norm, so would try and have all that in the messaging. For example the guest who brought 14 dogs may file a discrimination complaint against host. 

It really is quite a lot of information and other host may take issue with my assessment. 

Guy from Florida says he's starting a new life and wants to bring his cat. 🐈

 

 

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Stephanie
Community Manager
Community Manager
London, United Kingdom

Hi there @Fernando1561 and everyone else,

 

I've got some relevant news on this! We’re really pleased to share some details with you that were recently announced! In the coming weeks, Hosts will be able to add a Pet fee to their listing. 

 

We have been listening to Host feedback, just like yours, so please do let us know how you like the new service by sharing your thoughts here on the Community Center once it has launched. 

 

Thanks again,

 

Stephanie

 

Extra tags @BenkaandKeith0 @John5097 @Kathleen710 @Alexandra316 @Mike-And-Jane0 @Sarah977 

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