"I think people are getting a little ahead of themselves here. ‘Guests want reassurance that no pets have ever been on property?’ It’s a home not a 5 star hotel."
Uhhhh... no! I have severe animal allergies and perfume allergies. I make a point of saying that I don't have animals OR use perfumed cleaning products, and I provide unscented soap products for guests. It is my home, and I try to keep it as allergen-free as possible, and guests seem to appreciate that.
As a guest, I find it irritating to search for AirBnBs when I travel and find some nice places only to find that they have pets. If they don't say so, I have to send an inquiry and ask, which is a pain. About 30% of people in the US have allergies. The least AirBnB can do is add a search filter so that we know hosts have pets, and they should REQUIRE hosts with pets in the unit to say so. Even better, they should have an option for hosts like me so that we can mark our listings as allergy-friendly.