[Festival] How to create a pet-friendly property

[Suzanne302]

Make my property pet-friendly? Are you kidding? Never!

Maybe you've had an experience with a bad dog owner. Or maybe you aren't a dog person. Some hosts just don't want the hassle of dealing with pets. That's completely understandable. Hosting pets does not come without risks, but listing your property as pet-friendly can often increase your bookings and increase your bottom line.

I'm one of those people who loves to travel with my dog. As a matter of fact, I usually plan vacations with my dog in mind. Surveys of other pet parents show I am not alone. There is a high demand for pet-friendly listings. I'm always appreciative of those hosts who allow me to travel with my dog and that's one reason my listing is pet-friendly.

Below are a few ways you can pet-proof your home and provide amenities to traveling pet parents to make things easier on both host and guest.

• Charge a pet fee. Some pets leave no trace behind. Others
  require extra cleaning. No matter what I'm left with after a four-legged guest leaves, I always do “extra” sanitizing. Don't be afraid to charge a pet fee, but make sure it's reasonable. For homeshares, $25-$50 is completely fair. For whole house rentals, depending on the size $100-$200 is not unheard of.

• Ditch the carpet. Hardwood or laminate flooring is your friend! Accidents happen, even with house-trained dogs. Cleaning up those accidents is super easy on hardwood or laminate flooring. Not so easy with carpet. If you can't get rid of the carpet, strategically placed throw rugs are a great option as they can easily be tossed in the washer and will save the wear and tear on your wall-to-wall carpet.

• Require a crate. Even the most well-behaved dog can get anxious when staying in an unfamiliar place. Require that guests bringing dogs also bring a crate if they plan to leave the dog in the property unsupervised.

• Post clear rules. Dog rules are a must-have and make sure those rules are mentioned numerous times to your guests as well as posted in your listing as a reminder. The rules are up to you but mine require doggy guests to be house-trained, socialized, and supervised or crated at all times. I also state that any dog that becomes disruptive will need to leave the property immediately.

• Remove fragile objects and doggy temptations. Your grandmother's tea cup may look beautiful on that lower shelf, but one wag of the tail and it could come crashing down. Same thing with that beanie baby collection or stuffed animal. It may look too much like a dog toy so best to remove the temptation altogether.

• Designate a place for potty breaks. Make sure guests know where they can and can't walk their dog to “do their business.” Providing waste bags is also a nice gesture to remind guests to pick up after their pet.

• Provide extras. My reviews often mention the extra steps I take to welcome doggy guests. I provide food and water bowls, dog treats, and doggy wipes. These cost me pennies per guest, but up the “wow” factor. 

• Offer a list of pet-friendly restaurants, activities. I don't bring my dog with me so he can sit in the house or room all day! When I travel I want to know where I can take my dog. Guests appreciate this insider information.

Hosting pets isn't for everyone, but in over a year and a half of welcoming dozens of pooches into my home, it's definitely made my hosting experience that much better. I've gotten many bookings not just because I'm pet-friendly, but because I actively cater to pet parents. As long as you're prepared, opening up your property to this very active market could be rewarding for you, too.

 

[Mike-And-Helen0]

I love the dog pictures, are any of them yours?

How do you remove pet hair from soft furnishings?

Sofas match our dog.

[Stephanie]

Oh, a chocolate dreamer ❤️ @Mike-And-Helen0 

[Suzanne302]

@Mike-And-Helen0  Awww! Love! No, none of the pictures are mine.

For removing hair from soft furniture a lint roller works great. And both Bissell and Dyson have specific attachments for pet hair you can get for their vacuums that work well too for those "mushy" furnishings!

[Mike-And-Helen0]

I tried to convince our lab that she'd like to be brushed with the Dyson pet tool that attaches to the vacuum.

She wasn't a fan!

[Stephanie]

Haha, it's a fair point so we went and added some snaps of @Suzanne302 and her power pooches!

[Mark116]

@Suzanne302  If airbnb allowed for the collection of damages or part of the security deposit for pet damage/cleaning I might reconsider allowing pets, but for now, the downside is too large to offset the marginal increase in bookings.  We had one set of guests who brought their pets and that was enough to change the listing to no pets.

[Suzanne302]

@Mark116  I get where you're coming from and hosting pets is definitely not for everyone! You do have to accept a risk and be willing to put up with a certain amount of extra cleaning sometimes.

I will say, anecdotally only, that I've heard of more kids causing damage than dogs! I just hope some hosts aren't scared away by horror stories of dogs wreaking havoc in a rental. It can absolutely happen, but that is the exception and not the rule. Most dogs are no trouble at all.

[Kaylee18]

@Mark116   I 100% .  We are HUGE dog lovers and even own a doggy daycare. The first 7 months using Airbnb we took pride in being Pet Friendly. We've have about 10 guests with dogs with no problems, but unfortunately one guest ruined it for the rest and let their dog pee inside on the carpets, and did not tell us about it. Thankfully we discovered the wet spots once they left and could carpet clean. We stopped allowing pets, and to be honest its kind of a relief not having to worry about damage. We make the same amount of money in the end.

I've also read a ton of horror stories about dogs doing damage and Airbnb not covering it. Just not worth it.

[Patricia55]

@Suzanne302 

Great post! Us too, our activities are planned with our dog in mind – he comes everywhere with us 🙂

Your rules make total sense but, tbh, we're quite easy-going about hosting pooches and haven't had any problems so far. We don't charge a pet fee; we have fitted carpets everywhere;* we don't require crating. I just ask people to confirm that their dog will be clean on coming in to our flat.

*Agreed, it makes cleaning harder 😞

We had one booking request from people who were attending a wedding and could they bring their dog. I asked what their plans were for their dog... no answer. Declined!

For me, dogs (and other animals) are a welcome change from humans, a great ice-breaker, a de-stresser 🙂 We've had a couple of guests mention “odours” (I assume they meant from our dog!) and honestly, I don't care... I like the smell of dogs.

[Suzanne302]

@Patricia55  Totally agree that dogs are a great ice-breaker and de-stresser! And yes, you sound a lot more relaxed about dogs than me! Haha!

You bring up another very good point...it's important to properly vet guests with dogs before accepting. In the same way you can learn a lot about a guest by the answers they give to your questions, you can learn a lot about what kind of dog owner they are when they tell you about their dog.

[Patricia55]

@Suzanne302 

Well, we don't actively promote our place as pet-friendly (just say we could allow a guest to bring their pet, by prior arrangement), so we don't host that many dogs. If we did, I'm sure I'd be a lot more pro-active about setting the rules and making some adaptations, and possibly charging a fee. I always suggest that our dogs meet each other on the nearby field, ie on neutral territory, and people go along with it. I keep meaning to tell people their dog must be kept under supervision, but often forget 😉 This is a good reminder to do so – I should have a standard text that I can use.

Ah, we do get a lot of guests who are dog-lovers, and that immediately makes me warm to them 🙂

[Barry-and-Lera0]

We have been pet friendly since day one. We do not charge a pet fee as we clean the studio the same way if there was a dog or not. In over 4 year we have never had an issue with a pet. We have found that children make WAYYYY more of a mess than dogs so we do not allow children under 12.

[Rich-and-Yan0]

@Barry-and-Lera0 That's interesting. Have you ever had any backlash about the no-kids policy?

[Barry-and-Lera0]

Not at all. We have had people inquire about bringing children. We tell them no and just decline the inquiry.