Guest sneaking dog into house, should I confront them?

[Kevin557]

So I’ve only been hosting for two weeks and today found that our guest snuck a good sized dog into our place for 6 hours. The dog belongs to a family member of theirs who lives locally. We clearly state in our house rules no pets are allowed.

The guests are checking out in the AM, what recourse do I have, what would you recommend? 

Confronting them will likely lead to a bad review, which is deadly for a new host.

[Matthew285]

@Kevin557 you don't mention if the dog caused any damage, or any mess that would require significantly more cleaning time / expense.

If neither of those happened, then you probably should just let it go; you are correct in thinking that a bad review for a new listing is a big risk.

If there was damage or excessive mess, then ypu should carefully document it and then try to figure out how much repairs / cleaning will cost. Then again, try to figure out if the money you might recover is worth it.

[Kevin557]

They haven’t checked out yet so i haven’t accessed the apt yet to make a determination of any damage.. Still surprised at the lack of respect for our property since these guests have run their own Airbnb.

whats the point in having house rules if there is no requirement to follow them.

[Matthew285]

@Kevin557 the house rules do serve a purpose.

If a bad guest is in clear violation of the house rules, that can be used as grounds for cancellation of their stay (the kind where Airbnb takes care of cancelling and then moves the guest somewhere else).

Plus, normal polite people follow house rules. Having house rules lets those nice polite people know that they are supposed to do.

Having house rules won't prevent bad or rude guests from breaking them, any more than having laws against robbing banks stops bank robbers from robbing banks.

But having the laws does give you a mechanism for punishing bad people when they break the rules.

[Cesar196]

Why let it go. They broke a rule, a very, very dangerous rule. I have the same rule because I am allergic to pets and they still sneak in a pet ? I think they should be penalized

[Elaine701]

@Cesar196 

That's all fine and dandy, but as hosts acquire more experience hosting on Airbnb, they tend to discover that the guest almost always wins in these situations. Even when they're irrefutably guilty. 

Better to save the confrontations for times when it really matters (and there will be those times) , and even then, respond with wisdom. There's ways to avoid being victimised by disrespectful and irresponsible guests, if you're smart about it. 

[Lisa6263]

I agree, we had just had our carpets cleaned when a guest brought 2 dogs into the home, we had them pay to have the carpets cleaned again, that was a 250 dollar mistake on their part, they are also not allowed back to our home.  Unfortunately we didn't see the dogs on the camera until the last day of the stay, so they got away with it except for the carpet cleaning bill.

[Renee291]

How do you enforce that they are not allowed back into the home/ensure they can't book with you?

[Don3536]

@Lisa6263 - "that was a 250 dollar mistake on their part". Were you able to collect that? I just had a similar experience, and Airbnb tells me "if the damage was done by a pet (allowed or not) it's not covered" and they won't do anything about collecting or compensation for damages.

[April435]

I know this is an old post, but since you have the same rule, how do you handle a guest that shows up with a service animal?

[Sunni24]

Wondering the same thing! 

[Nina1327]

Nothing you can do , even if you remind the guest 5x before check in your a no pet policy, if they bring pet and never mention they have service dog , & the guest sneaks in a dog , & your file for your $$ if they respond they have a service dog .. your not getting your cash 

[Gordon0]

You'll experience much worse as your Airbnb experience continues, @Kevin557, so if no damage has been caused, suck it up, buttercup, and move on. Your skin will get thicker, guest-by-guest. 

[Rich2831]

As a person who is severely allergic to dogs, your approach has no respect for those of us who have bad reactions to dogs.  A dog can also impact the next guest, because dander stays airborne for a significant amount of time. 

[Sarah977]

  Yes, but even in no pets listings, unless they are home-shares in the host's home, Airbnb forces hosts to accept service dogs ad so-called emotional support animals. It's a real problem for hosts and guests like you are are allergic. 

Always let a host know about your allergy when you book, so if they were forced to have one of those categories of dogs before your booking, they could at least let you know or would know that they have to clean super thoroughly, air the place out, etc.

@Rich2831