Issue with guests not reading profile (potentially a safety issue because of dogs??)

[Angelia5]

I've written out a pretty thorough bio/profile for our home (even an FAQ if they dont want to read about us speficially), and we have been fortunate enough that most guests DO read it, or at least skim it enough to know what to expect in our home but the biggest thing for us is

1) Guests arriving and saying "Oh we didn't know you had dogs", when it clearly states in our profile we don't just have ONE, we have THREE that are LARGE breed dogs (saint bernards). We've had a handful of guests (which in the whole of all the guests we've had is not that many) that have actually been uneasy around dogs. FORTUNATELY it has always worked out well because our pups are very gentle and will happily give people space if they don't want anything to do with them (they've actually managed to win over just about every 'i dont really like dogs' guest we've had) but it's right there in our profile. It got to the point where I decided to just PUT PICTURES OF THEM IN THE LISTINGS PHOTOS just so no one would miss it because I feel this is potientially a safety issue????

Despite having the information in our profile, I WOULD feel terrible if a guest walked in that was TERRIFIED of dogs and be greeted by THREE 120 pound dogs, and I have no idea that they HAVE this fear until it's too late. We have always asked that our guests knock so that we can put the dogs away temporarily (just because they're so large and it's difficult to get around them to get luggage in and the likes), but we have had some that just simply walk in. Which is also another safety issue because two of our three are not all that jazzed about strangers walking in UNannounced, perfectly happy if they're greeted and invited into the home, not so happy if a stranger simply walks in without warning. As should be expected with MOST dogs. They're by no means "aggressive" dogs, but they DO want to know that the person coming in is SUPPOSED to be there.
(Another slightly related issue is having potiential guests message us asking if we can keep our dogs locked away for the entirety of their stay??? Appreciate the asking, but good grief find a home without any pets if its that much of an issue rather than expecting a host to shove away their pets for someone who could easily stay at a pet-free home)

2) Our location. It's in our FAQ exactly what subburb we're at in our city and how far away we are from other places in the city so I have found it really unfair when we get poor stars on location because how is it our, as hosts, fault that the guests can't look up where a specific suburb is and compare it to where they're hoping to travel around to. It's not as though we're saying we're much closer to things than we are, or live in an unsafe or unkept part of a town.

Trying my trick with putting the dogs photos in with the pictures, I've now put in a copy of the FAQ in there as well in hopes maybe there won't be any more 'oh i didn't know this' 

It's just a bit frustrating at times, because these are all things that are very clear and freely offered information but we're the ones who get 'punished' so to speak for a guest's lack of care to do their own homework for THEIR travel plans. We're not travel agents after all, it's not our responsibility to DOUBLE check with a guest on whether or not they decided to read all the information listed.

I've never had an issue with potiential guests asking about things that are in the FAQ, I'm happy to give the information and always welcome open communication, I just don't want people showing up at my home thinking that things specifically stated in every place I can think to put them, are magically going to be different and that it's somehow my fault they were 'caught unawares'. 

I know that Air bnb is aware that their review system (and location reviews specifically) is terribly flawed, but I also feel like they should make it more prominate if someone owns pets so that potiential guests CAN'T miss that information. Like a small pop up or something when you click on a listing that says "this host has pets!" or dogs* cats*, ect in lieu of 'pets'. 

[Rachel0]

@Angelia5 I had a look at one of your listings and you have certainly made it clear that you have dogs - a guest would have to be  pretty daft to have missed it.   I do agree that an extra filter would be useful but it is listed as an option in Amenities.  The only thing I can suggest is that you bring the photo of your lovely dog forward from photo number 13 and perhaps see if you can get a photo of all 3 dogs together, showing just how big they are.

[Victoria567]

@Ange9lia

yes indeedy, welcome to the world of the guest Numptie!

My listing is beginning to resemble a comic book strip, with the photos and the sentence underneath plus the check in instructions in similar comic book strip format.....all I’m missing now, are the speech bubbles.

Ive listed distances to nearest towns, attractions, transportation hints etc and yes it’s helping the vast majority of guests except the Numptie.....they are just in a class all of their own....bless em!

[Barry-and-Lera0]

@Angelia5: Most people will only look at your pictures. Reading a description...haha. Who has time for that. If you have a very important rule/s like this I would make the rule in the form of a picture and place it in your photos. "Here are my 3 dogs and here are the rules" kind of thing.

[Linda108]

I use the option of things guests must know to again highlight that I have a dog.  I also include in my welcome message a request for the guest to confirm they understand the listing is a private room and that there is a dog here.  A couple of times the guest realizes they misunderstood and request to cancel.  I am of the opinion that it is my responsibility to confirm guest expectations so I can provide an experience that matches that expectation.  So far so good!

[Kath9]

@Angelia5, that old dog chestnut! I have had problems with this over and over again, people booking who are TERRIFIED of dogs - I even had one lady run literally screaming down the hallway and managed to knock a large picture off the wall, leaving a deep scratch in the paintwork. My dog is the friendliest and gentlest girl ever. Anyway, like you, I put a picture of her in my photos to show people what she looks like. I have also written in my 'Other things to note' that I have a dog and that my home is not suitable for people who are afraid of dogs or whose religion prevents them from touching dogs. In the past, I have tried to lock my dog away from these people, but this is unfair on the dog (plus she just barks continually to be let out). So now I absolutely refuse to do this - if people don't read the booking, it's their problem and I take no responsibility. Anyway, I am having far fewer problems now that I have done these things.

Another thing I do now is send a saved message to every guest who books with the key information and house rules (e.g. check in time) and asking them to ensure that they have read the listing and house rules fully. I then say that if they are not a good fit, they are free to cancel their booking. For booking requests, I ask them to confirm they have read the listing fully before I accept their booking. You could try this and say that you have 3 large dogs and have people confirm they are OK with this before accepting.

The review system for location is completely flawed and makes no sense - unfortunately, there's probably not a lot you can do about this... however, again, I would put it in your message to guests to make sure they are fine with the location before they book in the hopes they won't mark you down for it.