Making an Exception to Allow for 2 Guests with 2 Dogs

[Lisa990]

I just received a request from someone who would like to see if I am open to bringing their 2 dogs. I have a no pets policy in place but am open to making exceptions with the right conditions: pets are house trained, owners are responsible pet owners, etc. The inquiring guest would like to offer to supply a deposit or pay a pet fee, or whatever I request.  It would be for a stay that is about 6 weeks. The inquiring guest has 2 5-star reviews. I am aware that, even though the inquiring guest says the dogs do not shed, there will more than likely be extra cleaning involved. I am thinking there are a couple of ways I could go with this:

1. Have someone come every couple of weeks to do light house keeping and check on the upkeep of the place. This could. Be added as a “pet fee” I suppose?

2. I currently have a long term stay discount (20%) for stays longer than a month. I could take the discount off and refund if the place is in good shape. 

Thanks for taking the time read this and share your advice.

[Susan1188]

What kind of dogs?  It makes a difference! Bichon or poodles?  Or German shepherd?

Bichon owners always say their dogs don't shed.  They do.  Just less.  One week?  probably no issue.  A month or two?  You will have to vacuum 4x to get rid of the hair.

Every single dog owner on earth will claim (a) their dogs are "good" (b) their dogs are house trained (c) their dogs are well behaved (d) they are responsible owners.  So asking them this will not provide you any meaningful insight.

Also - red flag - you are talking about a long term rent?  Over a month?   What if after arrival you realise they are not house trained, the owner lets them sit on the sofa, does not pick up their dejections, and leaves them indoors all day so they bark and scratch the doors and floors?

I would never rent long term to people with animals, without getting to know them first.

[Matt682]

@Lisa990 For what it’s worth, I took pets up I too I got my own (today!).  This was my template response to people who wanted to bring their dogs:

Hi there!

Thanks for your enquiry! Really happy to have you and your furry friend stay with me 🙂

Additional house rules you would need to agree to prior to staying are listed below:
• To make sure furry friends fit in with other residents, furry friends must be house trained
• Furry friends can sometimes fret in strange locations, so they cannot be left at home without you
• Since furry friends don’t carry their own wallets, you agree to be responsible for any and all damage caused by your furry friend
• Since future guests may not be as comfy sharing spaces with pets, furry friends are not allowed on any furniture (including beds)

To make sure that your room and the public areas are kept to the standard everyone expects and deserves, there is an additional cleaning fee of £10 for stays up to 3-days, or £20 per week. This is payable through Airbnb as part of your reservation cost, and the charge should be accepted prior to arrival.

I have food and water bowls suitable for medium sized dogs here you are welcome to use. There is space in the fridge if you want to store fresh food or open containers of perishable food for your furry friend. I’ve also got plenty of towels to help wipe down muddy paws if needed.

The house looks out directly onto the Cannock Chase AONB, so there are plenty of fantastic walks nearby, as well as footpaths and green spaces on the estate for shorter walks. I’ve got a map I can show you some routes on if you need some pro-tips.

If everything sounds great then just go ahead and use the instant book feature. If you don’t think your furry friend would enjoy their stay as much as they deserve to, then please can I ask that you cancel your enquiry/booking promptly so that it frees up the dates for other guests.

All the best, Matt

[Ann72]

@Lisa990  I agree with @Susan1188 ‘s many excellent points and would only add one:  I made an exception to my no-children policy with a guest who arrived this week and she is a nightmare.  It’s not the child that’s the problem, it’s that once you grant that exception there will be a flood of demands to grant other exceptions.

[Alexandra316]

@Lisa990 I host a dog-friendly Airbnb, and it works really well for me. Most pet owners and their dogs are amazing: I'd say 70% of my guests bring their dog, and I've only ever had one case of minor damage (a scratched interior door).

That being said, there are some possible considerations around hosting pets. 

- Airbnb does not cover pet damage. If there is any damage done by the pet or could conceivably have been done by the pet, Airbnb will not pay out on the Host Guarantee. You can still ask the guest to pay for damage or try and collect on your security deposit, if you have one, but that's it. 

- Some hosts put rules in place around pet behavior: for example, they can't be left unattended or can only be left for a certain amount of time; they must be crated if they're left unattended; poop has to be picked up; no dogs on the furniture; etc. You can make the rules as extensive as you want: I would just suggest considering setting some out. 

- If you do allow the dogs on soft furnishings, I would consider offering the guests some old sheets or similar to cover them up. I also leave old towels in case of rainy days: muddy paws can make a mess. 

I would definitely consider adding a pet fee. I don't think a few hundred dollars for that long of a stay would be unfair. I always recommend offering housekeeping with longer stays: it really does help to nip bad situations in the bud. People can do a lot of damage in a month. 

[Laura2592]

We host pet guests. 95% are perfectly lovely. About 5% will either leave an accident somewhere, not pick up outside poo or leave more hair than is reasonable. 1% of those will do damage that costs money to repair. 

I think hosting pets is honestly easier than hosting family with very young kids, but I decided early that I would do both. Logically I am an animal lover and appreciate places that I can travel with my extremely well behaved but occasionally shed-y dog of 35 pounds. And people will sneak animals left and right of you say no and don't live on the premises, as we don't. So at least this way we can enforce some boundaries and expectations instead of confronting people who lied about not bringing a pet. A much easier conversation and a much more reasonable one. 

This is all I will say-- if you are NOT comfortable, do not make an exception. There are pet friendly places for guests to say. Once you host a pet, you will eventually just start hosting more as you can't justify why this reservation got a pass and this one didn't. You could do a "case by case" pet policy for number and size/breed/type but again, people will lie and sneak ("oh that Great Dane I brought is a medium sized dog..."). So proceed with caution and do what makes you comfortable. 

We limit the pet number to 2 if the space is at less than human max capacity which is 4 individuals. If there are 4 guests staying, we limit it to one pet. Our cleaners can't handle cleaning up after more than this. Our place is small. We do not make exceptions on the number of living beings who can stay.  We have also hosted cats and ask that the litter box be put in our laundry room as that is the easiest floor to clean. We do ask that dogs are crated if unattended, but we have no way to know that happened as we don't have cameras inside. A lot of these rules are just for guests to know what you expect. If they get caught out somehow you at least had it up front.