Pet Fees - time for the community to get serious about this!

[Terry54]

Today, I sent this to the Airbnb Resolutions Center. I'll update this thread with what I receive.

I do not understand, and have never received a clear answer, why Airbnb does not provide a pet fee (or pet cleaning fee) setting. Other hosting services do. Clearly this is not a technology issue but a policy issue. We allow pets but they require more cleaning, cost more to host (waste bags for example), and can do minor damage such as scratches on surfaces that are not worth a deposit claim but overtime accumulate and must be repaired. I simply want to know why Airbnb does not have such a fee -- what is the policy reason?

Do not tell me:
1) you can charge through the Resolution Center. We don't have to do that for the standard cleaning fee or extra guest fee so, why for pets? Completely illogical.
2) That "we're looking into it." I and many other hosts have been told that for years. It is simply not true.

[Kelly149]

@Branka-and-Silvia0 Ahhhh, but don’t have to in owner’s own home or where there are any shared spaces. Could be a safety risk afterall. 

[Terry54]

Perhaps that illustrates the problem. Could it be that Airbnb does not want us to accept pets at all?  Duh, had not considered that.

[Anonymous]

@Terry54  You nailed it there.

Look, a pet fee is beside the point when Airbnb explicitly denies you the ability to make a deposit claim for pet-related damage.

There are some things you should only do when you have full control over your deposit, such as:

- accept long-term bookings

- host events or non-accommodation activities

- accept pets on your property

Airbnb technically allows these things but does not provide the tools to facilitate them. Therefore, hosts who wish to do any of these things should use a more appropriate platform, and just use Airbnb for conventional short-term accommodation. (Referring guests to a different platform in general, where they could find your listing if they wished, is not the same as asking for offsite payment).

[Angelina-And-Preston0]

Hi I totally understand your pain!! We had the most lovely guest. She was a girl who was helping women refugees in Greece. She had spent months in Greece and rescued a dog there that was abandoned. She brought it back with her to the States and to our home in LA for her Airbnb. 

The dog was adorable. Mind you it was her first dog and it was also a puppy. I don't think she knew but puppies need walking! She kept the poor dog in the room for her stay for 5 days and when she left, our beautiful hardwood floors were scratched beyond repair. The dog was just running inside the room the whole time needing to get rid of his energy.

Our floors are black wood so its mainly under reflection you can see all the scratches. Nevertheless I was so upset. She was such a lovely guest and I contacted Airbnb and they said since we had no deposit I would have to file something against her. I just couldn't. Here she was trying to help refugees and I couldn't go and charge her hundreds of dollars for my floors. Sigh. 

We have 2 dogs and 2 cats. We love animals. But now made it that we probably won't allow pets in our home. There should be a pet fee but honestly its more about the owners of the pets than the pet itself. The owners should take full responsibility for their pets and whatever damage they do. 

[Thomas1033]

No animals allowed at our place and we won’t stay in a Airbnb or hotel room that allows them or smoking. Nobody cleans well enough in my opinion to sanitize everything a dog butt has touched.  Mind you there are some pretty gross humans too and I don’t even want to think about that!

[Shawn221]

We have a very clear No Pets No smoking Policy for our listing.   We also require a $1000 deposit.   Had a group check out recently 2 hours after check out without requesting a late check out  cleaners showed and left.   I contacted them they apologized but it still took them 2 hours to vacate.   I ended up having to go there and help.    There was clearly a dogs with white fur on property.   White dog fur all over the furniture and inside on floors as well.   There were over a dozen hand rolled  cigarette butts on the ground outside on one of the patios.  Airbnb would not let us use part of the deposit that guests ponied up for these issues.   Said they didn’t break or damage anything.  Told me , I needed to reach out and politely ask for an amount I felt was appropriate for the house violation, which I did and got no response.   I had to contact Airbnb again to let them know I requested $500 for violating several serious house rules, I spent 4 hours on my Sunday cleaning because they checked out 2 hours late , I had people coming in that day that did not get to check In on time.  I bought these guests a round of drinks at a local bar while they waited.    In the end the guest did not respond to Airbnb request either.    What is the point of having rules if people can just disregard, disrespect with zero consequences.   

[Sudsrung0]

I have a strict no pet policy but most people fly here so its never been a problem until last week I accepted a booking from a friend they said 4 or 5 people thats OK but they sneaked 2 dogs in they must have **bleep** and pissed everywhere I cant get rid of the smell especially in the main bedroom I've got my cleaners there again today and mop the floors they good thing we have tiled floors everywhere here, I've had to go out and buy a chemical Im told will clear it.

To me it's not the dogs fault it's the owner, Never again,

I would never book a pet friendly house 

[Cynthia282]

This is something I have struggled with also.  I clearly have pet rules that say that all pets must be approved beforehand, that I charge extra per dog, that dogs must be kept in a kennel if left alone, may not be on the furniture, etc.  Every time I get a request, I must ask if the guest agrees to my stipulations because I cannot assume that they have read my house rules and agree.  Almost without fail, they have not read the rules.  

Some guests are allergic to dogs - and this, to me, clearly is the main point with the cleaning issues and discriminates against both myself and guests, can cause them great discomfort and means that I must work double hard to vacuum every square inch of the unit so others are not affected.  It’s a HUGE deal.  Everyone these days says their dog is a Emotional Support Animal and legally, if this is the case, we should be allowed to ask for proof from a registered doctor that supports this assertion.  I love dogs but this is probably the most unfair situation to hosts that exists.  

And yes, the fact that Air BnB doesn’t cover damage by dogs is pretty horrible.  This must change!  There needs to be a quick automatic way to charge through the system separately for both the dog and a deposit - or Air BnB must guarantee dog damage the same as any other damage - the “dog” cannot be held legally accountable but their owner can be and I should not have to add yet another statement to my rules that says all dog damage will be charged to the owner.