Pet-Friendly Hosts...How do you collect a pet fee?

Suzanne302
Level 10
Wilmington, NC

Pet-Friendly Hosts...How do you collect a pet fee?

I am just curious as to the different ways hosts collect pet fees. After realizing it's easier to get a guest to accept a refund (via change reservation) than it is to request extra money, I build my pet fee into the cleaning fee and simply change the reservation to $25 less if a guest is not bringing a pet.

 

This has worked quite well, but I've always wondered if:

 

1) I miss out on some bookings from guests without pets, because my price will seem high in a specific date search. (although I had 100% occupancy in June and 91% for July)

2) If this method screws up my stats, because in order to change the reservation, I can only adjust the "per night" price and a $40 night suddenly goes down to $15 per night for a one-night booking.

 

Thoughts?

 

I'd love to see other ways hosts handle this just to compare. (I've searched the forum as well) This would be sooooo much easier if ABB would just add a freakin' pet fee button already!

 

And for the record, I love hosting guests with dogs!

93 Replies 93

Hello, I am not there during check-in and would rather that Airbnb put the pet fee in the area where guests process their payment.  Just sayin...much easier and less cumbersome on the guests.

Irasema2
Level 1
Brownsville, TX

This has been an inconvinience for us as non native speakers trying to get our listing set up and make the process easier. We find ourselves in a conversation online between the guest and ourselves so with back and forward questions and we are not tech savy which makes it so much more complicated to get the ball rolling. I had to find a person to help me with this today ( posting the comment) and responding to the guest questions in order to make sure we can agree to the same pricing, rules and ettiquete etc. 

 

Please advise if any changes are made so I can edit our listing.

 

Love pets, and would love to host them ( as long as they dont damage my condo and I do not get compensated) 

Sias0
Level 1
Floreat, Australia

I also use a diffirent platform in Australia and the pet fee is a simple add on like the service fee. Never have issues with guests booking via that platform and fortunately 95%  with pets use that platform.

Same here.

 

What platform do you use?

Vrbo does a great job of adding pet fee. I’ve never had an issue with those bookings and pets. 

Hello, what platform are you referring to?  I'm in Texas and Airbnb only offers one platform.  Joy

Han40
Level 2
San Jose, CA

@Suzanne302 Hi, I'm recently doing a research about the issue you mentioned in this post (I'm a graduate student at San Jose, CA). I'm also a Airbnb host and a dog owner. I'm wondering will you be available to join a short conversation about this through phone call? No identity information will be collected and I just want to find a solution for this issue. Thanks so much! Just let me know if you have interest. - Han

@Han40  Sure. Just send me a PM.

Sunny88
Level 2
Grand Rapids, MI

Hi, looking for pet fee actuall number. Would $50 be reasonable pet fee for 1 pet per booking? Ihave guest today and he has 2 big dogs. I worry about barking and chewing furniture, hardwood floor and lots of hair.  But I do love dogs and would love guests bring their pets. 

I'd advise you to set parameters for allowable pets.  As a host I don't take chances on pets with people I don't know.  It is way cheaper and easier to risk losing a potential reservation than it is to try to get monetary damages back through Airbnb.  Airbnb requires original receipts for all your furnishings and you have to prove a monetary damage amount with repair receipts.  If you do your own repair or cleaning, then you will not get any reimbursement.  Also, Airbnb depreciates your furnishings the same way insurance companies do, so you will never get replacement value.  Airbnb is notorious about paying little, or nothing, to hosts with damages.  

 

However, if you do want to allow pets, I'd suggest you do what another host did-she required me to tell her about what kind of dog we have and if he is crate trained, etc.  Then she allowed us to bring the dog but required us to accept her "special offer" that included a $100.00 non-refundable pet fee.    So, not $50/per dog, but $100/dog.  And non-refundable.  That is what the few hotels who accept pets charge.  

@Sunny88  As a pet owner, $50 is reasonable. I didn't look at your listing, but I do a homeshare so I charge $25 to cover any extra cleaning. I used to book a house for a week each year but they raised their pet fee to $150 PER DOG. I had two dogs at the time and $300 was almost half of what I was paying for the entire rental. As someone who has hosted and cleaned up after many dogs, and as a dog owner, there is no justification for a $150/per dog pet fee. A $300 deposit, I would totally understand. But Airbnb doesn't do deposits.

 

 

 

 

JJ48
Level 10
Providence, RI

Actually, we accept dogs but don't charge a fee for them.   However, I do vet the guests about the dog - e.g. is it used to traveling?  will it be left alone? is it grown or a puppy? , etc.  And I have in my House Rules that dogs require pre-approval and advanced notice so that it's easy to cancel or decline a guest that doesn't seem like their dog is going to be a safe bet.  We've never had a bad dog guest, people really seem to over-compensate on being great guests if you welcome their dogs.  

Celeste127
Level 2
North Carolina, United States

I totally agree with this strategy of the pet being prequalified. Before I added the blurb about pets being considered on a case-by-case basis, I had a guest bring 3 large dogs with her and I had no means to turn them away since Airbnb only provides the on/off pets feature under their default settings. Needless to say, that experience opened my eyes to the need to be more vigilant and proactive! Now I ask for a description so that I can decline a reservation if the dog(s) (or cat!) may be a bad fit, and more importantly, I can provide the guest with tips for their stay and describe our pet fee and how it will be collected.

Setting expectations clearly and kindly (fee or no fee) has been a successful approach!

Suzanne302
Level 10
Wilmington, NC

Since I first made this post, I've played around with several pet fee options and have found that a flat $25 per dog requested via the resolution center works best. If the pet fee hasn't been paid within 3 days of arrival, I remind the guest that the dog will not be allowed on the property until the pet fee has been paid. I've only had to send a reminder once. And my next step would be to not give out the keypad code if they ignore the reminder. Thankfully, I haven't had to do that.

 

I also send a list of rules with the pet fee request:

 

**PETS: DOGS ALLOWED BY PRE-APPROVAL ONLY and ADDITIONAL $25 PET CLEANING FEE.

*$25 Pet Fee must be paid prior to check-in or your dog will not be allowed on the property.
*Your dog should be friendly and house trained. Dogs that utilize pee pads are NOT allowed.
*Your dog must be supervised by you at all times or crated in the room if left alone.
*Any dog that becomes disruptive will need to be removed immediately.
*You will be charged for any damage caused by your dog
*Limit of one dog. An additional dog may be considered on a case by case basis.

 

By accepting dogs, you accept risks. I've had a couple carpet accidents, but overall, the dogs have been good, and the guests really appreciate the fact that I allow dogs. I think due diligence up front discourages "bad" pet owners from booking or bringing their dog.