Pet friendly hosts-- is it too much to limit pets on beds?

[Laura2592]

We keep debating putting this in the house rules. 

There are a few guests who have had their dogs clearly stay on our beds and leave so much hair behind it takes forever to remove. Washing and drying do nothing. We have to go over sheets and bedspreads with lint rollers to pick it all up. 

This is pretty much unenforceable as we can't police where pets go during a guest stay. If a dog is used to sleeping on the bed, its going to sleep on the bed. And very easy for a guest to just lie about it, despite evidence. Thus far we have come down on the side of grin and bear it. But wondering what others do. Pet friendly hosts do you have any success with asking that pets not sleep on bedding? Or get on the furnishings in general? The sofa is less of an issue as its leather and easy to wipe down. 

[Alexandra316]

@Laura2592 Personally, I've never even tried to keep dogs off the beds. I do give guests who bring dogs sheets to drop over the covers and soft furnishings, and it does help a lot. 

I have three greyhounds and their natural habitat is anything that is soft or upholstered, so I decided I wouldn't limit guest dogs either. 

[Anonymous]

@Laura2592   I think you're right that any rules concerning the bedroom are unenforceable during the stay. But one thing you can do is make the beds differently for guests traveling with pets, swapping any textured or delicate fabrics out for flat ones and topping the bed with a pet-hair resistant blanket. 

As for the laundering, I find that pet hair comes out much better with air drying than machine drying. More waiting time, but far less cling.

[Kelly149]

@Laura2592  I try to go with find a solution, rather than trust people bc they will do what they want. 
you’ve said that most of your guests are drive in locals, what if you said “our laundry service charges us a $50 up charge for linens with pet hair, since extra steps for removal and sanitizing, would you like to choose that service or would you prefer to bring your own linens?

If you get breed info with booking you’ll know which ones are likely to be an issue

[Sarah977]

@Laura2592  I don't accept dogs and my own dog has never been allowed on the furniture and has no interest in doing so.

But I have read posts by hosts who deal with this by, as Andrew suggests, having a different set of things for dog-bringing guests. One host on another forum, who also has a dog boarding business on her property tells guests in her listing ad to let her know if they are bringing a dog so she can prepare for that, making it sound like it's a positive thing for the dog. So she puts one of her stash of dog blankets on upholstered chairs, and has certain throws she puts on the beds, as well as leaving a water bowl, dog treats, etc.

[Michelle1851]

@Laura2592 I used to allow dogs, until a guest with a dog said they found dog hair under the sofa.  At that point I stopped allowing dogs because the 4 for cleanliness was devastating, and there was always so much hair on the bed, I would spend a lot of time rolling with a lint roller after each stay after thoroughly washing..  I like the idea of separate bed linens for dog owners.

[M199]

@Laura2592 

I allow pets, but keep it in perspective.  In my outside of Airbnb life, their was a local with a big red shepherd.  I tried with my 8lb pups to avoid them.  We had an impass.  During a conversation with another dog owner, I  got the best advice..

"The owner may think he knows what the pet thinks, the other person hopes to know what the dog thinks, but truly only the dog knows what it thinks, no matter how well trained"

I got nicely reminded of this last summer when I reached out to make friends with a guest pet.

Just another host experience and perspective for you to consider.