Guest Broke House Rules & Brought Pets but Refused to Pay Pet Fees and Damages

[Mamedie0]

I had a guest in mid-September that decided last minute to bring his 2 dogs…that’s fine, but then he did not put them on the reservation and he did not pay the pet fee. In addition, the guests also broke house rules by smoking marijuana in my home.

I sent him the additional cleaning fees for damages and the pet fees.

He refused to pay.

I escalated it to AirCover. They barely paid for half of the fees.

Is it typical that Airbnb doesn’t hold their guests accountable and expects hosts to accept less than half of the fees the guest accrued?

If you’ve successfully collected all the fees from AirCover, please tell me how to go about that.

[Alicia753]

Hi Mamedie,

It's unfortunate but not uncommon for Airbnb to reimburse less than the full amount through AirCover, especially if the documentation isn't thorough enough. The key to a successful claim is strong evidence—clear photos or videos of damages, receipts for additional cleaning, and copies of all communications with the guest. Ensuring that your house rules are explicitly clear and easy to reference in your claims can also help.

Persistence in follow-up with Airbnb support is often necessary, as some hosts have managed to get a better resolution by appealing initial decisions or requesting further reviews. Direct communication with Airbnb, emphasizing any overlooked details or providing additional documentation, can sometimes lead to a better outcome.

If the system for charging pet fees is manual, it might help to automate those charges within your listing to prevent guests from bypassing them in the future.

I hope this helps.

All the best,

Upfish Management

[Mamedie0]

How would I automate pet fees?  Since this guest, I have turned my listing into a No Pets home, but I don’t really feel that way as I know families travel with their furry friends and I want to welcome them into my home, I just want them to be respectful of my home.

As far as documentation goes, the cleaners provided me with photos of the damages, an itemized invoice, and an incident report, which I provided to Airbnb…I did not send them screenshots of my listing details of conversations had with the guest as I imagined they would access that…but now I’m wondering if I should have included all that? 

[Marie8425]

 @Mamedie0 

Especially when a guest is not behaving correctly Y include them just because no one enthusiastically goes through someone else's messages.

[Mamedie0]

Oh man…is it too late to try again?

[Joan2709]

@Mamedie0 

If you didn't mention a pet fee on your listing anywhere and didn't have the Pet Fee set up on your calendar, then Airbnb may not have agreed to payout a pet fee; you didn't have one set. They probably would have paid for damage to furniture caused by the pets, but normal cleaning is supposed to be cover by your Pet Fee; which sounds like you didn't have?

To add Pet Fees to your listing, go to:

Calendar

Pricing (right side)

Scroll down to bottom

Click Additional Charges

Set your Pet Fee (multiple options available now)

The Pet fee will automatically be added to the reservation and spread out over the nights of the reservation. Of course, if the guest doesn't add pets to the reservation, then if they show up with pets, you can alter the reservation to add them. Of course, the guest has to accept the reservation alteration. If they don't, then contact Airbnb and tell them the guest brought pets and didn't include them in their original reservation and now won't accept the reservation alteration.

Example

$425 nightly rate

3 night reservation

Pet Fee $75 per pet

1 Pet increases the nightly rate to $450 ($75÷3nights=$25 more per night)

2 Pets increases the nightly rate to $475 ($150÷3=$50 more per night)

Don't forget to add the maximum number of Pets to your House Rules. Airbnb will default it to (5) pets if you don't. I would also add some rules to Addl House Rules concerning Pets.

[Mamedie0]

I appreciate your thought out response.  I did have a pet fee, however the guest did not include pets in his reservation, so it did not have a chance to even add the fee prior to him arriving.

[Joan2709]

@Mamedie0 

My apologies!  I am so sorry...I misunderstood your post!

Then Airbnb most definitely should have paid you the pet fee for sure. I would not give up on that. I'm assuming once you saw the undisclosed pets you advised the guest and sent him a reservation alteration to add the pets for him to accept? If he refused to accept right away, I would contact Airbnb and have them contact the guest. It would be up to you, but some Hosts would ask Airbnb to cancel the reservation if he doesn't correct it as he misrepresented the booking. We usually politely say we noticed you brought so pets. We love dogs too! then say "our pet fee is only $50, but our undisclosed pet fee is $150/pet per night" We'll be happy to send you a reservation alteration to add your pets. (be sure this is all in your addl house rules). Usually the guest will just adjust the reservation and add the pets or accept the reservation alteration we sent.  At this point a guaranteed bad review will most likely follow, so be prepared for an uphill battle to try and get the review removed. Sigh. You can't win sometimes.

We also add a message to guests after booking confirming the number of guests and stating: "Confirming your reservation for 8 guests, 3 children and no pets". Then add "for everyone's safety and comfort, please be sure all guests (including children and infants) are listed on your reservation.  If bringing pets, be sure they are included on your reservation." 

Sadly, many guests at this point will just claim the dogs are "service animals" and therefore not subject to a pet fee. Not much you can do about that, but you can require them to not leave the dog alone at the listing.

[Virginia244]

I had guests recently break the rules: brought 5 extra people, brought 2 pets (to my pet allergy home), smoked all throughout the house, left tons of garbage and dirty dishes everywhere, littered the grounds outside, took screens out (to smoke?) and left unscreened windows open- filling the house with insects, and my favorite- left dog poop in the middle of the kitchen floor as well as smooshed in and tracked throughout. I would have ignored the excessive garbage and food and dishes as CODB, but the animals and smoke and poop???? Guess what airbnb said?

NO compensation for that!

Even despite photos, invoices, and clear guest communications. I am STEAMING HOT. 

[Lisa9820]

Oh my, that sounds disgusting! Im so sorry you had to go through that. Airbnb wouldnt compensate for the extra people or the extra cleaning? 

[Rebecca]

Hi @Mamedie0, 

I'm really sorry to hear you've had to deal with a challenging situation with a recent claim! Have you had a chance to read through the advice @Alicia753 shared above?

Let us know how things progress please. 🙂

[Mamedie0]

Thank you for commenting as I didn’t see the initial message from @Alicia753

i have responded!

[Guy991 · Accepted solution]

Hello @Mamedie0 ,

If you’re open to accepting pets, you can set a pet fee either as a flat rate per stay or as a nightly fee per pet. Setting a higher fee can help attract guests who are more responsible with pets and manage expectations upfront. If might be worth adding it to your listing. 

In my experience, if you have a clear pet fee in place and a guest refuses to pay, Airbnb will step in to support you, ensuring the payment is made! 

Here’s another approach to consider for properties that prefer not to accept pets: rather than marking “no pets” outright, try setting an intentionally high pet fee. This way, if a guest does bring a pet, there’s a clear fee from the start, and Airbnb is more likely to uphold it since it was established when the booking was made. Just a thought, but it may be worth exploring!