Guest not reading details

[Garrett53]

This evening I had a guest checkin at 9:50pm local time and immediately messaged me telling me she is highly allergic to cats and also very scared of them.

I contacted airbnb support and they said they will "try to advise" the guest to find a more suitable listing but they cannot evict her.

During this, this guest let in an unregistered party into the apartment and this unknown person let my cat out the front door and thankfully they got my cat back but she is strictly an indoor cat. 

I called my guest to see what is going on and to advise her to find a more suitable listing but she is welcome to stay the evening as now it is almost 11pm local time. She told me that she wants to stay in tbr listing but for me to remove my cat from the apartment.

Any advise as airbnb support has not been truly helpful? 

[Sarah977]

@Garrett53  Nowhere in your listing info can I find the mention of the fact that you have a cat. It is imperative that you include this information- some guests are highly allergic and some have a fear of cats or dogs. Make this evident in your main listing desription, not buried somewhere that guests might not scroll down to. Also reiterate it in a message to the guest when they book, so they can cancel if they have a problem with it, in case they didn't bother to read that far. Also include a photo of the cat in your photo gallery.

If you had mentioned this in your info, I'd say the guest was at fault for failing to read, but since you haven't, this is on you.

[Garrett53]

It was mentioned in the description as well as the required place. 

It is also mentioned in the message guests get when they inquire about staying in my listing. 

[Jennifer1897]

I am not sure if you very recently updated your listing since @Sarah977  posted but I do see mention of a cat on a few occasions. If in fact this was not just added, the guest would be in the wrong for not reading the complete listing.  If you just put it in there, you are more at fault, as any animals within the home should be disclosed.  Many people suffer from allergies, such as myself. If I step into a home with a cat I almost immediately get stuffy, itchy and watery eyes and congestion. 

Either way, in this situation I would encourage her to find another accommodation, and offer to have airbnb help her in doing so.  I am sure displacing an animal from the home would be a hassle, and removing the cat is not going to eliminate any allergic reaction she might have, as there is likely dander and hair in many common areas.

Lastly, depending on whether the cat was disclosed in the listing before her booking or not, you may need to offer her a full refund. 

[Garrett53]

The cat was always disclosed in the listing description as well as the required place by airbnb. It is also mentioned in over 15 of my reviews by other guests that I have a cat.

I told airbnb that the guest was welcome to stay last night as it was almost midnight local time but she MUST find a new place to stay as I am worried for my guests health as well as the safety of my cat since she asked me to remove it from the listing. 

[Sarah977]

@Garrett53  I'm sorry, I reread your listing and now do see that you mention the cat. However, I'm normally a pretty thorough reader, which many guests aren't, so I think you might do well to make it more prominent. Lots of guests don't even bother reading the listing info, they just look at the photos and price and book.

The first mention of the cat is under "Backyard" where the last line is "please don't let the cat out", and the other mention is under "other things to acknowledge", but only seen if the guest clicks on "read more" under house rules. And since Airbnb buries our house rules at the very bottom of the page, where many guests don't even bother to scroll down to, I still think you might mention it more prominently- just add a photo of the cat, with the caption "my co-host" to the photo gallery, which almost all guests look at.

Oh, now I just see your latest post where you say you also make mention in your booking message to guests. Okay, this girl is a real loser if none of that registered with her. Looks like she didn't read the listing info, the reviews, or your message.

I mention my dog and cat and in capital letters, say "PLEASe DO NOT BOOK IF YOU HAVE ALLERGIES TO DOGS OR CATS.

I do agree that this guest has to go, though. It's so entitled to expect you to remove your pet from your home, her attitude alone would make me want her gone. And if I was highly allergic to something, I'd be sure to take responsibility for my own health and check with the host that the allergen wasn't present before I booked a place.

[Marit-Anne0]

@Garrett53   If not already done, I suggest that you also add a photo of your cat to the listing.