Love animals but..

[Eliana239]

Hi . My fiancé and I are only a month or so into renting our second home . We wanted to be pet friendly as we ourselves have a dog and can never find a nice place to stay with our pup. And she’s goes everywhere with us .

Now that we are on the other end of it, I turn into a ball of nerves every time someone books with a pet (especially a cat) because I worry about damages . 

We have a nightly pet fee in place , but are there any suggestions for house rules or after guest cleaning tips? I would hate for a non pet loving guests to suffer because we are pet friendly .

Thanks!

[Fred13]

Its like with children. One knows what they got in their own, but are scared to death how someone else's child has been raised. We just had a 'lovely' family arrived, within 2 minutes the young boy ('Jungle Jim') was climbing one of the roofs  - serious. 

[Alexandra316 · Accepted solution]

@Eliana239 I have hosted dogs for 4 years and in that time, the only issue I've had has been scratches on the inside of a door, which I fixed myself. I don't have any rules or restrictions apart from dogs should be housebroken and generally well behaved. I think that many of the animal horror stories on here come from people who don't allow pets but have disrespectful guests who bring them anyways. 

My advice: 

- Get a really good pet vacuum. 

- Don't allow cats. Their litter stinks and they are way more likely to damage furniture. They can willfully claw soft furnishings and jumping onto hard furninshings can inadvertently cause scratches quickly.

- Don't try to be all things to all people. Put it front and center in your listing that you allow pets. No matter how well you clean, if you're pet friendly, you're never going to be a good fit for someone with a serious allergy. 

- Get some cheap towels (I bought beach towels from a hotel supplier) and encourage guests to use them. They're good for paw towels, wipedowns after swimming, etc. I also leave old sheets to place on soft furnishings and guest use them at their own discretion.

Hostings dogs has been a  boon for my listing, and I think it's a major reason I'm almost always booked. Like you, I also have dogs, and I was discouraged by never being able to find hosts who would host me. 

[Laura2592]

@Alexandra316 I absolutely agree. Pet friendly and allergy sufferers are mutually exclusive. We have it in our listing that we host pets and use scented products and we are not a fit for those with allergies. Only once did someone fail to read that, book, and give us a low star rating because she had allergies. So now I mention this as soon as I get a booking. You have to choose a lane if you are going to host pets. 

[Elaine701]

We are also animal lovers, but don't allow them in our Villa. Too many problems, with no relief. Aside from potential damsges, pets leave dander and odours, and even stains that can be very difficult to remove. The next guests may be allergic, or just complain about it 

We're in a bit different situation than others though. As an island tourist destination, the overwhelming majority of guests arrive by plane, and precious few are willing to go through the gauntlet of international air travel with their pets. 

Still, even though you may want to accommodate pets, you ultimately have to view it as a business. If pets are an important part of that business, then you need to be prepared for the downsides of accommodating them. It's hard to estimate, but if you can define a reasonably accurate cost of pets, then you need to build that into your price, and not be surprised when there's damage or other problems. 

You can also just collect a hefty security deposit. That generally keeps guests acutely attentive to their pet's behaviour. 

[Jennifer1773]

@Eliana239 The bottom line is that (in my experience) dog people are cool.... and SO appreciate a dog friendly listing. I host an older home with existing scratches and sloping floors and ceilings that is full of character. In my listing I ask that guests contact me before Instant Booking if they want to bring dogs. This gives us a chance to chat and determine if this booking would be a good fit. I have occasionally talked prospective guests out of booking if I am sketched out (for example the guest who wanted to bring 5 "well trained Vizslas" to my small cottage that would be left for the day without supervision... yikes... sometimes you can't even imagine...)

That said, I have never received a rating below 5* from my guests with dogs. Has there been damage related to dogs? Yes, but rarely and only due to their people, who can make mistakes, but are usually very sorry and will compensate. Is there pet hair? Sometimes none visible, and sometimes I wonder if the dogs were bald when they left... but you can address this with a good vacuum and other suggestions from @Alexandra316 . I would add that my washable couch cover is a wonderful addition for dogs as well as people during this COVID time. I would recommend Pet Hair "Lint" Rollers and that you roll visible hair before you launder. Add a night's prep-time in between your bookings to ease your concerns and see how it goes. I do not charge a pet fee but charge a significant cleaning fee and nightly rate to compensate. Like @Alexandra316 hosting guests with dogs has been a big boon to my listing. Nothing like cutting out 60% of the competition with one filter...

My husband is highly allergic to cats, so we do not host those (based on my recent inquiries, this is a market if anyone is interested). 

[Laura2592]

@Eliana239 we host all pets and have had dogs, cats, birds, you name it. 

The only damage we have ever had was from a dog and it was bad damage. Almost chewed entirely through an interior antique door when the owners locked it there for 10 plus hours to attend a wedding. They refused to pay and ABB will not pay any pet related claims so never say damage was due to an animal. Its the owners responsibility to ensure the place is left in good condition anyway, not the dog's.

I get so tired of seeing these anti-cat posts about damage so let me set the record straight. Most pet travelers do not travel with cats. They are a very small percentage of the population of guests. Those who do have never done any damage in my space. We travel with one of our cats (we have 3 and a dog.) He loves to travel-- one out of 3. The other 2, not at all. We don't bring them. Traveling cat never pees outside the litter box or shreds things. He sits quietly and watches birds from a window sill or sleeps. This idea that cat travelers cause havoc is absurd. Owners know which animals are good travel companions and which aren't.  Some cats are not suited to leaving home, others are very good guests. Instead of banning them, ask the pertinent questions to vet your guests. Has your cat traveled before? Does he wear a harness and can walk on a leash? Is the cat fixed? How do you take care of litter boxes when you travel? Up to date on vaccinations, etc?

The biggest lies about pets are that they don't shed-- even the non-shed breeds do to an extent at certain times of the year. Invest in a good vacuum, pay special attention to base boards. Ask for dogs to be crated during guest absence. Ask guests to dedicate a room with an easy clean floor to any litter boxes and put a barrier down to catch spillage. Make sure guests know what to do with poo in the yard and that pets need to be supervised at all times, fenced yard or no. Unleashed dogs on our property are not allowed.

We don't charge a pet deposit as it is just awkward to go back and forth after booking. We just roll the costs into our nightly cost. Over more than 150 stays now we have had one serious incident of damage, which I mentioned above. The biggest reason for that  looking back is that we had very low pricing at the time and were not attracting the best guests/not asking enough questions. We have corrected that. We decline reservations with pets where the owners seem like they will just dump Fido for 2 days while they party. We accept reservations from responsible pet owners and have had very few issues. 

[Suzanne302]

@Eliana239  Like others, I've found those traveling with dogs to be no problem. I would suggest adding a pet fee. It has to be collected via the Resolution Center, which can be a bit of a pain, but that's the best way I've found until Airbnb decides to give us a pet fee "button." It doesn't have to be a lot of money (mine was $25) but enough to discourage those who are only bringing their dogs because they're too cheap to pay for boarding and just plan on leaving the dog in the house the whole time.

I would also suggest a separate set of pet rules. They don't have to be elaborate, but just to cover you should there be any disputes.

I'm a home share host, so I have a separate set of linens and bedspread I use for guests with pets. 

And finally, while 99% of my guests with pets are wonderful, you do have to accept that damages COULD happen, and if you think that would send you over the edge, you might want to rethink allowing pets!

[M199]

@Eliana239 

We are pet friendly, one of our recent guests came with two dogs, 1 with type of fur that creeps in material and almost has to pulled out with tweezers, the second a large dog with long soft fur, the type of fur that flies.

I asked the guest at check in to please vacuum before leaving.

The guest did so, my place was almost spotless and I got a 5⭐ review.  I didn't demand, but asked politely.

[Rebecca1458]

We travel with our cat quite often and have never had any issue. We are sure to keep her confined to a room and clean the litter every night. We bring a scratching post for her to scratch, and vacuum the room before leaving if a vacuum is provided. Never had an issue.

On the other hand, we've stayed in Airbnbs with friends who've brought their dogs and almost always the dogs get into some issue. To no fault really of the owner, it's just they're usually allowed to roam and end up getting into some trouble.

I would second the recommendations of investing in a good pet vacuum, and instating a pet fee that you collect up front after a booking is made.

[Inna22]

I allow all pets. I do have to say that my floors are already scratched. I have never had a pet do more damage than some of my human guests. The only downside is the host guarantee. As bad as they are at covering damage from guests, they will full on deny pet damage. I think the additional income I get from being pet friendly well covers any potential damage. Make sure you have property insurance for anything truly major.

As for allergies, I do not think you can ever truly clean a guest accommodation well enough for someone with allergies to stay with you. Keep in mind that all hosts have to accept service animals so most airbnbs are not "allergy friendly" and I hope those with allergies realize that.

[Misty66]

I honestly wish we could allow pets, but our COA prohibits them. Also, it seems like our place might be turning up in pet-friendly searches since we've had 2 guests try to bring pets within the last week. It's marked clearly on the house rules so I don't know if it's a search engine glitch or what.

[Quincy]

Hi there @Eliana239, 

We’re really pleased to share some details with you that were recently announced! In the coming weeks, Hosts will be able to add a Pet fee to their listing. 

We have been listening to Host feedback, just like yours, so please do let us know how you like the new service by sharing your thoughts here on the Community Center once it has launched. 

Thanks again,

Quincy