NO Pets: Guest brought dog.

[Teresa1585]

Ok, Very clearly my listing says no pets. In NC, we have a short-term lease that also says no pet. Guest brought a 40 pound dog. After several calls to Airbnb, we made an exception for this guest. We gave her 3 choices. Board their dog during their stay, leave and forfeit reservations fee or pay an additional fee and agree to the terms. She chose to pay the fee and terms.  
1: Agree to an additional pet fee of $150 charged to your account for additional cleaning.
2. The dog is not allowed on any furniture or allowed to be outside unleashed or unattended.
3. The dog is not allowed to stay in the house unattended. If the three of you leave the house, the dog must accompany you.
4. All pet feces must be picked up from the yard and disposed of. This is either in a plastic bag and placed in the garbage or thrown in the woods (not with plastic bag or paper).

Today, she leaves her dog in the house unattended. I know because we live next door and can hear the dog barking like crazy. Now what do I do? Any suggestions? She leaves Monday. 

PS I love animals and have a farm. 

[Benjamin836]

The good thing she leaves Monday. Just don’t host her again and look for damages inside the place. Rate her fairly.

[Robin4]

@Teresa1585 

I understand she would have returned by now but, had that been me, as soon as I was aware of it I would sms the guest on her phone and say ...."Your dog is inside the property and getting quite upset by your absence. Would you like me to chain it up outside until you return? I am concerned there will be considerable damages from the dogs current agitated state, and you should be prepared to allow for this!"

You say she is there until Monday so, at this point I would say to her...."We agreed to a deal, I have been prepared to honor my side of it but you have to honor your side of it as well, no repeat of today, okay!"

My feeling is, this a stay you would have been better off not being involved with. The fact that you had to negotiate the terms of the stay means that this guest was not the slightest bit interested in following your rules, she just wanted to get her way....as she no doubt has done all through her life.

Poor reviews are going to come from this so, to prevent further damage, do not give any more ground to her....let her know who is the boss! 'If you want to stay abide by the rules, or leave!'

Cheers........Rob

[Teresa1585]

Thank you Rob. Lesson learned.

[Jen5]

It's important for hosts to know that Airbnb will not cover any damage caused by an animal. I learned this the hard way after guests snuck in a cat that caused a bunch of damage over the course of a month.

I've found that people who break rules after you've made a big deal about them often leave the rental in rough shape. It might be too late, but you might want to request an inspection of the rental today. If you don't and there's any damage you have to make a claim on, whatever you do, DO NOT mention it was caused by an animal!

[Helen3]

Personally I would not have let her keep the dog there at all as she proved to you she was willing to lie so why would she keep to your rules.

if she left it alone I would have asked  airbnb  to cancel the booking immediately @Teresa1585 

[Laura2592]

@Teresa1585 Not much you can do at this point except ride out the rest of the visit. I am sure the guest realizes that the review won't be great as you already confronted her about the dog. So be prepared for the revenge review. I would have my own write up ready for day 13.75 of the review period and it would go something like this:

" Guest was friendly but had trouble following house rules including bringing a pet to our no pets listing. Extra clean up was needed and communication about the fact that she was bringing a pet, was poor. We would not host again and do not recommend her to hosts that have a no pet policy."

[Teresa1585]

Thanks for the help in writing the review for her. I was fair but honest. The guest actually left me a great review. She’s just oblivious she’s done any wrong. I was courteous to her the entire stay. 

still a lesson learned. I believe guest only read the first message sent so I changed mine to be clear from the beginning. 

thank you 

[Jodi23]

Whether she gave you a glowing review or not  you need to respond with an honest review detailing issues you experienced otherwise other potential AirBnBers will experience the same thing if she gets a 5star rating and is not called out. Tired of people saving face and not letting guests know what they really think.

[Justine275]

I recently had a very similar incident of a guest showing up with a dog to a very clearly communicated NOT animal friendly accommodation. After a conversation, they still left the dog alone in the house. Be prepared for a retaliatory review/rating even though this is not your fault. 

[Bec2890]

I am having a kind of similar experience right now. I actually do allow one small dog however, they must tell me there is a dog coming. They didn’t.  They turned up with the dog. I mentioned that I do allow a dog but need to be told before stay and dog needs to be approved. But!! Now they have gone out and left the dog. Inside! So frustrating. Why can’t people just do the right thing… 

Glad they left you the review you did deserve. What did you say in yours may I ask?