Pet fees

[Teri1210]

I am having trouble with guests not paying the pet fee, while bringing their pet (not a service animal). Are other hosts having the same problem?

[Dave-and-Deb0]

Hi @Teri1210 

I am a little confused by your question.  I did take a look at your listing and it does appear that you have a pet fee setup as part of your listing.  When a guest books, they would out the number of adults, children, infants, and pets.  If they put a number in for pets, your pet fee is charged but it does not unfortunately break this down in your payout.  Airbnb states, "If you choose to charge a pet fee, it’ll be spread out equally over the course of the stay and shown both as part of the nightly rate, and in the total price at checkout."  You can read more here: https://www.airbnb.com/help/article/3171

Now, if the guest is not including the pet in the count, this is a different issue.  I do not allow pets nor do I have Instant Booking turned on but I do vet all my guests and if I had a pet fee, I would be confirming with the guest the number of guests, pets and that there would be no parties.  Something like, "Hi Teri.  Can you please confirm that you have a maximum of 3 guests, no pets and no parties?"  This is their opportunity to let you know if they will be bringing a pet in case they did not include the pet in the guest count.  If they responded that they would have a pet, then I would let them know that there is a pet fee and make the correction.

I hope this helps.

David

[Teri1210]

Sorry, the question was regarding guests bringing a pet but not including it in their reservation nor paying. We have a no contact check in where the guests are sent a code on the day of check in. We have outdoor cameras that we turn off shortly after they use the code. I've noticed many bringing their dog. I was just wondering how other people handle that situation. We have been sending a request for payment with video evidence. It just doesn't feel good!  We want to allow dogs as we bring ours whenever we use the house. We have had no damage from the pets, but have from the humans! 

[Dave-and-Deb0 · Accepted solution]

Hi again @Teri1210 

If it were me, I would include it in my listing details as well as in my house rules.  The guest has to accept the house rules before paying for and confirming their reservation.  Here is what they agree to.

The house rule could be something like, "We accept your furry pets as we know how important they are to you.  Please note that we do have a pet fee so pets need to be included in the guest count when booking".  

Once again, I would confirm with the sentence I provided earlier in my response.

David

[Teri1210]

Thank you! I'm going to try some recording and see if that helps!

[Teri1210]

Rewording, not recording!

[Dave-and-Deb0]

Yes, I figured this is what you were trying to say.  

David