Hello all, I'm looking for feedback about use and limitation...
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Hello all, I'm looking for feedback about use and limitations of the recording air quality inside rental units. I noticed my ...
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I have 3 units where pets are allowed. Most guests visiting come with pets and I find them so considerate and grateful that their dogs can join them on their trip. I find pet owners to be such good guests, they look after the place, they report mud stains on linen etc at the time with an immediate offer to pay for the extra cleaning. We wash all mats, scatter cushions etc after each departure and spray beds, couches, cushions etc with a pet odour spray which is fantastic. Being pet-friendly has boosted my bookings and I get a lot of return business. Guests bring own bowls & bedding for their dogs and I am considering offering a free dog biscuit on arrival. Please share your views and/or suggestions on a pet-friendly offer
@Linda-and-Peter0 I am happy that being pet-friendly is working for you!
I have also found that pet owners who rent my pet-friendly properties are generally better guests -- grateful to be able to travel with their pets, gladly pay the pet cleaning fee, do not bring extra people, disclose and offer to pay for damages immediately and are more caring of my properties. I have a higher price point and book more often than those similar properties near me who do not allow pets.
Tip: I provide "dog sheets" so that guests can cover furnishings that their pets are accustomed to sitting on at home. These are sheets that have been taken out of service for the beds as they are dingy, stained or torn. Many of my guests have commented on these sheets, and more than one has said that they intend to travel with dog sheets in the future.
Great idea - thankyou!
We manage 8 pet friendly units located near the beach. The first thing we did before listing the units was to replace carpet with Vinyl plank and have our cleaners use a vinegar +essential oil (Lemon) mop bucket solution on the floors/baseboards between turnovers to dissolve the residue that causes dog smell. The cleaners also use the Chom Chom Roller Pet Hair Remover and reusable lint roller from Amazon on the pillows, sofa and bed between cleanings. We use Easy-Going sofa covers from Amazon and launder them between turns. We've added a house rule stating dog are not allowed on furniture/linens, since we have to replace sheets occasionally due to muddy paws on the bed, but this is difficult to enforce. We don't typically charge guests for stained linens, since it doesn't happen often and found that it ends the stay on a bad note and is not worth the retaliatory review. Hope that helps!
Hi Linda & Peter!
We manage a few cabins at a lake and are pet friendly and book via Airbnb & our own website.
Like you, we've mainly had people who are very grateful that we are pet friendly.
The only negative experience we have had with guests bringing dogs were one couple who told us that she was bringing her service dogs--which I love service dogs and am always happy to host them! But when the couple arrived their dogs were so ill-behaved, weren't responsive to the owners and were clearly not service dogs or even service dogs in training (they were older and did not even have basic commands down.) To make a long story short the cabin was trashed when they left with muddy paw prints everywhere, on all the linens and even the tabletops! We didn't try to charge them for the linens because we didn't want to welcome a dispute and make it seem like were were not service dog friendly. We had no video footage of the dogs behavior, so had no way to prove what we'd experienced aside from photos of the cabin aftermath. I felt bad for not being able to call them out on it--lest I get a negative review that made us look like the bad guys-- because this kind of behavior from people with fake service dogs gets real service dogs and their handlers hassled from business owners who have had negative experiences with the fake service dogs.
Anyway! 😅 I know that was not your question...
For us, we provide a pet basket, which is a little canvas structured tote we got from Walmart for $10 and we put brown towels in it for people to use on bedding or to dry their dogs off after a dip in the lake. We also attach a baggie with 2 treats and doggie waste bags, usually only 1 bag per day of their stay, to the outside of the basket with clothespins. And we have a little Pet Basket sign attached with tiny binder clips that says what everything is.
We thought of doing pet beds that they could rent, but we haven't done that yet. Also most of our cabins have decks and a lot of pet owners have said they would like the decks to have gates, so we might buy some baby gates (until we can get real wooden gates installed) and offer them as well, especially since we often see people trying to block off the decks with the adirondack chairs to make makeshift gates! We have found the metal pet hair removers work insanely well for removing hair from soft furnishings.
I like Lorna's idea of the pet sheets, as well, that would be even more helpful than the towels probably to keep pet hair off the furniture. Usually it's not a big deal, but some breeds leave impressive amounts of hair behind when we have to clean the cabins!
I think you're doing great! I totally agree about pet guests being great guests overall. There aren't many pet friendly places in my area and about 80% of my business are pet stays.
These are a few things I've added over the years: I provide 2-4 pet blankets (however many are clean at the time, lol, and they can use them as need), 3 large stainless steel dog bowls, a dog bowl mat, a treat jar of healthy dog treats and a roll of poop bags (i was initially surprised, but it makes sense, that the one thing that gets the most 'thank yous' from my pet guests are the poop bags). One of my house rules states pets may not be left alone inside the home so I also provide a large kennel (the collapsible, black wire kind) and 2 blankets, one for the kennel to sit on so it doesn't scratch the tile, and another for inside for the dog(s). I leave out all necessary cleaning supplies for cleaning up messes. In an effort to get guests to report damage, my listing says: 'I know our pets can be unpredictable when in a new/strange space but please let me know of any damage or messes that may require extra time to clean or repair/replace. I have traveled with my pets so I know stuff happens and I will work with you on a resolution but need to know about it ASAP to make repair/cleaning arrangements in time for my next guest.' I've been fortunate that my guests have done that so far with only 2 issues requiring extra cleaning/repair and both myself and my cleaning team were very grateful that we received the heads up.
I also leave a couple of hair/lint rollers around the house. My cleaning team uses them as needed but they're left out for guests to use too.
I have a house manual in my listing, but also printed out in a binder that is left on the counter. It includes the nearest animal hospital, emergency vet numbers, poison control info, the local pet stores, and local dog parks and hiking spots.
I had a potential 3 week stay a while back that ended up staying elsewhere because they wanted a dog door so I've been thinking about adding that too. I wonder how many pet friendly homes have dog doors... 🙂
Good topic! Thanks for posting!
We have had some good experiences with pets. And some not so much. However we do appreciate allowing pets in our home. I think some of the things that help make a pet friendly are having a little cookie jar for the dogs with dog cookies in it. We leave one out on the corner of the counter. We also have little bags for picking up after the dogs mess outside. They're attached to the side of the door so that when people take their dogs out to do their business they can pick up after them. In addition to that, knowing that many people want their dogs with them on a couch for example, we provide them with these dog blankets that they can throw over the couch for their pet to lay on. Those are all things that people appreciate. And they do help keep down some of the work that we have to do after the pet leaves.