Pet rule broken

[Michele255]

We just had our 2nd guest come and go after 3 nights in our guest house (which is not on our home property).

We have a 'No Pet' rule as we are sensitive to those having allergies.  I was not able to meet our guest when she checked in/out.  We also had so leave town the day she left so I was not able to do a detailed look around the house.  When I was able to go in and clean, I found a cat toy, cat dander in multiple places, small traces of kitty litter, few dry food kibbles, and 1 turd.  It has been frustrating as there was more laundry involved to remove the cat dander.

We did not put in a pet fee as we felt our rule would be respected.  Do I have any recourse with this guest at all?  I will definitly be adding an additional fee to curtail/prevent future guests from sneaking in pets.

She has not yet written a review for us and I am not sure how to write hers as I am very disappointed.

Michele

[Maria2919]

You have to accept a service animal. It’s a 2 way street, you can’t just have it all your own way. If you have too many rules and regulations, then I’m not sure why anyone would want to stay there. 

[Dionne2]

Can I just say, how annoyed I feel reading this.

For alot of guests that have been good, I don't understand why there are some that can't even meet basic decency. What is wrong with reading the rules, asking if they could do or bring something and knowing when not to do something and leave the place in good condition. 

If Airbnb keeps placing demands that penalises the hosts, and saying you as a host can or can not do this honestly , I want to say one thing. **bleep** off.

I had my bad first experience with Airbnb. The guests I had were drug dealers and they trashed my place. The thing that made me fume because at every turn it was that their rights that came first no matter what or who they were or what they did to my place. I was only lucky that I had the cops raiding and arresting them , so I had a proper police report, imagine if that did not happen. How do I deal with two drug dealers and kick them out, worse thing was this was all during Christmas???

Proof is a thing that is very important. That is the first thing I have learnt here. Airbnb won't be fighting your battles, their job is to be neutral and make money from both guest and host.

The last help I had from Airbnb, the lady acutually said these words, "I am not here to be emtionally involved". So as far as her helping me she did the job but for things like dealing crap like cleaning up and fixing and replacing things that's all you.

So for one. I don't believe you can't try to fight your case and ask for compensation if you have grounds of it. She left a mess , you stressed out no pets and evidence shows she had pets. I don't see why you can't ask for compensation for clean up, you have allergies.

I don't like the culture of fear with hosts. Fear of being critised , fear of failing. fear of reprecussions. There is a bullying environment here from guests , even as hosts first thing I come across is from reading alot ot these discussions is when things go wrong we are told  to let it go. Yes that is true, you can let it go by doing something positive and constructive, not just letting the problem slide. Your losses is what teaches you that you can't be bullied into a corner. 

You can charge them for leaving a mess.

I charged when the drug dealers trashed my place. It was $800.

I got the imbursement.

I also left an honest review in the point of view of a host. Asking them if they want a drug dealer and bad people coming in or out of their place, and trash your place , please have these people stay at yours?

Their profile was flagged and removed immediately. I don't know if she was ever banned from Airbnb, but I hope so.

I once had a proper confrontation with an Airbnb agent because they penalised me for something for what their proces wasn't clear on. I did my due dlilgence in finding out the guidelines and when I did , I still double check by calling them up and I still got penalised.

Just shows, you might do the right thing, and still you won't have it coming your way, it is all up to you to figure how to make it right.

So write a review. Trust me everyone wants honestly, that here you have a guest who did not heed your rules, brought pets, left a mess. We need to weed guests like this out of Airbnb. I'm not patient with people who don't know how to treat others with respect and consideration.

And whether you realise it or not, your next host will be thanking you. 

[Edwin57]

Amen

[Dave190]

Hi Linda and Richard. I recently received a booking request. I accepted and reviewed the house rules with the prospect guests to make sure my place was a good fit. On check-in day I personally met with the couple, I had them sign a printed copy of my Airbnb listing house rules (which include NO PETS, NO SMOKING, NO PARTYING), they signed it and dated it, we inspected the property and they were amazed of how clean and beautiful the place was and they told me they did not smoked or had any pets. That night the neighbor called me... a dog inside my Airbnb rental didn’t stop barking, all night.

[Linda-And-Richard0]

Hey @Dave190, Sounds like you went above and beyond to make it clear pets are not allowed at your rental.  Maybe next time you should offer to help guests bring in their luggage and searcht their vehicle for animals.  SInce I live next door to our rental, I keep a close eye on what is happening at arrival time.   Just keep making it clear about your house rules.   I looked at your listing, love all the plants and flowers.

Linda

[John1235]

Hi, Dave, What did you do after that? I also have no-pet policy. My neighbor told me that my guests brought in two dogs. Their booking is not terminated until the end of the month. Can I ask them to leave?    

[Matthew285]

@John1235, if a guest is violating your no-pet policy and the guest is not claiming that the pet is a Service Animal, then you are within your rights to contact AirBnB and tell them that a guest is violating your house rules and you want to have AirBnB cancel the rest of their stay.

Even if they claim it is a Service Animal, there are expectations of behavior for Service Animals.

Here is a document from U.S. Department of Justice about Service Animals. If you look at Q27, Q28, and Q29, they outline the expectations of Service Animals and their handlers.

https://www.ada.gov/regs2010/service_animal_qa.pdf

Q28 specifically says: "If a service animal is out of control and the handler does not take effective action to control it, staff may request that the animal be removed from the premises."

So even if the guest claims it is a Service Animal, if the handler is not effectively controlling it you can request the animal be removed. (And constant barking during expected quiet times is considered being out of control.) (And really, an actual Service Animal would be trained not to bark all night.)

[John1235]

Thank you.

[John1235]

 I offered an option to my guests by sending an alteration request to end the booking on Sunday without penalty. The guests accepted it. Now I am worrying that their dogs might make messes to the rooms. If that has happened, I don't know what evidences should be provided to Airbnb to request money from them.

[Matthew285]

@John1235 you can document any damage the dogs do; also, if you are faced with unusual cleaning bills, please ask the cleaner to provide you with invoices that you can show to AirBnB.

You can ask for whatever increased costs the dogs caused.

[Edwin57]

Is not so much about pet fee is about respect rules are rules if do put pet fee then you really have to put what kind of pets is allow not to be funny so prose some body brings a horse people are crazy

[Margo21]

Ha...I know someone with an EMOTIONAL SUPPORT PIG...true story.

[David126]

@Margo21

AirBnb goes well beyond Service Dogs, includes Assitance Animals which is basically pretty much anything and as they are not considered pets they do not need to be mentioned.

[Margo21]

My friend who owns a condo in the same complex of ours has a posted NO PETS policy on her rental, as do I.  The property is strictly NO PETS, and any pet caught on site will be assessed $100 per day.  She had a guest check in, and a couple of days later guest wanted additional supplies and told me friend to call first to make sure she was there, because her SERVICE DOG may not like it if my friend walked in and the dog's owner was not there.  My friend expressed her surprise that she had a dog, because she explicitly states NO PETS in house rules...but the guest told her she can bring her 'service dog' to any AirBnB even if it states NO PETS allowed.  (If it's a service animal, don't you need that animal with you at all times?  Why was she leaving it behind at the condo?  I presume this was a fake service animal).  A little research proved that policy to be true.  Common courtesy dictates that a guest would start discourse about the service animal, but that was not the case.  AirBnB 'suggests' that those with service animals tell the host they are bringing an animal, but no consequences for not telling.

I am VERY UPSET about this polity.  Being a NO PET property attracts people with severe allergies who can't handle being around animals.  I don't like that people feel they have a 'right' to override the host's policy to suit their own needs.  RUDE.

For the record, I have dogs and love dogs...but this property is definitely not conducive to having dogs.  Any dogs barking and left behind would be heard by several surrounding apartments.

Another owner in same complex had a guest with a 'service dog' who let the dog defecate and urinate on the second floor patio...which fell and rained down on the patio below, creating a mess on that owner's patio furniture and deck.  GROSS.

PLEASE reverse this policy, AirBnB...

[Rhonda58]

Thanks for starting this thread.  My 2nd set of guests just left a couple of days ago.  Booking was made for two people, no mention of a dog.   Yesterday my cleaning woman said that the cable to the wi-fi router had been "broken".  Strange!  So I asked a neighbor if they saw a dog on our premises and bingo.  Luckily it was just an inexpensive cable but like others have already said, it's the lack of respect that bothers me the most.