Pets -- yes or no?

[Joan2055]

I'm a brand new host and listed my property as no pets allowed. I've only had 5 bookings (in 2 weeks, so not bad!) but at least three inquiries about pets. I had hoped to charge a pet deposit but after reading a thread here, I see there's no easy way to do that.

So experienced hosts -- should I just say yes to pets or no?

[Lawrene0]

I am uniquely qualified to answer, @Joan2055 , because I say yes and no. 

I say yes to pets in my treehouse listing because they are a good fit there. I make sure my nightly rate covers my time cleaning up clouds of pet hair. Yes, everyone, even those without pets, have to pay it, but it's working for now. 

I say no to pets in my bedroom listing because of extended family allergies and my husband's strong dislike of animals in houses. Guests do instant book and then write to tell me their perfectly-behaved, loved-by-everyone-who-sees-him dog will be coming, and I write back politely to ask them to cancel and book a pet-friendly listing. Not all of them call me names, but all of them cancel.  

My advice is to follow your own rules. You set them up for a reason. If you say no pets, stick to it. If you say yes, build it into your price for now, and hope, like the rest of us, that someday a pet fee gets added to the booking process.

Just a note: There is a picture of a dog over the bed in your listing. You might want to swap that out for something that doesn't look so wonderfully pet-friendly if you do decide to stick to no pets. Some guests just look at the pictures...

[Joan2055]

Good point, lol! That is an old photo I need to switch out.

[Anonymous]

@Joan2055  You can charge a pet fee by going into an existing booking and clicking "request money" (as in, for additional services), then making admission of the pet conditional upon payment of this charge. A deposit is a different thing - that term would mean that the charge is expected to be fully refunded, which sets you up for a nasty dispute if there is pet related damage. Airbnb will not have your back on that - note that one of the terms of the Host Guarantee is that it does not cover damage caused by pets. So knowing that deposits are not a thing in Airbnb, and that you're on your own if a pet causes costly damage, is being pet friendly still enough of a competitive advantage to be worthwhile?

For some hosts the answer is definitely yes - I presume their STR insurance covers the pet stuff. 

[Joan2055]

Thank you! I did not understand how the request money function works. Perfect explanation and I get it now.

[Suzanne302]

@Joan2055  It depends on how much of a risk you are willing to take and if you think being pet-friendly will increase your bookings. It IS a little more work and it IS a risk allowing pets.

I allow dogs, but I vet dog guests more than some people vet regular guests! I put in my listing description in several areas that "PRE-APPROVAL AND A $25 PET FEE" are required. I also have very explicit pet rules. I collect the pet fee via the Resolution Center and if it is not paid by the time the guest's arrive, I withhold the entry code and deny entry of the pet. Although I have had to send out reminders to pay the fee, I've never had an issue with non-payment.

I allow pets because I like to travel with my dog myself and I appreciate listings that are pet-friendly. In my case, allowing dogs does give me an advantage because there aren't that many other places in my area in the same price range that allow pets.

Interesting to note: I've hosted 2 kids under 10 and 50-60 dogs. 50% of the kid guests caused damage and required extra cleaning. 0% of my dog guests have caused damage and around 5% have required some extra cleaning. 

[Laura2592]

We allow pets and do not charge a fee. We often have to travel with our dog because his medication schedule makes it hard for us to find a reliable sitter. He is a medium-sized rescue with two dislocated hips from an untreated accident and he has pain and neurological meds he takes daily along with CBD oil so that he can continue to move around.  He doesn't bark, chew or mess in the house but he does shed pretty badly twice a year. We try to avoid bringing him during shed season. Honestly, we don't LOVE traveling with a dog as it adds another layer of complexity to the situation, but sometimes it is unavoidable. 

When we started hosting we were so appreciative of being able to find places to stay with this "special needs" dog that we decided we would open our home to pets. We don't live on site and it's an entire cottage with a large lot, so its ideal. About half of our bookings have a pet-- dog or cat. We have had one incident of kind of serious damage (dog tried to chew through a very heavy door when left alone for 10 plus hours so that guests could attend a wedding.) The guests refused to pay and Airbnb does not cover pet damage-- know that going in. Now we have a damage deposit but do not require a pet deposit upfront. We also decline reservations where guests state that they are bringing an animal to leave it alone for over 8 hours at a time. Not all pets are tolerant of that in their own homes and certainly don't do well with the stress of a strange place.

I can say with10000% certainty that the pets are FAR less messy than families with small kids. We allow both. Our cleaner was ill over the last turn over so we cleaned after a woman with two dogs. Nada. You couldn't even tell dogs had been there.  Most guests have been like this. We did invest in a heavy-duty vacuum for pet hair that works really well and our place has all hard surface floors.

For us, its a "pay it forward" to allow pets. We felt as though we had been shown such kindness and tolerance when traveling with our dog, we wanted to put more of that into the world. But its an individual decision. 

[Kathy33]

Joan I say No No No to pets. We have been landlords for 40 years. Had enough damage from pets. We even have two dogs. Just make it easier for yourself because some where down the line there’s going to damage. Happy Hosting 

[Laura2592]

@Kathy33 we are landlords too. Totally different.  We limit our Airbnb stays to a week. Most people can't come close to the damage inflicted by tenants in that period of time. 

[Alexandra316]

@Joan2055  I've been hosting for 2 1/2 years, and I allow dogs only with no extra charge. So far, so good. The odd one necessitates a bit of extra cleaning, but nothing too bad (knock on wood!). I think it gets me extra bookings: about half my guests bring their dogs, so it's obviously a service that's valued. I also don't restrict dog size or breed and I don't require dogs to be crated. I have three large dogs myself, and two of them can't be left in kennels, so I always appreciate hosts who allow pets. 

[Sharon1014]

We are a "no pets" listing but that doesn't seem to stop guests from occasionally sneaking their pet in.  Happened twice in the last 4 months.  The extra cleaning is a headache and if you or your cleaning crew miss a bit of fur, and your next guests have young kids that spend lots of time crawling around or sitting around on the floor, whatever pet fur is in your place will absolutely end up on everyone's clothes.  Some pet friendly hosts just double (or triple) the cleaning fee - easier than requesting additional money.  

By the way, one of our guests was with us for a week, went out everyday and left their pet indoors with the a/c running full blast (middle of summer).  We  kept an eye on the pet (she was super cute and we do love dogs) but it was pretty annoying that we became surrogate babysitters and not all that happy about having the a/c running full steam for a pet when the pet wasn't supposed to be here in the first place.  Pets locked inside all day are also likely to pee on your floors or walls and not all smells/messes can be removed that easily.  You might want to think about adding a condition to accepting a booking that pets cannot be left alone locked indoors for more than 4 hours and if your guests plan to be out all day, suggest they book their pet into doggie day-care or take the pet with them.  Animals in strange environments can behave out of character over normal, (including barking/howling/crying non-stop - major irritation for neighbours and you if you live on the same property) so maybe just put some conditions in there to protect yourself and your property.  Just my 2c.

[Rose1984]

absolutely NO

[Di89]

Hi there, does anyone know of, or willing to share, a list of conditions for PET Friendly Airbnb?

Greatly appreciated.