Welcoming pets into your Airbnb:
Are you thinking of welcoming furry friends into your Airbnb? Whether you’ve started your hosting journey or are still prepping your Airbnb, it’s important to be prepared for the extra responsibilities and considerations that come with hosting pets. Full disclosure I am one of those crazy dog-owning people who take his Australian Shepherd everywhere with him even to friends’ houses for dinner parties and whatnot. My own hosting experience has been a bit of a pendulum swing from having pet-friendly properties to banning them completely to now welcoming dogs to my Airbnbs again but with better guidelines.
What to expect and how to prepare pet-friendly listings:
There are a few things you should expect when you have a pet-friendly Airbnb. First, you will probably get more requests from pet owners traveling with pets. This means that you will need to be comfortable communicating with potential guests about your pet policy, your pet fee, and what, if any, restrictions you have. Secondly, you can expect some wear and tear on your home. If you have carpet, you may find pet hair and stains. If you have hardwood floors, you may find scratches. And if you have furniture, you may find some pet hair and perhaps a few claw marks. Finally, you can expect that some guests will be uncomfortable around pets or may be allergic to them. This is something to keep in mind if you’re a host who has pets of your own and are welcoming guests into a shared space/listing, or if pet allergies for future guests after a guest traveling with pets check out.
Even while writing this I shudder a little bit about the mistakes I made early on hosting pets without any guidelines or updated guest policies. My first thought goes to a couple of scenes from the 1989 film Turner & Hooch that tells the story of a mismatched pair – an uptight detective and his slobbering dog – who team up to solve a crime. While the movie is lighthearted and comedic, it also features some serious pet damage.
Some of the most memorable pet damage from movies comes from when animals aren’t exactly themselves. In The Birds, for example, birds turn into vicious killers. In Cujo, a mild-mannered St. Bernard becomes a rabid dog. And in Willard, rats become loyal (and deadly) friends, and from my own experience hosting and traveling with dogs when you are in a different location from where they are familiar they might not act exactly as you predict. The same goes for people who are convinced their dogs are perfect guests only to leave them alone and realize they got stressed and chewed something.
Dogs traveling to new locations will be if not completely stressed, they’ll be uncertain of how they are supposed to behave in your home. For dogs with a bit of separation anxiety that means they might find something to chew on if they’re left alone. In my experience, this usually means not knowing where to go to the bathroom or deciding they want to mark and go to the bathroom inside.
Tips for communicating with guests about their pets
The best way to prepare your home for guests with pets is to have a conversation with them before they arrive. This is the time to establish expectations and boundaries. Guests are excited to find pet friendly airbnbs so they will be happy to talk about their trip. As the saying goes an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure and preventing problems and conflict before it happens is going to be a game-changer. People with pets love traveling with them, I know I do, but not all people treat their pets the same way. Take a look around your Airbnb: do you have a light-toned carpet, difficult-to-clean rugs, or a couch that’s impossible to remove hair from? Is your yard fenced? How close are your neighbors? I literally had all of those things when I started welcoming pets into my Airbnb. I have spent countless hours hand picking dog hair out of my couch because the upholstery is some kind of cleaning torture material that causes you to clear your schedule and cry a little bit while you try to restore it to its original shape.
For a while now my profile photo has been a close-up photo of me holding my dog, kind of a double headshot, so guests can see I like dogs firsthand. Then when they inquire about bringing their pet I can respond by saying something like “Thanks for reaching out, I love dogs but have had some really unfortunate experiences hosting destructive guest pets. I would love to have a quick conversation with you about your dog, your travel schedule, and your pet’s needs to make sure my Airbnb is a good fit for you guys.” No one wants to have a bad experience when traveling so they will be more than happy to chat your ear/eyes off about every tiny detail about their dog and all the previous Airbnbs they’ve visited. If they are reluctant to have a conversation about expectations and house rules you know they probably aren’t a good fit for your Airbnb.
One of my motivations for having my dog Florence in my profile photo is that I want to have a very clear conversation about my pet policies in my Airbnb and I don’t want it to come off as being angry, resentful, aggressive, or any of those antagonistic places. I really try to think of it as something like “Hey (awesome future Airbnb guest) I love pets but we all know pets can sometimes not be great when traveling. My home isn’t 100% pet friendly so I want to make sure my house rules and pet policies are going to be okay for you’all before you confirm your reservation.”
What about pet noise?
I had a neighbor recently whose dog barks all day long, and it was extremely frustrating. I felt like I couldn’t even enjoy my own yard because of the constant noise. Now with all of the guests traveling for work their need to have a conference call without a dog howling in the background is extremely important. Have you ever tried to have a serious phone call with a crazy dog barking in the background? It’s impossible. I certainly have, and aside from having a set of bad neighbors once when my rescue dog Florence was around 2 years old, she barked constantly when I was trying to make phone calls. When I traveled I knew I had to leave her home because of her stress barking.
If your neighbors will call animal control the first time they hear a dog barking you should let your guests know that could be problematic. If you have a duplex or listings next to one another will your other Airbnb guests complain about claws on the floor or barking? My dog does what I call the “zoomies” periodically throughout the day where she runs full speed between her bed and around the house. In my case, it’s sort of a circular hallway. I find this really endearing at home but when traveling I have to interrupt this behavior because of the potential for scratches on the floor or general noise.
What should your pet policies be for your Airbnb?
Now it’s your turn to think about the policies you need to have in place for your Airbnb BEFORE a guest arrives with a dog or pet. These could be general house rules that apply to all guests and specific pet policies for their stay. Some things you may want to consider are:
-Are there certain areas of your home that are off-limits to pets?
-Do you require guests to crate their pets when they are away from the listing?
-Do you charge an Airbnb pet fee?
-Do you charge a different cleaning fee or is the pet fee inclusive of that?
-Do you have a weight limit for pets?
-Some HOAs and neighborhoods have dog breed restrictions, or only allow small dogs. Is that a consideration?
-Do you require guests to bring their own pet bedding or food/water bowls?
-Do pets live on the property? This is a specific question in your listing you need to answer. My home is next door and I have pets so I don’t say dogs are on property but I do mention there are dogs nearby.
After you’ve answered these questions you will want to add these to your house rules section in your Airbnb listing, and click the check box pets allowed.
Pet supplies when you’re pet friendly
Some Airbnb hosts will provide pet supplies specifically for pet owners traveling with dogs, such as bowls, beds, and toys. Others may not have anything specific but are still pet-friendly. Be sure to read the listing description carefully to see what, if any, pet-specific amenities are available. You can keep this as simple or make it as complicated as you would like. If you think about what people need when they’re traveling with pets you could help them make good choices by providing some of the amenities you know they’re going to want. For example, if you don’t want someone to use your nice dishware as dog bowls you should absolutely pick up dog-specific bowls for them. If you don’t want the dog to nest in a fluffy blanket or on your throw pillows consider providing a dog bed. You could consider having pet poop bags somewhere for them to clean up their pet’s waste. You get the idea.
Information you should have available for your guest pets
One thing your guests will greatly appreciate is letting them know how to handle pet-related emergencies during a stay. I recommend providing information for a local vet clinic in case something minor comes up, and the location and information for the vet emergency hospital. My Airbnb happens to be about a mile away from both of those options and while 99% of guests traveling with dogs won’t need this information everyone will notice how thoughtful it is that you have this information for them. In North Carolina, we have various poisonous snakes around so I like to point that out. I grew up in Nevada where Rattlesnakes were common but I didn’t know anything about water snakes and what else could cause the dogs trouble.
Another incredibly easy piece of information you can provide is where are the local dog parks? Pet owners will always appreciate knowing which parks allow dogs or allow pets in general. Something common in most US cities I’ve visited is that farmer’s markets aren’t typically pet friendly. Are there any circumstances like this where you can make your guests aware?
Is there a pet sitter you could partner with or recommend in case the guest has to be out of your home for a long period of time? Not only would that be a great service for your guests. It helps pet-friendly hosts differentiate themselves from everyone else who just checks the box saying they “allow pets.” Try not to be passive about the experience! People are traveling to your home and are excited about it. Sure you have some specific pet rules but that’s no big deal for guests.
How to prepare your home for Airbnb guests with pets
For starters, you should walk through your home and look for anything a pet could potentially damage or destroy. A good way to prepare for anything is to walk around and ask yourself “what could a pet destroy, or how could they harm themselves?” Then take the answers to all of your questions and address them as best you can. Some questions that come to the top of my mind are:
-Are there any cords hanging down that a dog could get tangled in?
-Do you have house plants within reach?
-Is there anything on a low coffee table or end table that could be messed with or knocked over?
-Do you have any potentially poisonous cleaning supplies under the sink?
-Do you have poisonous plants in your home? You don’t need to get rid of all of your house plants but you don’t want to make your guests aware if you have anything toxic to dogs.
Some common plants that could cause problems to pets are Aloe Vera, Azalea, Chrysanthemum, Cyclamen, Dieffenbachia, Dracaena, Easter Lily, Elephant Ears, Ficus/Weeping Fig, Kalanchoe, Oleander, Philodendron, Poinsettia, and Pothos (which I have a ton of because they’re lovely and nearly unkillable).
Service animals versus guest pets
This is a much larger topic but in general:
A common question I receive is “I have a service animal, can I bring them with me?” And the answer is almost always yes. You should never charge a guest an additional pet fee for a service animal. Attempting to charge a pet fee for a service animal isn’t only wrong morally it’s against Airbnb’s policies and you will get into trouble if you attempt to do so. Sure people traveling with fake service animals is disappointing but it’s not worth picking a fight with everyone who’s following the rules.
The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) defines a service animal as “any dog that is individually trained to do work or perform tasks for the benefit of an individual with a disability, including a physical, sensory, psychiatric, intellectual, or other mental disability.”
In conclusion
Most hosts do not allow dog owners to travel with pets, despite collecting a pet deposit or considering being pet friendly, suggesting pet sitters, adding additional rules, or additional fees. However, if you prepare your house to be an Airbnb with pets they can be a great addition to your Airbnb listing. You will be prioritized in search results which will help with bookings but those will obviously come from guests searching for pet friendly Airbnbs but it can be a great way to increase bookings. Remember, it’s important to be prepared before welcoming them into your home. Make sure you take the time to communicate with your guests about their pets and address any potential concerns you may have. Remember, service animals are always welcome in your home, and you should never charge an Airbnb pet fee for them. With a little preparation, you can make sure everyone has a great stay. If the worst should happen remember that Airbnb has damage protection through Air Cover.
Thanks for reading, and happy hosting friends!
