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Due to my STR being dow 50 percent since T, I have decided to allow pets. The only thing I could find was the fee to charge (and they won’t let me charge more than $125. There’s no place to add an extra cleaning fee or even the types of pets I allow.
Ideally I would prefer to have the guest contact me before booking. I know I could put it into my description but I want to have it show up in a search filter.
Also, anyone want to share advise on accepting pets?
Thanks,
Lynn
I don’t allow pets, so can’t help you out there, but I always figured the “pet fee” was for the purpose of figuring in extra cleaning. What else is it for? It’s not like the dog is using toilet paper and shampoo or drinking the coffee, or taking 30 minute hot showers.
And I think you just have to put the type of pets you accept in your description, there aren’t any filters for that. What I can never understand is why hosts will specify things like “dogs under 30 pounds”. Small dogs are more likely to be accustomed to sleeping on the bed and furniture, be little yappers or be hyper. Of course that also has to do with how the dog owners deal with their dog, but in my experience, small dog owners tend to not train their dogs as well, and think everything Fifi does is adorable.
While I might allow a dog (I have in the past on a case by case basis with certain ground rules) I would never want to allow pets with no restrictions on the type of pet or the number of pets. For example. I would never allow a cat after my one experience with letting a guest have one. I would never allow a guest to have a bird after seeing what kind of damage they can do. Honestly, I think dogs are the only animal I would consider, and I don’t generally allow them, but I would make an exception on a case by case basis.
I don’t know if the listing can be set up so that you only allow one dog (for example) but I don’t think there’s any way to restrict the number or the type.
I don’t think there is any way to restrict the options other than to state that requests to bring dogs need to be approved before booking and move to RTB so that you get to vet every booking before accepting. We remain listed as no pets for the same reason you do, even though we do actually allow returning regulars to bring their dogs when requested!
Thanks all, I’ve decides not to allow pets.
what’s the weirdest pet any guest has ever brought?
I’ve had nothing but a few dogs, and one cat. The cat sprayed in the heating vent system so it was a nightmare to get rid of the odor. Luckily, that happened in my pre-AirBnB days.
The only other pet damage was was a puppy who chewed on the dining room chair leg. It was a Queen Anne style cherry dining chair, part of a formal dining room set.
Edited to fix typo
Lynn, that is completely your choice and I fully respect it. I also undertand why you might have reached that decision.
In order to redress the balance for new or potential hosts reading this, I have to say that until my HOA banned it, I’ve had great sucess hosting dogs, cats, a snake, parrots and even tropical fish. 
It can be fun and rewarding, I promise. 
I allow in my rural place up to two adult spayed or neutered dogs.My indoor space is very small .
There are no rugs or fine furniture.But cleaning is much more rigorous after people who bring dogs. That said, the issue in the US is the whole '"emotional support animal " thing. Few could object to actual service animals, e.g. alerting that owner may soon have a seizure. The problem is "oh yes my two 70 pound pit bulls are my emotional support and I have a doctor letter saying so , therefore you are obligated to allow me to bring them. "The actual law on emotional support animals varies from state to state here . Not sure if other countries have something similar , but that would be one thing I’d be sure to learn about. Once I had a woman who wanted to bring her two emotional support dogs, then airily mentioned she’d be bringing her pet dog too. As it happened, I found other reasons my place wasnt a good fit for her and so sidestepped the whole issue 
I think we are discovering the dark side of “American exceptionalism.”
You bet. And it’s terrifying. Waiting for the day that hateful creature and his crew of goons will be gone. But then we will have Vance 
Sorry world , half of us didnt vote for him. Worrying he will find some way to cancel mid term voti.ng.
While I never tell these types of request no outright but what I do is say that I don’t think it’s a good idea because I have two dogs, with one being a service animals and also to cats. I think it would be too stressful for all our the fur babies involved.
It’s the truth and I never seem to get pushback.
(Also, the part about the service dogs puts them on alert that I know what service dog does for the owner. And while I know ESA are different it seems to work. . ) I’ve already shut off the pets option.
Not where I was going with my tongued-in-cheek comment about emotional-support-dog legal rights and American exceptionalism, but… yeah.
Best decision you could make!
I’m late to this party and I see you decided already. But I thought I’d put in my two cents in favor of hosting pets given my good experience doing so for over 10 years. That said, my place was designed to be pet friendly. Other than the bed linens, the shower curtain and the towels, there are no other textiles or upholstery in the rental. The time a girl had a sick dog she paid the pet fee and and an extra cleaning charge. I could count the number of service animal requests on one hand, out of hundreds of pet bookings, so that wasn’t a deterrent for me at all.
Despite my enthusiastic recommendation for allowing pets in general, I wouldn’t have recommended it for you and your situation. I just hope if someone else comes along and reads this thread they will consider their rental, type of guests and so on before rejecting the idea outright.
I changed my listing to accept pets for about 12 hours. In that time I got 2 inquiries. One for a dog (said it was a service dog) but the people said they work nights and get in around 3 am. (Yeah sure 
and then another request for a woman with 2 emotional support animals. Luckily I was able to say no to both without addressing the service dogs and that fact they would both be able to stay for free.
Seems every dog is a service dog or emotional support dog these days. Pets are so old-fashioned.
It’s because in the US, 1) You can’t deny the booking for that reason and 2) the pets are free and you can’t charge an extra cleaning fee
I have a service dog so I know the bs whenI hear it.
I really did want to allow but if the first two who wanted to book claim “service dog” then there’s no point in my add it as an option if I can’t get pet fees.
Also, my suite has carpet in the bedroom and den. I do this because I need to insulate sound since I live below.
Yes, I’m well aware of why people do this, I was being sarcastic.
What I don’t understand is why the ADA is so intent on their stance that those with disabilities should not have to even mention their service animal when booking something, and why there is no legal and official accreditation that should be required and produced.
If they did so, it would go a long way towards shafting those who simply claim their pet is a service animal, who are the real culprits when it comes to disrespecting the disabled who have true service dogs.
And if the disabled really want to be treated equally, that should include having to pay for extra cleaning if needed, just as anyone whose dog sheds a lot would.
Just because their service animal is necessary for them, does that mean they would also be exempt from paying for damages if they smashed their wheelchair, which is necessary for them, into your dining table and broke it?
The decision on whether to allow pets really should be, as it is right now, something that the host is allowed to make. My listing is a historic house with some fine furniture and a lot of the historical original architectural features. It isn’t a good house for anyone with pets or small children unless they’re exceptionally well behaved. So my rules are no pets and I have a warning that the listing is not safe for small children (which it really isn’t).
If my Airbnb had easily cleaned floors, no expensive rugs, or furniture, no architectural features that have to be treated carefully (and are in excess of 100 years old and irreplaceable) then I would be happy to host pets and small children. As it is, I have enough concerns hosting guests who are reasonably well behaved adults. The last group, although they didn’t throw a party, did have business meetings and did manage to get the heavy oak pocket door off track (I will have to call a contractor in to fix it) and broke the original wire holding the metal fireplace insert in place in one of the bedrooms. My husband thinks he can wire it back himself, thank goodness.
If the house had easily cleaned floors and was fairly bulletproof then hosting pets and small children wouldn’t be such an issue. But there are plenty of listings that are not suitable for everyone. Mine is one. I’ve seen forum member Gypsy’s vintage travel trailer. It’s darling, but it’s not suitable for everyone either. Some things just require a higher level of care in order to be preserved for the future. Unique listings like Gypsy’s vintage travel trailer are part of the appeal/benefit of using AirBnB but few listings are suitable/appropriate for every guest stay.
The more Airbnb removes the ability of hosts to control their listings, the worse Airbnb becomes for hosts and guests alike. IMO.
