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And that is exactly what I mean when I say “pet friendly”. All the way. But it has nothing to do with Airbnb and everything to do with Bill Kimpton who I was personally inspired by and who made amazing changes in travel when Brian Chesky was still nursing.
Here’s an old Kimpton advert:
Yes, if a host is going to be pet-friendly, barring unacceptable disturbances like incessant barking, or destructive behavior, they have to understand what is realistic. “No dogs on the furniture” is unenforcable and dogs who are used to being on the sofa or bed are going to do that everywhere and the owner is not going to stop them. Smart pet-friendly hosts just provide some furniture covers for where pets are going to lie.
Saw two posts on the CC this week- one from a host who lists “pets allowed”, but then expects all dogs to be kept outside, another from some guests who booked a pet-friendly listing for a month, only to arrive to rules sprung on them by the host (not mentioned anywhere in the listing info) that the dog isn’t allowed in any carpeted areas (leaving only the kitchen and bathroom), nor upstairs.
What does the host expect, that the guests are going to lock the dog in the downstairs bathroom or tie it up in the kitchen somewhere?
Seems that hosts like that are just listing as pet-friendly to get more bookings, but aren’t actually pet “friendly” at all.
This is why I don’t accept pets, even though I’m a dog person. Dogs do not belong on furniture as far as I’m concerned, unless it’s some dedicated dog sofa.
There’s a TX based author I follow who takes her dog everywhere she can and posts his pictures like this on hotel beds. I don’t know where she stays but I’ve thought she should get a sponsorship for her current on the road thing she is doing to prep for a new road trip book.
I’m just saying that Airbnb shouldn’t be credited with showing a dog on all-white linens because I remember very clearly when someone first did that and it wasn’t them 
Well, I didn’t say they came up with the idea on their own, just that it seems to encourage what a lot of hosts would find unacceptable.
I’ve certainly never seen a dog bed with a high quality fabric white cover, like many listings provide for bedding. 
The fabric choices are usually far more practical.
I don’t find these photos of dogs on clean white linens the least bit endearing, I find them disgusting.
Oh, that’s so awesome! I have a lot of pictures of dogs on hotel beds too. If that author has an open blog to follow or something, I’d love to have the link to it, pm or whatever.
Here’s one on the bed at a Kimpton Hotel in DC. I think it’s 2006/7 or so. We took this picture to mimic the photo on their website under “We love your dogs” and they printed out a copy and put it up behind the check-in desk:
But the best fun was found in the lobby with all of the historical busts. If you think about it, it is pretty weird that they have faces but don’t smell like anything:
I have nothing to say about dogs in airbnbs. But I want to thank everyone for posting pictures of dogs! My day is better for it…
I think the host could get round this by legitimately citing a local noise ordinance if there isn’t an insurance or HOA rule to reference. Most U.S. jurisdictions have them, though maybe not if you’re out in the country.
I was addressing Jacquo’s approach of referencing a third party as the “bad guy” in order to manage guest behavior. I think it makes psychological sense in distancing the host as a target of resentment. If I refer to “the cleaner’s schedule” in response to early check in and late check out requests, I don’t feel obliged to tell guests that in most cases the cleaner is me.
While I can understand the allure of passing the buck by claiming some third party is responsible for a host having the rules they have, in order to fend off arguments from guests, I’m not a fan of telling lies to avoid conflict.
Guests are adults and “I don’t allow that” should be accepted by guests, and if it isn’t, they need to learn to show respect. “Dogs that bark for hours are not acceptable” is a pretty straightforward thing to understand, without having to come up with some bogus reason why.
Of course, there are often legitimate 3rd party reasons for rules, like maximum guest counts due to fire regulations or insurance, in which case it seems perfectly fine to explain this.
Oops sorry JJD I thought you had replied to me previously. I have no problem referencing our noise ordinance in refusing pets, particularly if a guest continues to ask for an exception to the no pets condition.
One bark per minute for 10 minutes, any time of day, can result in a violation.
3 violations (of any sort) in a year gets my STR permit yanked.
Yes, this exactly. We welcome dogs in our listing however our rules clearly state that the dogs are not to be left alone. We are not a boarding facility.
