Just an idea… but do you have a trusted boarding facility closeby? We do, and have recommended it to guests who ask to stay and bring a pet as an exception to our rules.
I don’t know of any boarding facilities nearby. We are in the country.
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Gotcha. So are we, you might want to ask a local vet for a recommendation. Could be a solution for your guest without getting into legal.
The town has 500 people, one local vet who does not board.
Do let us know how this resolves.
I will never, ever understand why people insist on pushing themselves on others.
AND if she really needs this ESA, why is her reason for bringing it that she couldn’t find care for it!?! That tells me she does NOT NEED to bring it.
She doesn’t want to pay boarding fees where she’s from while she’s away and wants you to suck this up for her.
I would do what @JJD says and make it crystal that is she leaves the animal for one moment she’s out. You are NOT a boarding facility. I’d also remind her if additional time is needed to clean or there are any damages she is liable.
Grrrr! Makes me so mad. Honestly, I’d be way tempted to just cancel her. If @JJD is right, and I trust she is, this person has no leg to stand on legally. ABB is just too clueless and CYA to know it.
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Based upon what? Her dog is not an ESA. And Airbnb policy now says you don’t have to accept an ESA. It’s she who has no leg to stand on.
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Airbnb did not want to even get involved even though they could see she furnished a letter stating it is not yet qualified as ESA! So, if I cancel her reservation Airbnb doesn’t support it most likely for legal reasons.
And she is in Vet school at Purdue! Screams fraud to me but I can’t prove it.
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You don’t have to prove it. Just send her the information I gave you that shows that hosts do not have to accept ESAs, that Airbnb considers them to be pets and that you do not accept pets. Let her know that you will refund her if she cancels now or that she can come and stay without the dog.
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Strategy question @JJD … since I don’t do “pets” I’m clueless and while I could look it up, I will laze out and just ask 
:
Since we can now charge for pets directly/easily (maybe that’s a stretch) and ABB considers ESAs pets now, can a host charge whatever they want as a pet fee or is there a cap? Can OP give the option (really encouraged to send this person packing) to bring the ESA for a fee? Something more $$$ than boarding would cost?
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I do pets but since I don’t do pet fees, I am not sure. But, just like any other fee, it would’ve had to be in the listing when the guest booked, you can’t add a fee later.
I think that would just muddy-up the issue. Either she accepts pets or not. The point is that she doesn’t and that the guest is bringing a pet (formerly known as an ESA 
).
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I tried to add a $150 pet cleaning fee and she sent me an Airbnb link saying I was discriminating. Link wont post.
airbnb
.com
/help/article/2857/nondiscrimination-policy
Airbnb has conflicting policies. This brings us back to the beginning of this thread—Airbnb is making ESA policy changes and there’s been changes made then disappear. I hope they finish soon.
Part of the issues seems to be that Air is in the middle of updating their policy on ESAs and so there is conflicting information on their website. She is likely referring to this section of the NonD Policy:
" * Charge more in fees for guests with disabilities, including pet fees when the guest has an assistance animal (such as a service or emotional support animal) because of the disability."
BUT you are not claiming a pet fee (like my bad idea above ;-). You are indicating a cleaning fee. She IS responsible for any extra mess or damage.
Their site also says this: https://www.airbnb.com/resources/hosting-homes/a/what-you-need-to-know-about-hosting-pets-463
What about service animals?
It* ’s important to understand that service animals are not considered pets. A service animal is one that’s individually trained to do work or perform tasks for a person with disabilities.
- You must allow a service animal to accompany its owner (unless you are granted an exemption), and you can’t charge a pet fee for one. You can charge a pet fee for an emotional support animal, except in places where applicable laws may not allow it, such as California and New York.
That has already been pointed out. Send it to her and tell her your fee if she brings the ESA. @JJD - OP didn’t know this person was bringing an ESA when they inquired/booked so why can’t they impose an ESA fee now?
Y’all chime in if I am wrong. I don’t want to make false statements. I’m still researching the site also.
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I still suggest this until Airbnb gets their policy changes finished.
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Airbnb needs to grow some balls and take a stand. It is BS!
Does anyone else feel like this student is sparring with OP, intentionally digging in? Clearly the guest can tell by now OP (& ABB) are unsure in their positions and she’s taking advantage (I’m not trying to talk about you, @CMSTAS, like you aren’t here 
)
Confidence is key here, as well as law and policy. Just like guest can point to policy in her/his favor, so can host. I cannot see for one moment why it is up to ABB legal to sort this out.
I am not in OPs shoes & I’m a “fight to the death”, “too competitive” kind of person, to my detriment at times. BUT… I BELIEVE there is no way I’d let his person stay with me, no matter what. I’d fight to get it done w/o penalty, but I REALLY don’t like this guest at this point and I cannot see me letting them in.
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Ok, it is true that there is conflicting information on the website right now. And now that I’ve thought about it, even though Airbnb is changing their policy on ESAs, it was not changed when your guest booked so she likely falls under the old policy (of allowing guests to be full of 
).
You have 2 options now:
-
Cancel the guest and take the penalty. For me, it may be worth it to cancel her just to avoid a stay full of animosity, but you have to take all of your situation into account.
-
Keep the guest and inform her of both of these things:
- She is not allowed to leave the ESA alone in the unit. She must take it with her every time she leaves.
- Because it is an ESA, it will not be allowed in cafes, stores, museums, office buildings, banks, taverns, amusement parks, gyms, etc, etc because ESAs are not allowed into public places where pets are not allowed, only Service Dogs are allowed into those public places.
- some places have laws about leaving dogs in cars, as an example, it is illegal in my city to leave a dog in a vehicle if the outside temperature is not between 40-70 degrees F, which it isn’t right now nor will it be for awhile. Your city may have a similar law that you should also inform her about.
Ultimately, this guest is going to be saddled with that dog for her entire trip so you should let her know this so she can be prepared for it.
This guest is so dumb because she thinks that there is some kind of ESA training, which there isn’t. So we can assume that she also thinks she’s going to take her ESA into public places that don’t allow pets, but she’s not going to because ESAs do not have those rights. You need to tell her this.
You should tell her these things whether you cancel her reservation or not, because she needs to know.
I told a guest these things once and that guest canceled 5 minutes later. The best part is that I welcome dogs and I don’t charge an extra fee for dogs to stay, but this guest annoyed me to no end with his sense of entitlement about his ESA. And there was no reason for him to play the ESA card with me, people are so dumb.
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It was never claimed to be a Service Dog, it is supposedly an “ESA in training” 
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The ADA does not cover ESA so that will be a non-starter. They only recognize Service Animals