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I have a “no animal policy” partly to keep my home allergen free for all guests and mostly because my place is a farm and with dogs there is always the potential for livestock conflicts which can end just as badly for the dog as they can for my livestock.
I got a booking request a couple days ago - 4 adults for a wine/golf weekend. Great! We exchanged messages and confirmed the booking. Everything seemed copacetic. Then today I get a message from the booked guest asking if his daughter and her boyfriend can also stay WITH THEIR 12 WEEK OLD PUPPY. I messaged back thanking him for asking and let him know daughter and boyfriend are welcome at no extra charge (I accommodate up to 6 people) but I had to decline the puppy. He cancelled.
I don’t really care about the cancellation but I have to wonder is the puppy even house broken? What were they planning on doing with it while the tasted wine and golfed? Our temps are in the 80/90s now so you can’t leave the poor pup in the car (not that you should anyway). Since I don’t allow dogs I have no fence, no kennel, nothing for a dog. Seriously got to wonder what these people were/are thinking. Almost seems like prank given my no animal policy and the fact that I reiterate “no animals” in a message to all guests before I accept their reservation.
At least they asked. I have had people turn up will a full grown Kelpie. I have a fully fenced back yard and I said ok but the dog had to stay outside. What did I find when I came to do the turnover - lots dog pee pads in the bin and on checking with the neighbour the response was - what dog? So cranky and I hate to be treated like an idiot.
Don’t they still have to disclose the service animal? I would be upset if someone showed up with a dog and claimed retroactively that it was a service animal. If it’s a service animal you just don’t charge a fee, right?
Luckily our state is cracking down on fake service animals or “companion animals.” I am fully aware of ADA requirements. IMO a service animal is an extension of the person and not a pet still I use the term “animal” so as not to get into semantics with people who pull the “he’s not a pet he’s a companion/comfort animal” BS and try to flash fake internet badges.
I know a real service animal when I see one or rather, when it is trained properly so as to not make its presence known. Haven’t crossed the fake service dog bridge yet hoping not to but I’m sure it’s just a matter of time.
But we digress… a 12 week old dog (i.e. puppy) is not something I want in my house peeing everywhere and I’m still dumbfounded that someone would take such a young dog on a golf/wine weekend getaway. Seems unfair to the pup.
Well, I guess the provision states that you cannot refuse someone because they want to stay with a service animal, not that you cannot charge them for that stay, right? I mean, at least it would seem logical, but who knows with Airbnb. We still don’t have the occurence of support animals other than guide dogs, and I hope it will stay that way.
In the US I would not dare charge for a service animal. So far I have never had one, and would much prefer to keep it that way. But if I had someone book with a service animal I would assume I can’t charge them extra.
Hopefully if I ever get one, it’s a legitimate service animal who goes with it’s owner everywhere, is house broken, and bonus points if it doesn’t shed.
Supporters of the new laws compare those misbehaving dog owners to people who acquire handicap signs so they can park in spaces intended for disabled people. The laws make it a misdemeanor to represent an untrained dog as a service animal, and usually come with fines of no more than $500 for an incident.
As an Airbnb host I see the “service dog” issue in terms of how is Airbnb going to approach it? If Airbnb says you can’t charge and you can’t ask for proof then I have to deal with that. I don’t want to be disappeared from search or otherwise punished by Airbnb if someone complains so I’ll just accept them…for now. If it becomes a major issue I’ll reconsider my options. I’ve already had two families with some sort of service animal this month. No charge but I did have to do the extra cleaning. At $50 a night and mostly one night guests lots of folks with free animals is an issue.
That’s what I meant by you can’t ask for proof. So I’m not going to ask for it, and I’m not going to ask the 3 permissable questions. I’m just going to accept and discourage: “thanks for choosing my place. I’m going to have a lot of guest dogs here that weekend and so there will be more barking than usual and the backyard won’t be available for your pups to use. I hope that’s okay.” If the problem gets worse I’ll have to get more creative.
