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I have been hosting a private beachfront condo (adjacent but not attached to the one I live in, so great for oversight and issues) since late May of this year. Since I have a dog and love dogs, I made the decision to be pet friendly. I also personally hate when properties/hotels/apartments charge pet fees or extra cleaning costs for pets (or put restrictions on breeds, etc.) so decided not to do this either. And it has worked in my favor! I am definitely in the minority of accepting dogs at all, and I believe the only in the entire area that doesn’t charge for them. Market gold. If you think about the cost of boarding two dogs for a week + the hassle of drop off and pick up, suddenly a bit pricier option seems like a deal with convenience attached. The condo has probably seen about 40 dogs in the past few months - I’d say 80% of our renters bring one or two. I know people on this forum have strong feelings about NOT allowing dogs (or kids) and this post is about to go as you expected it to…you get to say told you so.
Just had a couple with a young toddler check out after a 3 night stay - with a same day turnover - who brought two black dogs and pretty much stayed to themselves, despite having a slight air of entitlement and exasperation. I chalked it up to sleep deprivation. The dogs ended up shedding EXTENSIVELY. Obviously I didn’t know this prior to entering the condo, so offered them some flexibility on check-out time because of their attitude. It ended up overwhelming me and the cleaning team. More hair than I have seen so far, times three. It was EVERYWHERE. In the fridge (?) in a vase of flowers on top of a desk (?)…and about every single crevice imaginable — I spent 45 minutes taking a lint roller to the bedskirts.
My question for you is: is this a “I made my bed and now I have to lay in it” situation, or should I include it in my review of them? Perhaps something like, “Nice family but if hosting them again I would made an exception to my no pet fee policy and charge an additional cleaning fee as their dogs shed considerably more than any I’ve encountered.”
Picture or it doesn’t count! It got worse but you get the idea.
No. I used to host dogs for years until the HOA prevented guest dogs. (Owner dogs grandfathered in).
Yes, some dogs shed more than others and I too have been surprised where hairs can get to (kitchen sink for example) but for me, it’s a case of taking the rough with the smooth.
For months I’d have dogs that hardly shed at all and then a dog that seemed to have a secret shed-button somewhere. But the dogs can’t help it. Neither can the owners - my cat sheds enough hair in one day to make a whole new cat.
Presumably you have floor robots, extra throws for the furniture and dog-proof your rental as much as possible?
I understand that it got worse but I’ve had far more hairy moments than that.
Accepting pets means accepting that some dogs shed more than others. Not something to call the guest out over. It’s not like accepting children and excusing them letting their precious darlings scribble on your wall.
What you describe is what you would find if I stayed with my dog- constant major shedder with fur that attaches itself to everything and in every nook and cranny, like drywall dust. Except that I would travel with a hand held vacuum cleaner or ask the host for a vacuum, so as to leave it manageable.
Yes. It also means that you’ll occasionally get a pet that has an accident or is destructive, and both are more likely to occur when the pet is in an unfamiliar environment.
Some dogs shed a lot. Did you leave your guests a vacuum cleaner and ask them to rid the unit of dog hair in your house rules? If not, then don’t say anything, you have to suck it up. If I got that review from you after you gave permission for me to bring my dogs to your pet friendly unit, I would have it removed because dog hair is not relevant in your pet friendly listing unless you have a house rule to vacuum it up before check-out (which isn’t very pet friendly btw).
Gold is not free. This is the work part of your market gold listing. Happy sweeping.
Well said. I’ve come across hosts who have complained about things their guests have done (or not done) despite the fact that they haven’t given the guests to tools necessary. For example:
“There was garbage that the guests hadn’t taken out!”
“Did you supply plenty of garbage bags?”
“Er … no…”
We travel with our cat who I’m surprised isn’t bald because he sheds so much. I usually take a few cat-hair cleanup things with me but at a couple of pet-friendly places we’ve found lint rollers, a hand-held, throws for furniture and so on.
I happily host a lot of dogs and miss them during our latest Lockdown 6.0. In the brief period between lockdowns I hosted a couple of corgis. Now everybody thinks corgis must be stress free and easy care right? Because The Queen has had them for 50 years or more. Then again just look at her kids and grandkids. These two not only howled in unison but my cleaner told me their hair got into the carpet and she pretty much needed tweezers to get the hair out. Later I had a booking from a guy who mentioned that their darling Pomeranian not only had his coat brushed every day but his little bottom was cleaned with baby wipes. This triggered me and I sent them a stern message: DO NOT flush baby wipes down the toilet as it will block up the septic system. Further evidence that there are no bad dog breeds just bad dog owners.
ps. one of my “rules” points out the location of the vacuum cleaner and ask owners of shedding dogs to please give the carpets a vac before leaving. My cleaner still needs to do them again but it alerts them to some of the worst cases.
God bless you. I love the breed but they require taking bitter with the sweet. Corgis are fur factories. When the seasons change & they blow their coat, an amazing, shocking amount of fur is shed.
I thought I wanted one. After spending time with one I love their personalities/dispositions but the amount of shedding was an eye-opener.
Since 1990, I’ve had non-shedding dogs (min schnauzers, Yorkie, & poodle chi mix) and I think I will continue having dogs with hair, not fur.
I’ve come across hosts who have complained about things their guests have done (or not done) despite the fact that they haven’t given the guests to tools necessary. For example: