Wow, I am really shocked that AIr has refunded these guests! I have a dog and it is noted in my listing in about everywhere it can be. Under “Space” my listing says…
"I do have a large dog, she is lovely and super friendly, but is boisterous when people first arrive. If you are truly averse to dogs or have allergies etc, this may not be the place for you 
Lola the dog is not allowed in the guest rooms and they are always very clean and tidy. However you may find the occasional chew toy around the rest of the cottage!"
If that doesn’t do it for people, I don’t know what will! I would absolutely contact Air and fight this. If your listing says you have pets, dogs… you should get your money. No questions, no arguments.
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This is a very interesting post - thank you! First of all…I believe you 
I’m in a similar situation and I added a blurb under House Rules that says “Reminder: our dogs share the yard and may be outside at the same time as our guests. While your suite is 100% pet free, there is a possibility for interaction with them outside. If you are allergic or uncomfortable with dogs in any way, this listing may not be for you”. Guests have to “click” that they’ve read the House Rules when they book. Also, House Rules are recorded in the guests “itinerary” and I don’t think that information can change after they’ve booked(??). Fingers crossed this is enough to stave off a complaint, given what you just went through. I wish you a speedy and positive outcome…please keep us posted! 
This is way after the fact, but I want to put in my two cents. I don’t believe the presence of dogs was adequately communicated. I say this only because it’s difficult to imagine someone planning a trip (and lodging is obviously a vital component) and then knowingly booking an unsuitable accommodation. That just inconveniences everyone. Now they have no place to stay and also have funds tied up in the reservation until (hopefully) they can secure a refund.
You are incorrect. In my listing I state multiple times that we have two large dogs and we have photos of our dogs. Under House Rules/You must also acknowledge; I state, “Pet(s) live on property - We have two large dogs. They are very friendly. They have access to the entire house except the guest bedroom.”
Under Other things to note; I state, “Our large dogs, Janie and Joey, are very friendly. We are willing to keep them out of the guest room, but they have access to the rest of the house. If you are a dog lover you will have a great time here. If you are uncomfortable with large dogs this listing is not for you.”
Although most of our guests book in part because they love dogs, we still get the occasional guest who is frightened of dogs or has a religious prohibition against being touched by dogs.
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And yet this forum is FULL of examples of guests making an absolute hash of their booking. “Guests left because they thought they were having the whole property” is quite a regular!
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That is the logical assumption. From my experience, guests are accustomed to having access to the entire property with their rental. I think it’s incumbent on the host to really hammer home the point. And, given that it makes the rental less attractive, I suspect that many hosts do a poor job of getting the message out.
Huh? Every singe listing is categorized by AirBNB at the top of the listing page. If guests can’t figure that out, then they are truly not paying attention.
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How is it that Airbnb missed it also?
@Rob_Smith -
Many of the hosts on this forum have come to the conclusion that guests don’t read the description. They look at the price and the pictures, and “boom”, instant book! After all, Instant Book is what the sites like AirBnB want people to do. AirBnB doesn’t want them to take the time to go to Tripadvisor because they might lose service fee.
One of the owners on another forum said something that I repeat to myself whenever we get particularly obtuse guests: “My mother once told me that half of the people in the world are of below-average intelligence. I just didn’t realize that they would all be renting my house!”
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I don’t understand. What did Airbnb miss?
Brilliant! Do come back and tell us some more jokes
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How long have you been hosting @Rob_Smith?
My experience is that guests don’t read listing thoroughly or even look through the photos.
How they miss things such as photos of dogs, or it being mentioned in the description many times may seem strange, but experience shows, it happens all too often.
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As the OP on this thread I’d like to say thanks to the hosts who have backed me up. The day that Air phoned me about the complaint was day 1 of my Air studio’s renovation. I was in my lounge with three burly builders, my architect and the plans and paperwork covering the floor. I challenged the Air rep but had to let it drop with everything else that was going on at that moment. 200+ stays later (with most guests writing prior to their arrival saying how much they are looking forward to meeting my pets) and 92% 5 star reviews has given me comfort. And I must say that every time I’ve had to call Air since, they’ve been great. I guess any company is only as good as the person who’s at the end of the phone?
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Did you not say that AirBnB failed to see your notices about dogs, too?
EllenN
December 3 |
I don’t understand. What did Airbnb miss? Visit Topic or reply to this email to respond.
In Reply To
Rob_Smith
December 3 |
How is it that Airbnb missed it also? Visit Topic or reply to this email to respond. To unsubscribe from these emails, click here.
No, Airbnb didn’t fail to see that we state clearly that we have dogs. In fact, every time I’ve spoken with an Airbnb customer service representative, they’ve said that we state extremely clearly that we have dogs.
You seem to not understand that most guests don’t really read the listings. They are looking at many listings mainly for price. They overlook the information in the listing and/or don’t ask enough questions about the listing. Here is a link to our listing. We’ve had guests who were surprised that: we have dogs, our dogs are large, we live here, the bathroom is shared, there are two twin beds instead of one large bed, we’re not right next to Santa Monica.
What was the basis for the refund? What reason did AirBnB give??
EllenN
December 3 |
I don’t understand. What did Airbnb miss? Visit Topic or reply to this email to respond.
In Reply To
Rob_Smith
December 3 |
How is it that Airbnb missed it also? Visit Topic or reply to this email to respond. To unsubscribe from these emails, click here.
@Rob_Smith - I don’t even understand who you are arguing with - @suzehamling the OP, or @EllenN, who’s observations about guests not reading are spot on. Plus, your blanket statement that guests are used to have the whole property is just not based in fact. Shared spaces dominate Airbnb’s offerings - not whole house rentals.
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I believe that there is a miscommunication here. I think that when @Rob_Smith sees hosts state that guests believe they rented the whole space, he believes that the guests aren’t being permitted access to the living room, kitchen, etc. I don’t think that he understands that we are talking about whole listing rentals where the hosts are not on site.
HAHAHAHAHA.
Guest READ descriptions, that’s HILARIOUS.
I think we all know guest MAY look through 5 photos, read two sentences, look at the price, then book… not in that order.
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Indeed you are so right. Yet again, an enquiry asking if any one else would be staying, that they hoped they would have the whole house to themselves (a couple) for the weekend as they were celebrating an anniversary. For £75. Not happy when I said that whilst no one else had yet booked for that w/e, we do actually live here; it’s our home, it’s a B&B as described on the top of the listing(s). They’d looked at the pics, and thought someone “arrived” in the morning to do breakfast… I despair.
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