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Hi all, looking for advice for how to handle this and what to say exactly (most likely for if this happens in the future as these guests check out today).
We are pet friendly with a one-time pet fee of $50. In our rules we ask that guests traveling with pets reach out for prior approval.
We had guests arrive with a dog (we saw on the driveway security cameras).
So how do you address this exactly? Do you restate the pet policy? Ask if it is providing a service? We have 2 dogs ourselves so I always want to know ahead of time when other dogs are on the property.
I’ve had a pet friendly listing for 9 years and have had this happen several times.
First, I clearly state in the description that pets are allowed with a fee and must be disclosed at time of booking and paid in advance. Put your information more than one place, not just the house rules section of the Airbnb app. In the guest view the rules are buried and most people probably don’t even read them.
It used to be that the fee wasn’t built in with the drop down menu and I had to send a resolution center request for payment. If they hadn’t paid by arrival they didn’t get the code to get in the room. But if someone arrived without disclosing or paying I approached as if it were just an oversight on their part.
In your case I’d send a message right away along these lines:
Welcome to (name of rental). We hope you and your pup have an awesome time. I’m sending the request for the $50 pet fee via the resolution center. Here is a direct link to the request: (here I put the url for the request). If they don’t pay it within a reasonable time, I’d remind them via the app and I’d also text them in case they aren’t looking at the app or somehow haven’t found it. If they never pay it I’d get Airbnb involved on the timeline provided by Airbnb and eventually get my money. I never had a dog stay that I didn’t get paid for but if I did it would be reflected in the review and it would be harsh. Even if they pay and the stay goes well I’d mention in the review that they failed to disclose the pet in advance and that was a violation of your policies. That’s the kind of thing future hosts need to know about this family.
But I repeat, I’ve never ultimately had a problem. Approach it as you are trying to help them get this fee paid, not as they are your enemy trying to steal from you.
If they approach and ask to pay you cash directly you can cancel the resolution center request.
I would send them a request for payment of the pet fee through the resolution center on day 1. I would also give them a one star review for not following house rules and also one star for communication. If the place is left clean and tidy then 5 stars for cleanliness.
We always explicitly ask guests very early on in the process to confirm in writing on the platform that they do understand our pet policy… and stay on it until they do confirm,. If it is an instant booking, we do this as soon as possible after the booking – instantly if we happen to be online when it comes in.
If it is an inquiry or a booking request, we preface our message with “… before we move ahead with your booking, I just wanted to make sure that you understand blah blah blah, and that this arrangement works for you,” and I won’t finalize the booking until they say “Yes – understood and accepted.” If they won’t confirm, I take this as a sign of trouble, decline their request and document why I am doing so on the Airbnb message platform.
If a guest arrives with an unknown (animal, extra guest, undisclosed child etc.) I don’t let them into the apartment until the relevant fee has been paid.
I don’t charge for dogs unless there is damage or excess cleaning needed BUT I do need to know that they are coming as I have 2 cats. I ask guests to keep dog in car until I have checked on my cats as I can isolate them. This works for me.
I would add asking about pets to your booking confirmation message. This is what I did for my sofa bedding fee. I ask every guest if they will be needing sofa bedding and politely remind them that this is a $25 flat fee collected after booking. I keep asking about it until I get an answer one way or another.
