I am working on getting my 2nd home ready for a trial Airbnb run. I am having the equivalent of a soft opening by having a friend of of friend book and stay off platform.
My daughter was overseeing some handyperson work for me and stayed there with her dog. He’s adorable, and sheds. The hairs seem to have magical properties which cause them to embed themselves in sheets & all sorts of fabrics, such that they “stick” and don’t come off with a lint roller. They even migrate through the pillowcases and attach themselves to the pillow protectors. Any tips on types of bed linens that repel dog hair?
My dogs have visited but they don’t shed. However, that means I’m already outfitted with crates and a dog door and doggy paraphernalia in the house. Should I just make the listing pet-friendly? I assume pet owners are tolerant of the occasional “foreign” dog hair in their STR (I know I am), so that would remove a stress factor. But the downside of extra cleaning and possible damage has me concerned. What to do?!
On a side note, I just got a notice from Airbnb reminding me that there is no charge for infants or pets, and that to charge extra for a pet you need to use the resolution center. I don’t for the life of me understand why Airbnb hosts can’t have a fee category for pets. (Or why Airbnb lumps tiny humans and pets in the same category.)
If you cannot remove all dog hair, then list your rental as pet-friendly.
This is because a few future guests might have severe pet allergies, who could sue you for non-disclosure.
Woof-woof
Well crap. I just this week decided I’ve had it with the way airbnb handles pet fees. I guess I better go change the wording on my listing again. Also keep in mind they don’t cover pet damage. The only pet issue I had the owner voluntarily paid me but I’m fully aware of the risk.
If this is an entire place and you already are prepped for it, it can attract some guests (and repel others but then again maybe that’s not a bad thing) and make you some extra dollars. Also if you list as pet friendly the aggregators (like BringFido) who skim listings will add your listing to their site and give you some free promotion.
As for the hair removal…
I buy sticky rollers in bulk at Costco. I always use them on sheets before washing if I see hairs and again afterwards. The hairs that are bad about embedding themselves are short stiff ones. I am always able to get them off of the linens. I buy 100% cotton sheets and I just this week got some high $$ percale recommended here on the forum and give them a try. They feel so smooth compared to some sheets I’ve used. Then again I use my older sheets with the pet toting guests. You’ll want to have smooth fabrics where possible. You can get cheap fleece throws at IKEA or Walmart and ask people to use them if they let dogs on the furniture or bed. I do this and then tell they to take the blankie with them.
Dpfromva: Have your daughter remove all leftover fur from her dog. I would not care if her mutt is adorable; she should have known better than to bring the dog into your rental for a few days!
Obviously, your daughter’s dog slept in the guest bed with her. What was she thinking?!
Does she have a pet skunk to bring to your rental, too?
Oh my, Don B, my “local” daughter has been of enormous help in set up for this vacation house, with which I have an LDR, and will be a source of guest bookings through professional and social contacts. So, a few dog hairs are a small price to pay.
My own dogs sleep neatly curled at the bottom of the bed. Per KKC’s excellent idea, I have already ordered a bulk pack of cheap fleece blankies. I think a lot of folks’ dogs have bed privileges.
May I ask your source?
The usual, Amazon. A dozen for $57. I maybe should get a Costco membership.
I have not gotten this not yet, thankfully. If I do though I don’t plan to change my House Rules that allow for other methods of pet fee payment.
I was thinking of converting one to a pet friendly unit, but I know it can be hard to get more $$ from Airbnb as a pet fee.
Is asking a higher rate for a pet friendly unit a viable path, given some people will not have pets!?
Depending on how much pet fee you can get, where you live, how much of a hassle it is to shop in person, that’s probably a good deal. I get mine at WalMart for $2.50 each. Selection is better in the winter and they often have huge bins of them, many with a pet theme. My overall favorite is this one at IKEA and sometimes it’s on special for $2. But I don’t have an IKEA in El Paso; I’m going to look into ordering online one of these days.
I charge $15 per pet per night with a discount for more pets/more nights. So a family that stayed with 3 pets for 2 nights didn’t pay $90, they paid $60. (actually, they paid cash direct for the whole stay so I charged $50, 
)
For a whole house I’d charge more per night, at least $25 and then I think you’d be in danger of pricing yourself too far above the competition. For me it’s annoying but worth the hassle. I’ve always gotten the pet fee one way or another.
Hah!!! Both of the rooms in my house (I live here with two, sometimes three, dogs) are prominently listed as Dog Friendly. I don’t charge a pet cleaning fee nor do I discriminate. I have yet to meet a dog I didn’t like. Neither have my dogs. Fully half of my guests bring their dog(s) and they just love the place. I have a working vineyard and cater to wine tourists. My niche is for those folks who love their dogs. With that said, here’s what I’ve learned. 1) Vacuum, vacuum, vacuum. Both the floor and the furniture. 2) Buy a decent carpet cleaner. I haven’t had many “accidents” with dogs. I have 8 acres that they can do their business on. 3) Have a lint roller with spare rolls. 4) Not to worry so much. Most of the folks who are uncomfortable with this, self select out. That’s perfectly fine. I have repeat guests who bring their dogs because they get to chase rabbits. If allowing dogs causes any heartburn at all, don’t do it.
Ok. Another post said it was hard to collect pet fees from Airbnb. Are you getting the pet fee with the booking, are you getting it directly from the guests or do you put in a request separately to Airbnb (which seems to be somewhat difficult)
I wouldn’t call it “hard.” I’d call it a pain in the ass. It should be easy. It should be a line item like bringing another person or charging a cleaning fee but it’s not. And the resolution center is not “easy” to use either.
I’ve gotten it one of three ways: 1) direct payment to me either cash on arrival or online payment like Venmo 2) send the guest a special offer that they have to accept when they inquire or submit a change request and put it in the total 3) use the resolution center (“request money”).
Easiest for me is #2 but Airbnb charges fees on that amount. Resolution center is the one that is most difficult and with which I and another poster in another thread were saying we’ve had recent delays with.
I have not had any trouble collecting pet fees. It is in my House Rules that they can pay me any number of ways. Before I used to require it be paid at check-in or before I would still get it paid for by Airbnb if I had proof of the pets, which I did due to video doorbells, even if guests refused. At the whole house listings I charge $15/pet/night for house trained and $25 for not house trained. At my private room listing I charge $20/pet/night house trained and $30 for not house trained (including horses as I live on a horse farm). The only discounts there are for the long term at the same discount rates (between 5% and 20%) they get with the one week, two week and one month stay.
I provide crates/kennels for the pets if the guests would like. Sometimes I provide a spare cover sheet for them to put over their bed or furniture if they allow their pets on the bed and/or furniture. This is especially so when there is at least one cat.
My yards are all set up perfectly for pets and I used to live at them and do in home dog boarding so I have dog friendly in the titles as well. It is not uncommon for me to have more pets than people sometimes. Even more common I wish the pets came without their owners so go figure.