Replying to the original post and others re. dogs
I stopped accepted dogs a couple of months back but agreed to honour existing bookings. Our recent guests left yesterday along with their two large( ish) breed dogs. I was shocked by the mess they left the place. The smell hit me first. I was aware that the dogs spent long periods of time in the cottage, albeit with their owners but no effort had been made to ventilate by opening windows. The dogs had been allowed on the furniture, the despite the couple’s assurance that they would not, hair and dust everywhere and worst of all huge scratch marks on the walls and doors which we will have to repair and repaint.
And they were deffo ‘Goldilocks’
Furious and will stick to my no dog policy.
We have dogs of our own so are not anti dog just anti bad owners
Little update: got a cute message this am from the guest who gave us a retaliatory score and we reviewed honestly- “really mean review. You guys suck!”
Don’t engage right? Part of me wants them to incriminate themselves about their retaliatory rating…
No don’t. The opposite of love isn’t hate, it’s apathy. Don’t let them know how much of your energy they’ve already sucked away and don’t give them the satisfaction of thinking you care now about anything they say.
You might try to block them on Airbnb. I think if you use the “report” button/ little flag on their message that you might be able to block them without calling in.
Our biggest issue with dogs, aside from the lack of leashing in a leash law city, is the hair clean up. In some cases its added hours. Most of the hair removal was from fabric. Is it against the TOS to have a house rule that states something along the lines of, “We do not allow pets. Period. If you have a legitimate service animal please tell us ahead of time so we can cover all fabric furniture, as well as remove all linens and pillows. You must then bring your own bedding, linens, and pillows.”
Yes, that is against the Airbnb TOS in a number of ways. Read them, in case you haven’t.
As rules are subject to interpretation, which specific TOS terms do you think are in conflict? We are not requiring that they tell us ahead of time, only asking. We wouldn’t be denying them a place to stay. I’m trying to come up with ideas here to keep housekeeping happy. They have threatened to quit if they see any more hair disasters.
Guests aren’t required to let you know they are bringing a service or assistance animal. I think requiring guests who have a disability and bringing a service/assistance dog to bring their own linens could be seen as a violation of Airbnb’s discrimination clause: “Impose any different terms or conditions based on the fact that the guest has a disability.” You could always ask AirBnB directly to make sure you’re inline with their requirements before adding to your rules.
Honestly, this seems pointless. The CS don’t know the policy and if they do and a guest complains, a different CS agent will say something else.
@Fairbnb this doesn’t sound like it belongs in rules. It’s a request, not a rule.
Against the ToS, you’re discriminating against service dog users by withdrawing amenities available to non service dog users.
If you’re cleaners have an issue with service dogs, then you’d better get the mop and bucket out yourself.
JF
Remind me to never EVER rent a house.
Talk about invasion of privacy.
My guest’s privacy is important to me & I respect it but so is protecting the quality of my community and my investment (my home). They did all of this in the driveway for all my neighbors & their kids to see. Even without the ADVERTISED security cameras I would have known because the neighbors raised concerns to me. They knew the people were there and they knew the cameras were there so I have a hard time buying into your “invasion of privacy” thinking in this instance. So, by all means, anyone reading this, please do not rent my house if you plan to break my very simple, clearly communicated rules & disrespect my home and my neighborhood. @ChristineAZ , once you have hosted for a while and found the things people have done to your house or had your neighbors complain to you, you may understand.
So … you’re not a host, eh? Did you even READ what her guests did?
You can rent a house, no problem. Just don’t rent one with outdoor cameras. Or if you do, don’t do or say anything outside that you wouldn’t want others to see or hear.
I’m a host with cameras but I understand what you mean. I’ve seen a lot of posts over the years where hosts describe watching guests all the time and it is unnerving. It’s especially so when they are listening to everything you say.
However, it is what it is. Unless you rent a rural Airbnb with no wifi or electricity, chances are good you are going to be on camera And certainly in a hotel you are, except in your room. My first advice to anyone renting an Airbnb, especially if they don’t live there, is to get outdoor cameras.
You’ll find out soon enough why savvy hosts have cameras.
No camera here, it’s part of my house.
Don’t think I ever stayed in an Air that had cameras, this country or another.
My airbnb is part of my house and I have a Ring doorbell camera as well as two cameras on my driveway that are 24/7 DVR. I wouldn’t be without them. But I live in a suburb with lots of people and traffic. I have an in home dog boarding business as well as Airbnb. I can use it to monitor when clients arrive at my home so I can get to the door before they ring the doorbell. I can see if a guest has taken their luggage with them the morning of check out so I have a good idea if they checked out or just left to breakfast.
Once my Ring doorbell alerted me to police at my door. They were here questioning my Airbnb guest who had been reported to the police. If not for my camera I’d never have known.
In addition I have some nuisance neighbors that I have to keep an eye on. Recently I suspect I’m being targeted for harassment and video evidence will be handy if I make a police report at some point.
Another host here was alerted to a fire starting on her property when a guest didn’t properly extinguish a fire pit fire.
I could go on and on about their positive uses but I also understand folks who don’t need or want them… I used to ride a motorcycle without a helmet.
I’m just a little different, sorry!
Every cell in my body despises those damn cameras everywhere and over 20 years ago I moved to the desert with the nearest town not having any traffic signals (cameras) and not a single corporate business. Unfortunately, we now have a Family Dollar and a Gas n Grub, and I usually take the back road to avoid them.
I also despise hotels and to me, renting a house would be a nice alternative, but I’ve never done it.
“I used to ride a motorcycle without a helmet.”
Never did that, not even when I was 16. I also always use a seatbelt. Not because it’s the law, but because it’s common sense.
If I ran a NURSING home, yes, of course I’d hire someone to constantly monitor the residents.
I can’t imagine people voluntarily renting a house where they’re under surveillance. Even worse, I’ve read hosts describing what their guests do INSIDE. That’s beyond creepy!
I’ve been wanting to install a security system for when the house is vacant and give guests the option to turn the system off. But it’s not at the top of my list.
Mainly the problem is that I won’t touch any of those systems like Ring that share my data with who knows who.
Alexa? NEVER!
I’m guessing most and especially younger people have been conditioned to the surveillance.
It really makes me appreciate where I am. Although even here the idiots are sprawling and my neighbor told me a drone was on her property. There’s a reason to have a gun.
I’ve only been hosting for a few years and cannot stand Airbnb, signed up here to see why Google is missing one day in next week’s reservation, doesn’t seem to be a problem for anyone else.
Am much happier with VRBO, they know the meaning of “support”, and I had some regular boaters booking directly (climate change, lost the boat launch, hope they soon finish the new one). They’re the best, no stress at all.
The last thing I need in my life is a monitor to look at all day and night to surveil what my guests are doing. Even if I had a security system, I’d only look after something got stolen.
"In addition I have some nuisance neighbors that I have to keep an eye on. "
I’ve been planting so many trees, and need to plant more, just in case I get neighbors.
I’m going to stay in the 20th century 
At least you seem to have put your money where your mouth is. I get sick of folks full of complaints but they want to have their cake and eat it as well.
Do you know what your phone is capable of? 
The messages on this post are sent by smoke signal.
BlockquoteDo you know what your phone is capable of?
Blockquote
Yeah. Which is why I will go back to a flip phone as soon as I don’t have to do that rental anymore.
Can’t do business without it. I still remember the day when I called Verizon to shut of my cell service in 1998 to take a couple years off and I wrote on a piece of cardboard “AAA – cell phone”.
It’s still in my camper and served me well, broke down a lot.