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Post by Betty on Oct 10, 2015 22:37:04 GMT
I have come up with this in my rules for pets. What do you think?
PETS:
1. I understand that people have pets and need a place that will accept pets. I have a 14 year old Australian Cattle dog whom needs lots of love and rest. Her arthritis gets to her at times. She rarely barks, and is very friendly. Great around children especially the ones that love animals. She is allowed in all the common areas and sleeps in the house at night.
2. PLEASE TALK TO ME ABOUT YOUR DOG BEFORE BOOKING OR I HAVE THE FREEDOM AND RIGHT TO CANCEL WHEN YOU SHOW UP.
3. NO cats/birds/lizards/Guinee pigs or any other animal or rodent allowed.
4. Dogs must be crate trained and well behaved. Depending on size and type of dog; they may be required to stay outside and sleep in the garage at night. I do have a fenced back yard.
5. They may not be barkers as it will disturb the neighbors. I do have a neighbor that would call the police.
6. I am NOT a kennel nor will I take care of your dog. You must clean up after your dog on a daily basis. There are many alternatives for walking your dogs in the area.
7. You must have a backup plan for your dog if they become a problem (i.e. kennel on call)
8. You will provide all your own Dog food and it must be cleaned up immediately after they eat to prevent problems among the dogs and other animals.
9. NO AGGRESIVE DOGS: If your dog hurts my dog you will pay all vet fees for my dog. My dog is too old to hurt your dog.
10. I require a $100.00 FEE for all dogs.
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PETS
Oct 10, 2015 22:53:17 GMT
Post by High Priestess on Oct 10, 2015 22:53:17 GMT
Hi Betty Congratulations, you succeeded on writing your first post!
So here are some thoughts I have on your rules:
(1) Are you sure you want to allow guests to bring dogs? You need not do so. Just because you have a dog doesn't mean that you have to allow guests to bring dogs. Allow guests to bring dogs only if you feel comfortable with this.
(2) Dogs may behave differently in a stranger's home (yours) than they do in their own home (the guest's home), so what will you do if the guest's dog becomes a problem (eg it barks or the guest doesn't take care of it properly ) --- will you require the guest to remove the dog from your home? If so,with how much notice? What will you do if the guest won't do that? What will you do if the guest disagrees with you that their dog is causing problems?
(3) Have you tested this set of rules out yet with prospective guests? I am wondering if guests with dogs would be put off by the $100 fee. Is that a flat fee? What if the guest is staying only one night or two, is the fee the same as if the guest is staying longer?
(4) Your point #3 says no other animals allowed -- this is a bit confusing as --- do you mean no animals except dogs allowed?
(5) Instead of saying "please talk to me about your dog before booking " I think this should be clearer --- eg, "If you intend to bring a dog with you, you must tell me this BEFORE you book a stay at my home and must obtain my approval in advance. Those who do not disclose that they wish to bring a dog, and show up with a dog without my having approved this in advance, will be turned away at the door and their reservation terminated."
(6) I suggest that if you have a neighbor who will call the police if a guest's dog barks, that you reconsider allowing guests to have dogs. Those who do Airbnb rentals just cannot afford to have our neighbors upset with us, particularly in parts of the world and country where short term rentals are not explicitly permitted. Causing problems to neighbors is the principal reason that cities end up PROHIBITING short term rentals in their districts. In short, one or two hosts who even inadvertently cause problems to their neighbors can cause every other host in the city to have to shut their business if the city decides on the basis of neighbor complaints to ban short term rentals in the area.
(there is one city in my region where exactly this has happened -- there are 30 hosts in the city, but there is ONE host, and one only, about whom neighbors have complained. Due largely to those neighbor complaints about that ONE host, the city plans to ban short term rentals, and ALL THE OTHER 29 HOSTS in that city are going to have to stop doing short term rentals all because of the problems that this ONE host caused to her neighbors.)
(7) If you do want to allow dogs I would come up with a shorter list of rules, perhaps condense all these into just one or two statements, and one paragraph. Otherwise it might seem discouraging or off-putting to a prospective guest. As it is, the overall tone of these rules conveys this sentiment: "I dont' really want you to bring your dog to my house, but if you must, I suppose I could allow that, but only with these provisos." Consider if this is the message you want to convey. Maybe it is. If not and you would rather be more welcoming, you can aim for that, but if you honestly are indifferent on the matter or slightly prefer that guests do not bring a dog, what you have written conveys that.
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Post by queenie&ted on Oct 10, 2015 23:31:03 GMT
Welcome Betty! Oh pets! I have 2 small dogs but do not allow guests to bring pets. My pets are not allowed upstairs and even then I don't feel it fair to restrict where a guest's pet would have to be. To see what should be a 'pet friendly' host warn that my dog might have to sleep in a garage is a deal killer. I would want my pet to feel as welcomed as me. I also do not travel with my dogs. I find they get nervous, yappy and unpredictable under the stress of travel. The same behaviours that I would expect of guest dogs. So I board them with a local dog sitter. I do recommend www.dogvacay.com to match pets with sitters. You could suggest it as Plan A for guests who have pets and want them to be in the same area as they are. I have boarded my dogs near my hotel so I could pick them up when we had outdoor plans but did not have to worry about them when we went to dinner or museums. I think you are trying to accommodate animals when you really don't have to. It's better to focus on being a good 'human' host than being a mediocre 'pet friendly' host. Best wishes.
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Post by CC on Oct 10, 2015 23:37:36 GMT
Always perfect, Deborah
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Post by Betty on Oct 11, 2015 0:06:26 GMT
Thanks Deborah, What you have written is helpful. I do live in an unincoporated area, but that doesn't mean the whole county couldn't ban short term rentals. I know Airbnb tells you to let your neighbors know what you are doing. Yet I see on some of the postings that say don't tell neighbors anything. This one neighbor I have can be a pain.
I really haven't tried anything with anyone yet as I have not started renting yet. But trying to come to an understanding of how to do it. I did get a request for 2 dogs; a husky & collie. Those are big dogs and I don't think would fit into my house. It would make me nervous to have them. She has good reviews but I don't know if I could handle 2 dogs for 16 days. Maybe 1 or 2 days. Maybe I need to get my feet wet before I allow dogs or pets into my house.
If someone did bring a dog what would be a standard daily fee that someone would charge? I was thinking that $100.00 would be more like a deposit and if everything was clean when they left they would get a portion of it back.
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Post by carolyn on Oct 11, 2015 0:16:12 GMT
Hey Betty, for Airbnb listings, there are no standard guidelines regarding pets or what you charge for them. It's up to each host (within limits of any HOA or landlord rules, of course.) That said, however, I think in your case you should just not allow ANY pets. I am afraid that, even with a guest who agrees to your rules, you would STILL feel nervous that something could happen. Describe your dog in your listing but don't allow dogs or ANY animals. You can simply explain that it's because your cattle dog is infirm and shouldn't be around other dogs who may excite her, tho she is friendly w/humans.
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Post by Betty on Oct 11, 2015 0:40:58 GMT
Thanks I just told her I could not take her booking. After careful consideration the 2 dogs would not work. I would be glad to take her but not the dogs.
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PETS
Oct 11, 2015 1:29:06 GMT
Post by High Priestess on Oct 11, 2015 1:29:06 GMT
Betty I think you made a good choice to say no in this instance. What you say about "needing to get your feet wet" first is exactly right. There is a learning curve with hosting, and you would do best not to take the "hardest" or most potentially challenging situations first, as you will be learning a lot even with fantastic guests without pets with whom everything goes well. So keep things simple to start and then if you want to consider MAYBE allowing a dog later on, you could try it once, but I suggest starting with just one dog and preferably a small one. However I think it's actually better to not take pets at all just to avoid potential problems.
What I have seen as far as charges for dogs, is that hosts who do accept dogs tend to charge approximately the same price for a dog as they charge for an "extra guest" meaning, if the place accomodates 4 and there is an "extra guest" fee for over 2 guests, of say $15 per person per night, then that is the charge for the dog, $15 per day.
It is tricky to add on a security deposit just for the dog -- you can do it but keep in mind that the security deposit that you can put on your Airbnb account, is not held by them (not charged to guest) unless guest does damage and you have evidence of that. It's not paid to you directly. So you dont' have control over that money --- you have to apply to AIrbnb for the reimbursement.
You could potentially tell a guest that you will require a certain amount of cash deposit on arrival, but some guests will be uncomfortable with that, because it's quite uncommon and they may worry you might be the kind of host who will not return their deposit.
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PETS
Oct 11, 2015 1:54:28 GMT
Post by catchafire on Oct 11, 2015 1:54:28 GMT
We are open to dogs, but we really do impress that they need to be well behaved and non aggressive, we have a dopy collie x and two young kids.
Saying that we have only ever had one request and its was for a "companion animal". I had to Google it! Then I had to roll my eyes! LOL
I turned down the request, because the owner was simply way to demanding on her requirments for her dog.
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PETS
Oct 11, 2015 16:54:36 GMT
Post by Andrew on Oct 11, 2015 16:54:36 GMT
I dont' allow guests to bring any pets. I have 2 cats. So far I have not had any guests who have asked to bring a pet, so I have not had to say no, but I would if asked about it.
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Post by loriandtom on Oct 11, 2015 17:33:22 GMT
If you decide to allow dogs, be sure they are up to date on flea/tick meds and rabies shots.
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PETS
Oct 12, 2015 17:36:09 GMT
Post by sus on Oct 12, 2015 17:36:09 GMT
I agree with Deborah that you do not sound like you want dogs unless they are perfect and there is no dog that is perfect. If I read all the terms you state for dogs I would not want to stay with you even if I was not bringing a dog. There is just too much harshness and negativity in your conditions and it would make me wonder what else you would be so particular about. Stay positive in your descriptions and you have a much better chance of being successful. Good Luck!
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PETS
Oct 13, 2015 19:01:07 GMT
Post by helgaparis on Oct 13, 2015 19:01:07 GMT
I thought too, that the rules as stated are quite harsh and might repeal people who own other animals they did not even intend to bring.
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