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Petty about pets

It's valuable to offer something unique to (hopefully) attract more bookings, right? We do this at our vacation rental by allowing guests to bring along their small to medium pets at an additional daily rate.

Of course this brings its own challenges (as anyone who has travelled abroad knows, what we consider 'medium' on one continent may be quite different to another). Besides doing your due diligence beforehand (asking the guests whether they want to bring along their pets, how many there are and how many cm they measure at the shoulder), what would other BDC partners recommend we do to make the experience enjoyable and memorable (for the right reasons) to host and guests?

Looking forward to hearing about your experiences.

Regards

Lindie
Festina Lente In Onrus
South Africa


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M Adamopoulou 4 years ago

Lindie if you search for pet friendly you will discover that this topic has been discussed before and you can find so many experiences and different opinions in this forum. Pet friendly is a sensitive situation. Last year when I first listed my property I was pet friendly but this year after reading so many experiences that other hosts had I changed my mind and finally I don't allow pets. I love dogs I have one myself but people as you mentioned above treat dogs like humans. They eat with them , they sleep with them...
A last minute booking I had was made from guests that brought with them 7 dogs which of course they all slept in the house with no charge. They behaved excellent but you can imagine the cleaning that had to been done afterwards even though they vacuumed themselves the whole Studio. Hair...hair...hair...everywhere even in the fridge!!!
I discussed the matter with my last guest and even though she has an adorable Jack Russell she suggested to me not to accept dogs. Her doggie sleeps under the sheets together with her kids.
I think that guests with allergies would have problems, so I decided not to accept dogs.
When I travel I leave my dog behind to my daughter and they both have great time and I enjoy my holidays.
Discussing this topic is endless...

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Lindiewhite143 4 years ago

Hi M Adamopoulou and thanks for the comment.

And I agree, when I searched 'pets' on the forum, it is clearly a lively topic! Most of the posts discussed negative aspects of pet hosting, and I'm hoping for some suggestions on how to make this a positive aspect of our listing to (hopefully) attract more bookings.

Or, should I conclude that allowing pets is a minefield and it would be best not to advertise it?

As we rent out our own vacation home, our cat princesses go with us when we visit.

Gina Soetpatat (Afrikaans for 'sweet potato')

and Skah'lit (Cherokee for 'white')

seem to be as at home there as they are at our town apartment and, after sniffing around a bit, proceed to leave find a comfortable spot to relax, just as we do when we arrive there for a break.

Giving a thorough clean after guest pets is an absolute must, I realise. Would love to hear from other partners who allow pets what they do and don't do. :-)

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M Adamopoulou 4 years ago

Lindie your cats are beautiful... Being pet friendly didn't bring me more bookings. If guests are responsible you will not have any problems but if they are not????
Wish you all the best and best experiences...