I don't allow pets, but...

[Arks]

...they have a point!

 

[gillumhouse]

But I have never has a guest that peed or took a dump on my floors. The time I broke my own policy and allowed a dog.........

 

[Morticia]

Ah, the old dog days! Unfortunately, there were two incidents that were totally not the dog’s fault, but the irresponsible owner’s instead. But, couldn’t take the dog without the human. So stopped taking dogs.

 

[dumitru]

As a customer, I would avoid properties that advertise too openly that they are pet-friendly.
It is OK to allow small pets, but when you're so focused on accommodating pets that you dedicate valuable marketing space for that, as cute as that sounds, it's a no-no for me.
And yes, I had a dog and a cat, so I'm no animal hater.

 

[flyingace71]

We are pet friendly and adamantly so, it has brought us A LOT of bookings since so many in town have very stringent policies (size, weight, breed, deposits, costs, etc.) and we have only charged $10/per night/per dog up til now... this year, with the COVID crowd, we have had more issues with bad pet parents and people using us as a cheap kennel. I first tried making it more apparent that our rule was you MUST CRATE your dog if left unattended... but people lie and we have been avoiding entering a room during COVID, so it makes it harder to police (let alone, I didn't become an innkeeper to have to police people!). We have had a quilt destroyed (guests left without saying a word) and the last "straw" was the guests dog that scratched at the door while they were out and ripped up the carpet to the extent when they left, the carpet was hanging out the door on the outside.. I know they knew but they said nothing. They both got charged for damages, the latter paid a hefty price and was told never to return.
SO, this year we have a new dog policy and it seems to be helping so far: $250 refundable deposit, $25 per stay/2 dog max. It seems that if they have "skin in the game" they do better. This last weekend, a holiday weekend, we had 4 dogs on the property that both adhered to this new policy and you could barely tell that a dog was in the cottage or room when they left!
The only caveat for me is that it's more work to refund the deposit, but I am so tired of the damage. "dogs welcome, people tolerated" is our policy, but I'd like to make it "dogs welcome and well-behaved owners tolerated"

 

[ramonalea]

Exactly what happened to me when I felt sorry for someone escaping a hurricane...Dog peed on bed, which was suppose to be in a crate which I required them to buy and then they try to sop up the piss and plugged up the toilet...and NEVER TOLD US even though we provided breakfast and visited with them...NEVER ALLOWED ANOTHER ANIMAL.

But I have never has a guest that peed or took a dump on my floors. The time I broke my own policy and allowed a dog.........

 

[GoodScout]

As a customer, I would avoid properties that advertise too openly that they are pet-friendly.
It is OK to allow small pets, but when you're so focused on accommodating pets that you dedicate valuable marketing space for that, as cute as that sounds, it's a no-no for me.
And yes, I had a dog and a cat, so I'm no animal hater.

You make a very good point, and its a balancing act we constantly deal with. We're dog-friendly, and it's part of our marketing (heck, our logo is a bulldog). But we do have reserved dog-free rooms and have an extensive deep-cleaning program for all our dog-friendly suites to the point that people with alergies have stayed there a day after a dog left with no issues. But we know we do lose some potential guests because of this. Our calculation is that we gain more than we lose, but it is hard to spell out how both types of guests are accomodated.

 

[dumitru]

You make a very good point, and its a balancing act we constantly deal with. We're dog-friendly, and it's part of our marketing (heck, our logo is a bulldog). But we do have reserved dog-free rooms and have an extensive deep-cleaning program for all our dog-friendly suites to the point that people with alergies have stayed there a day after a dog left with no issues. But we know we do lose some potential guests because of this. Our calculation is that we gain more than we lose, but it is hard to spell out how both types of guests are accomodated.

True, it's a calculation. If you gain more than you lose, then it probably makes sense.
But to keep everyone happy, maybe spell out that you have a deep-cleaning program everywhere you mention that you are dog friendly.
"We love animals and we accept pets. Yada yada yada. We do a complete disinfection and cleaning after every pet, so our human guests are always safe and healthy."

 

[JimBoone]

On this subject as with many others, I feel a business should do what they do well, that which works best for "their" crowd. At one point we accepted pets and smoking was allowed in guest rooms. As mom & pop, with our own age and allergies it seemed efficient to go to a no pet or smoking policy. I'm happy to suggest other properties that are pet friendly. I'm not against animals or pets, I'm against the extra work. I don't think I could keep up with the extra cleaning and maintenance required without extra help which in turn would have to change the rate policy.

 

[Morticia]

On this subject as with many others, I feel a business should do what they do well, that which works best for "their" crowd. At one point we accepted pets and smoking was allowed in guest rooms. As mom & pop, with our own age and allergies it seemed efficient to go to a no pet or smoking policy. I'm happy to suggest other properties that are pet friendly. I'm not against animals or pets, I'm against the extra work. I don't think I could keep up with the extra cleaning and maintenance required without extra help which in turn would have to change the rate policy.

“I’m against extra work.” Perfect way to put it! It was always extra work for us because we changed out the bedding (quilts, decorative items) both before and after the dog’s stay. Lots of extra laundry and vacuuming. But it was balanced by the fee we charged and the pleasant guests that came.

Once everyone started traveling with their dog, the level of training went down. Both human and pet. There were the people who put their Great Dane in the bed with the covers pulled up whose dander set my asthma going when I pulled the covers back. And the dog that ran around the room with a mascara wand (three hours cleaning mascara out of the carpet and off the tiles in the bathroom). And the owner who not only spent two days smoking in the room but who never took the dog out the whole time. She was the straw. After that no more pets allowed unless they already had a track record here.

 

[liz1001]

I have a couple of thoughts for people that take pets from my experiences with clients that offer this service.

1. Charge a much higher fee than $10 per night - it costs $50 per night to take your dog to the Hotel Colorado in Glenwood Springs (nice property). I have seen some places charge $100 per night for a pet. For those that are much higher, they usually give you some keepsakes to take home. The Hotel Colorado gave me a bag with treats, a small teddy bear (their mascot) and some doggy pickup bags. Most B&B are charging at least $30 a night or more.
2. Dogs are going to get on the furniture, all dogs do when the owner leaves if their legs are long enough, even the best trained. Have a blanket that can be put over the bed to protect the linens.
3. Place a few old towels in the bottom of the closet, for feet to be wiped, and point them out on checkin to the room. Often times a pet owner doesn't have that with them and you don't want your best towels used for spills or muddy feet.
4. Make sure you have your guests sign a separate pet contract that stats all the rules. And underline the area that says they are liable for all and any damages and any nights the room is out of commission being repaired.
5. Make sure you state on your website and in your policies that you take Dogs only. I have heard of cases where someone tried to bring a pet rat, birds, a snake, and now some guests are starting to travel with cats. So make it clear what kinds of pets you allow.
6. Get all the details for the pet; vet info, contact info for a friend or next of kin, pets name, breed etc in case something happens and the guest doesn't come back. I had an owner tell me a story years ago, where a guest checked in with a dog and then disappeared. The manager didn't realize that the guest hadn't been back to the room for a couple of nights (big property). They checked the room and the dog had puppies and the person that dropped them off left the dog there with a bag of food, blanket and bowl of water and never came back to pick up the dog. I think the dog ended up at the local rescue place.

Taking pets can really increase the bottom line of a room. A $200 a night room rate with an additional $50 per night pet fee adds up quickly if they stay a few nights. For those properties that can make it work it is a nice revenue stream.

Liz

 

[Hobble Inn]

I don't take animals. Period. BUT every innkeeper should be well versed in the ADA requirements for accepting service animals. Here are a couple of links:

https://www.servicedogcertifications.org/ada-service-dog-laws/https://www.ada.gov/service_animals_2010.htm

 

[gillumhouse]

A Service Dog is not a pet - it is an extension of its human. It just happens to have 4 legs. THAT is the difference.

 

[MRA]

You make a very good point, and its a balancing act we constantly deal with. We're dog-friendly, and it's part of our marketing (heck, our logo is a bulldog). But we do have reserved dog-free rooms and have an extensive deep-cleaning program for all our dog-friendly suites to the point that people with alergies have stayed there a day after a dog left with no issues. But we know we do lose some potential guests because of this. Our calculation is that we gain more than we lose, but it is hard to spell out how both types of guests are accomodated.

Same here. We do state we are dog friendly (no other animals) in all our literature, but only certain rooms. Most rooms are animal free.

 

[flyingace71]

A Service Dog is not a pet - it is an extension of its human. It just happens to have 4 legs. THAT is the difference.

We struggle with "Service Pets" only due to the 50% of people that use that as an excuse to get their dog to stay for free. We had a woman that wanted to stay in one of our cottages that is NOT pet friendly (regardless of service or not, we have to have some rooms that no pets are allowed for our occasional allergic person) and she said she had FOUR SERVICE DOGS! ugh. I know by law, we can't ask them for paperwork either. SO it's a sticky-wicket. 9 out of 10 people with pets are great and we have no problems though. I told this woman that I'd allow her 4 service dogs (our limit is 2 dogs per cottage) only if she switched to another dog-friendly cottage. She refused and cancelled her reservation.

 

[flyingace71]

We have come back off our $250 deposit now after many of our regular guests balked at it. So I have made it clear that WE WILL charge you for damages to the card on file at our discretion. And we're charging $25 per stay (for up to two dogs) and NO unattended pets in rooms unless crated. We hope that will get people to start booking again but understand the rules better.

 

[Morticia]

Keeping some rooms pet free: we only allowed pets in one room. The room was on the ground floor and had its own entrance so no pets in the main part of the building.

We were completely above board from the outset letting all guests know dogs were allowed in that one room. This was not the method the previous owners used. They did not tell everyone pets were allowed in that room, they only told people with a pet calling to book a room.

We put the info in the reservation email as well. That way, if you missed the info on the website, it was there in your confirmation.

Well, THAT didn’t go well from the get go! Guests of the former owners, who never mentioned the pets being allowed, called and yelled at us for ruining their vacation by turning the inn into a flea-ridden dump. They went elsewhere. All of them. We continued to tell the truth and life went on.

 

[GoodScout]

We struggle with "Service Pets" only due to the 50% of people that use that as an excuse to get their dog to stay for free. We had a woman that wanted to stay in one of our cottages that is NOT pet friendly (regardless of service or not, we have to have some rooms that no pets are allowed for our occasional allergic person) and she said she had FOUR SERVICE DOGS! ugh. I know by law, we can't ask them for paperwork either. SO it's a sticky-wicket. 9 out of 10 people with pets are great and we have no problems though. I told this woman that I'd allow her 4 service dogs (our limit is 2 dogs per cottage) only if she switched to another dog-friendly cottage. She refused and cancelled her reservation.

Two thoughts:
1) If it's a valid service dog, the ADA says you can't dictate which rooms are off-limits. If it's available to a regular guest, you have to make it available to a handicapped guest. That said, you can certainly "upgrade" guests with service dogs to a special suite at no additional charge. ;-)
2) No one needs 4 service dogs. You clearly have someone there trying to game the system, and you're within your rights to deny them access. We had someone last week who tried to tell us she had 2 service dogs and a third one "in training." We declined to host her.

 

[TheBeachHouse]

I’m sure you didn’t mean it this way, but “service pet” is an oxymoron. Service dogs are not pets. And pet dogs are not service animals.

When I get the question, I tell them we accept service dogs and I send them the ada definition of a service animal. Then they don’t make the reservation because they know that I know.

 

[An Old Tavernkeeper]

Luckily under the NHR we are exempt from even taking service animals. We currently have a piece of Abraham Lincoln's furniture on loan from NPS and they make it clear no one will bring a pet into the building as long as it's here. Thank goodness, I don't want to sound like I am the Baroness from Chitty Chitty Bang Band but the only thing worse than children is pets.