Airbnb & Pets – All you need to know

Last updated on November 27th, 2019 by I. Duckworth / Guest Tips / Leave a Comment

Airbnb pets guide

Travelling with your pet has never been more popular than it is now. Pet friendly is fast becoming the norm nowadays. For example, entire shopping malls, cafes and accommodations now allowing dogs and cats. However, the question remains, are pets allowed in Airbnb?

So gone are the days when you leave for your trip only to look back and see those big puppy dog eyes begging to come along. Now you can pack them a suitcase too and enjoy your time away in one of Airbnb’s many pet-friendly listings.

Are pets allowed in an Airbnb?

First things first, are pets allowed in an Airbnb? Yes, yes and yes! Pets are certainly allowed to stay with you in an Airbnb, but you do need the host’s permission. You will also need to make sure that the Airbnb you are choosing is pet-friendly.

Once you find a place you love and want to check if it is pet-friendly. All you need to do is scroll down to the bottom of the listing and look for house rules. Here you will find an icon of a paw print that will indicate if that Airbnb allows Pets or No pets.

Are pets allowed in an Airbnb?

Is there a pet filter on Airbnb?

Yes, Airbnb does indeed include a pet filter. Luckily for us pet owners, Airbnb has made life easy for us when we do searches for properties. They have included a filter to display only pet friendly properties.

To use this, click on “More filters” once you enter in a location. Then scroll down until you see the House Rules section. Then check the Pets allowed filter and then click show stays at the bottom of the page.

Is there a pet filter on Airbnb?

Once you have this checked, then every Airbnb that shows up in the search is pet-friendly.

This doesn’t mean that you can bring your four Saint Bernards though. You will still need to contact the host to make sure their place is suitable for your pets.

For example, your four Saint Bernard’s will definitely need an enclosed yard. Whereas a cat will need a litter box, so always ask before hitting the book now button.

Is there an Airbnb pet fee?

There is no set fee for pets like there is for extra guests. If a host decides to set a fee for pets you will find this written within the listing description.

Hosts may also write in their house rules if their property is pet friendly. You can view this before you book under Additional Rules at the bottom of the listing.

This service fee is in addition to your final price and is sent to you as a price adjustment after your book.

This is why you need to contact the host before booking as you don’t want any costly surprises. And as you can imagine, those four Saint Bernards will cost more to host than a miniature poodle.

In some cases, a host will choose to charge a pet deposit rather than a pet fee. So in other words, you don’t pay anything if your pet is well behaved and doesn’t leave a mess. While on the flip side if your pet chews on the furniture or drops hair, then you may lose some or all of the deposit.

What is the average pet fee on Airbnb?

Average pet fee on Airbnb

Airbnb doesn’t have an option to set a fee for pets as they do for extra guests. So it is entirely up to the host as to how much they charge if at all. But as you can imagine, a pet can leave a lot of extra mess in comparison to a person. Fur, muddy paws, window smears and little accidents all take time and money to clean up.

As Airbnb don’t have an option to add a pet fee, a host will likely send you a payment request for the additional funds.

The host can base this fee on a number of factors:

  • The size of the dog
  • The number of pets you bring
  • Type of pet
  • Charge per day, per pet
  • Only charged at the end of the trip based on the amount of clean up required

I have seen some Airbnbs charge as much as $150 per dog per stay and some hosts charge nothing. So it is best to do your homework and talk to the host before booking.

On average, you would expect to pay $25 per dog/pet. This seems to be the amount that both host and guest are happy to agree on. If the fee seems a little high, feel free to negotiate with the host. For example, if you are bringing a house trained toy poodle, your host may reduce the fee.

Does Airbnb have a Pet Policy?

It would surprise you how many people ask me if Airbnb has a pet policy. And the simple answer is no, Airbnb has no say when it comes to pets living in, or visiting, Airbnb’s.

Duckworth thinking

It is entirely up to the host to set their own rules and regulations in regards to pets. Hosts can set a one-time cleaning fee for the pet if they wish. In addition, they can also refuse entry if you haven’t complied with their own set rules.

The only policy that Airbnb has in terms of pets, is for service animals. They state that any service animal is allowed to stay at an Airbnb fee free and without penalty.

If a person living in the house is allergic to animals, the host is within their rights to decline a service animal. The reason for this is that Airbnb deems it a health risk.

So when it comes to animals, you must comply with the rules and regulations set out by the host as Airbnb doesn’t have a written pet policy.

How to tell if pets live on the Airbnb property?

Cat on a bed

Many hosts will have pets that live on the property. This can be an issue for some people as they may be allergic. You may also want to bring your own pet that doesn’t get along with others. So how can you tell if there is going to be a pet living in an Airbnb?

When looking through the listing, scroll all the way down to the house rules section. There will be a smaller header under this called – Read all rules. For some reason, Airbnb make this section hard to find. It is almost always hidden under a drop-down menu that you have to click to get access to.

First, click the Read all rules header to get access to the additional rules:

Airbnb house rules example

Then a section will appear from nowhere called You must acknowledge. This will tell you if there are any pets that live on the property.

You do have to do some hunting to find this within the listing which is a bit counterproductive. But it is there buried in the boring old rules that no one really reads anyway.

Airbnb acknowledge

What if my pet causes damage?

So you brought your two French Bulldogs along on your trip and left them at the Airbnb while you went to a wedding. You arrive home early the next morning only to discover the dogs have ripped apart the sofa!

So whats next? If you are a decent guest, which I know you are, you will send a message to the host and report the damage. The host will then send you a payment request along with a copy of any receipts to pay for the damage.

If your host doesn’t supply you with a receipt then you are well within your rights to refuse to pay until you see one. After all, there’s no way that old sofa is worth the $3000 that they are now asking you to pay.

So if your dog decides to chew the furniture, pee on the rug or pull apart the sofa, tell your host. You will be worse off if you try to hide it and then having to deal with an angry host.

What if my pet causes damage?

Sneaking a pet into an Airbnb

So you found the most amazing Airbnb, but they don’t allow pets. But your dog is only small, and its house trained, what could be the issue? So you decide to bring it along anyway without saying anything to the host. What’s the big deal? You’re not hurting anyone!

One of the main reasons that hosts don’t allow dogs is that a lot of guests are allergic.

Here are two true stories that happened during my time hosting of guests sneaking in pets.

Pesky pet story #1

About an hour after our guests checked into our property, I get a phone call.

“My friend can’t stop sneezing and her eyes are all puffed up. You said your listing doesn’t allow pets when clearly there has been a dog in the apartment. We would like to leave asap and receive a full refund.”

Sure enough, when I called the previous guest, they admitted to bringing their small dog. They claimed they didn’t think it was an issue. They ended up paying for the refund.

Pesky pet story #2

It was about 10 pm at night and I received a phone call from our current guest.

“I’m sorry, but we went to get into bed and there was dog poo under the pillow. We cannot stay here, we would like to find alternate accommodation and we would like a refund”.

The guest the night before booked the 2 bedroom apartment but only wanted to use the one room. So I left the second bedroom as is and shut the door. The guest checked himself in and must have decided to bring his dog along with him.

So the next morning I am turning over the room. The second bedroom door was still shut and the beds LOOKED untouched. However, sometime during the night the little pooch went into the second bedroom, snuck under the pillow and went to the toilet.

This guest also paid for the refund when questioned if he brought a dog into the apartment.

So if you still decide to be sneaky and smuggle in your pet, just remember that you could end up paying for someone else’s trip!

Here are some more stories from other guests around the world.

Conclusion

Hopefully your question is now answered on whether Airbnb allows pets. Yes, of course Airbnb is pet friendly, you just need to find the right house!

You now also know how to filter out properties that are pet friendly via the search filter. On top of that, you are aware of how to find if there are any fees for bringing a pet.

Further Reading

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