Pets or no pets
When you’re going on a holiday it is always a nice thought to bring your family friend with you and it’s not that easy finding a pet friendly place to stay. Well, now that you’re renting out you’re on the receiving end of it all. So what are the pros and cons of allowing vs banning pets?
Pros
Customer base
You’re tapping into a wider customer base, meaning you have more potential guests competing for your property. This is something worth considering in low season, where it is not so easy to fill up your room nights.
People tend to think of their pets as their children. There is some truth to that, as infants can also be loud, disruptive and dirty and it’s mostly up to the parent to be a responsible adult and handle such situations. If you’re weighing pet friendliness, you’re most likely weighing family friendliness as well.
Price
Pet owners generally tend to spend more so they are well prepared for a pricier accommodation. As you have a wider audience and a well-paying audience, you can try to adjust your prices as well. A widespread practice can be to charge additional fees in case of pets.
Clear case
Even if you deny pets, some owners will try to sneak them in. You may or may not catch them, and there may or may not be negative consequences. However it’s undeniably a much clearer case, when you simply allow pets anyway and already have a scenario planned for cleaning, deposit and extra fees. Being transparent allows you to set the rules.
Cons
Potential Damage
Some pets shed. Some of them bring in mud on their paws. Some might be so anxious of the travel experience that they forget to be house clean. Not to say all pets are unhygienic, but accidents can happen. They can chew, gnaw, scratch, bite and most certainly jump on places where they shouldn’t. Nonetheless a responsible pet owner can decrease such cases to a minimum.
Neighbors
Pets run around, bark, meow, and can generally be quite loud. Then again some of them are silent as a mouse. You can never know how well behaved a potential furry guest is going to be. Some buildings simply don’t allow pets. This makes your dilemma quite simple, but it might not be your choice of answer. It is uncommon, but pets can become a liability when for example biting a neighbor.
Missing out on customers
If you continuously allow pets in your property, it will be unsuitable for another group of potential guests: guests with allergies. If you plan on allowing both groups, you need to make sure the property is thoroughly cleaned after each reservation and even that may not be enough.
Exception
It is important not to mix up family pets with a service animal. A disabled guest has a right to bring their licensed service dog regardless of pet policy. You can however expect these animals to be extremely well behaved as they need to be trained and licensed beforehand, which can even require years in some cases.
