Allowing pets in your Bnb rental… a good idea?
Airbnb rentals that welcome pets are in huge demand! Read our tips and let yourself be tempted.
A new market: the pet-friendly crowdWe love our pets, we dote on them… as long as they stay out of other people's homes! Welcoming them into a rental property can feel worrying. An animal can indeed bring surprises and constraints (breakages, cleaning costs, a suitable setting, and so on). Yet this is a fast-growing market. Accepting pets in your Airbnb property could therefore boost your bookings! So how do you attract these new pet-friendly guests and make sure the stay runs smoothly? Here is our advice on the subject.
Pet-friendly Bnb rentals are hard to find...To the great frustration of pet owners, there are very few Bnb properties open to our four-legged friends. More than 75% of Airbnb properties in France, for example, do not accept animals. And yet they are everywhere in our homes: France counts 7 million dogs and 13 million cats. These already sizeable figures keep on rising. And more than 40% of pet owners now go on holiday with their animals. Interesting, isn't it?
But faced with the difficulty of finding accommodation that accepts pets, many owners give up and leave their animals with a dog sitter or in a boarding kennel. So how can you make the most of such an attractive market?
Our advice before accepting pets in your rentalOpening your property to animals can therefore bring you new bookings and boost your rental income. But how do you set the ground rules and avoid incidents with your new furry tenants?
Start by writing a thorough listing (our article “Our tips for a successful listing” can help). State in your listing whether or not you accept pets. You can then spell out your conditions, such as the types of animal allowed. You may also decide to add an extra cleaning fee for stays with a pet. To do so, mention it in your listing description, then use the Resolution Centre to charge your guests (for more information, read this article).
Since the aim is to win over pet-friendly guests, we also recommend describing the features of your property. What makes it suitable for animals (an enclosed garden, walking routes nearby, and so on)? If you are still hesitant about possible damage, bear in mind that most platforms offer host insurance. With Airbnb, for instance, this cover extends up to 800,000 € for physical injury or property damage.
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Think about the cleaning that follows, too. A stay with a dog means hair on the sofa, a bowl to put away and longer airing: allow extra time, and charge for it in a cleaning fee announced in the listing itself. CleanClac spells out what a pet changes in the way cleans are organised, worth reading before you open your property to four-legged guests.
The welcome book: an essentialAccepting pets in your rental can feel daunting. But with the right ground rules, it can help you maximise your rental income.
With StyQR, the digital welcome book, you can remind your guests of the house rules to follow in your property, including those about animals. In our “At home” module, you can add whatever details you like, for example “dogs not allowed on the sofa!”. Your welcome book also lets you share all the useful information with your guests (wifi code, door code, useful numbers, local recommendations nearby, and so on). To open the welcome book, your guests simply scan a QR code placed in a photo frame, and that's it!
Create your welcome book
Frequently asked questions
Does allowing pets really bring in more bookings? Over 75% of Airbnb properties in France turn pets away, while more than 40% of pet owners go on holiday with theirs. You are therefore stepping into a market where demand clearly outstrips supply. Nothing is guaranteed, but the pool of travellers able to book with you grows considerably.
Can I charge an extra cleaning fee for a pet? Yes, as long as you announce it before the booking. You state it in your listing description, then charge the guest through the Resolution Centre. A surcharge discovered on check-out day always gets argued over; one read before booking never does.
Who pays if the dog wrecks the sofa? Most platforms offer host insurance. Airbnb's covers up to €800,000 in bodily injury or property damage. It does not replace rules written down in advance, but it removes the main worry of hesitant owners.
I don't want to accept every animal, how do I handle that? State in your listing that you accept pets, then spell out your conditions, for instance which types of animals are allowed. A complete listing avoids misunderstandings when the booking request arrives. A refusal read in advance always goes down better than a cancellation.
What actually makes a property attractive to pet owners? Describe what makes life with an animal easier at your place: a fenced garden, walking spots nearby. Those details trigger the booking, not the words "pets welcome" on their own. A dog owner reads your listing looking for exactly that.
Where do I remind guests of the rules once they have arrived? In the digital welcome book. With StyQR, the "At home" module lets you write whatever instructions you want, for instance "dogs off the sofa". The guest scans a QR code placed in a photo frame and finds the wifi code, the door code and the useful numbers in the same place.
Here, at a glance, is what these figures and rules actually change for your listing.
| What to look at | What the article says | What you do with it |
|---|---|---|
| Over 75% of Airbnb homes in France | They do not accept pets | You position yourself where supply is missing |
| 7 million dogs and 13 million cats | A population that keeps growing | A very large pool of travellers |
| Over 40% of pet owners | Go on holiday with their animal | Demand far exceeds supply |
| Extra cleaning fee | Stated in the listing description, charged through the Resolution Centre | A fee read before booking is never argued over |
| Airbnb host insurance | Up to €800,000 for physical or material damage | The risk of damage becomes bearable |
| Fenced garden, walks nearby | To be described in the listing | That detail is what triggers the booking |
| StyQR digital welcome book, “At home” module | Your rules in writing, for example “no dogs on the sofa” | Guests find them on site by scanning the QR code |
