Pet deposit for Short Term Rentals

[Jeff Purl]

I've seen comments of others allowing pets and the extra income it provides. If you allow pets what limitations are you applying and deposit/fees?

Thanks

[Joe Splitrock]

Originally posted by @Andre M.:

Originally posted by @Joe Splitrock:

@Jeff Purl I would avoid pets or emotional support animals. This can be a big problem if you have back-to-back guests and cleaning issues. Pet hair and pet smells may be hard to get out in a matter of hours. Then you are stuck with the next guest being unhappy. I have stayed at places that allow pets and they are generally not as nice of properties. 

springboarding off your post here...How do service animals come into play here? Are we legally required to allow them? Can you legally charge for them? 

 Service animals are dogs trained to perform a medical task, which is other than companionship or emotional support. For example, a seeing eye dog is a service animal. That type of animal is allowed inside any business including short term rentals. Just be careful because people incorrectly claim emotional support animals are service animals. You can ask two questions of a service animal:

Is this dog a service animal required for treatment of a disability?

What work or task has the dog been trained to perform?

If the answer is emotional support or companionship, the dog is not a service animal. If the animal is a cat or some other type of animal, it is not a service animal. If someone says they have a service animal certificate, that is bogus. There is no certifying body that gives out certificates. They just printed some bogus document off the internet. You cannot charge for service animals.