When the inn has a pet

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sgirouard

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The discussions about child & pet policies (and guests trying to circumvent them) got me thinking. How many of you who are innkeepers have pets of your own? How does that work out? I am guessing that if you have pet/s of your own, that automatically mans a no-guest-pet policy. Am I incorrect?
How do your guests respond? It is more hassle in terms of housekeeping - last I did have a dog, I felt really driven to be sure no one would find dog hair or worse yet - smell dog - in my home. And I wasn't an innkeeper.
Appreciate you sharing.
 
It depends quite a lot on how your owner's quarters are. We have a cat but he never goes into the guest areas or common areas as our OQ closes off from the main inn with a door. We still don't allow pets, however. It's a good niche if you can do it - one of the hotels here has just become pet-friendly and that is where I send anyone with pets. The only B&B I used to be able to refer folks to is closed.
 
We did not allow pets. I did not want the hassles involved. We have a cat.did have 2.
Clearly stated on our website, brochure and in discussion with potential guests. We pretty much keep our cat in the owners quarters, but that is no guarantee he won't wander into the guest area..and frequently did. And of course he has the run of the outdoors.
So we told guests that if they have any problems with cat allergies they should probably find another place. On the other hand, cat lovers told us they booked with us because we had cats.
Don't try and hide it...it will only cause problems.
 
Pets are always a hassle for housekeeping.
We are humans, we are families, we love our animals. We have them and would never be without them.
If we did accept dogs our dog would get on well with others, but we don't want fleas and vomit and urine in the guest rooms - enough to worry about and clean already. We keep our pets out of guest areas due to guest allergies. But our dog, she has to go outside, she is a dog - so many guests see her and really like her. We have had guests who miss their own pets take her for walkies.
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We do have two dogs, and they are an integral part of the B&B. They are introduced on the website, we are advocates for a rescue operation for their breed. Guests nearly always ask to meet them....they are not allowed in guest areas otherwise, and while the majority of our guests are dog-lovers, the non-dog people will say "I didn't even know you had dogs...can't smell them or hear them!".
We also allow guest dogs, but we don't usually introduce our girls to them...unless they all go outside in the dog run to romp and play. I don't need or want three or more dogs tearing joyfully around inside the house!
 
We have a dog and we accept pets, not mutually exclusive unless you have a very territorial pet or one that stresses over other dogs being around.
We have our own space so no need for the doggie smell to pervade the inn!
If guests have extreme allergies to dogs I make sure the dog doesn't come into the inn while thye are there but I suggest they go elsewhere if it's really bad as I cannot guarantee that the last guest didn't come in with a suitcase covered in pet hair from their dog or cat at home.
 
We inform potential guests on our website, confirmations and on phone reservations that we have a cat so they need to exercise their best judgment. I tell them he doesn't go into the guest rooms or common areas but I can't guarantee I won't have a cat hair on me. We did have one group of bicyclists who went elsewhere because of the outside cats. I couldn't say that they wouldn't be near the bike rack - in fact, they are really curious when we have bikes in the bike rack - and one guy was very allergic, so no reservation.
 
We have 2 dogs and 2 cats and they are right on the home web page. People love the animal greetings and some come just to see the pets. They are small terriers and we have them groomed regularly so no smell problems. One cat stays outside the other roams the common areas pretty much at will. We don;t let her in the rooms. Cat allergy sufferers have stayed with us with no symptoms, a couple others decided to go else where. We do allow pets in the back carriage house but not the main house.
We have found that if people who are booked into the main house ask about the dog rules, that means they have one in the car and will be sneaking it in the house later on....
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We have a rescue dog and cat (used to have 2 dogs until June...boo hoo hoo) and we don't accept pets. We have another B&B here that accepts pets and they have had numerous problems and some good pet owners as well. Our cat is strictly an outside cat and the guests usually meet her on the porch. Our dog is kept in our quarters but they may see him when we take him out. Most of our guests have asked, "Where are the dogs? They're so cute, we want to meet them." They've seen pictures of them on the website and read that we have them and then are surprised that when they get here they don't even know that they're here! Since our remaining dog is 15 yrs old, deaf, and blind in one eye, we don't subject him to guests.
Hosting guests' pets is an individual decision and I'm happy with not accepting them.
 
Why does everyone have to call them rescues? Aren't they your dog or cat by now?
Jus' sayin....
 
I have a cat who is featured on my web site and commented about. I do not accept pets. I state that on my web site, or rather I say Gino, the cat, doesn't accept pets. Still people want to know if they can bring their pet anyway and does the cat live in the house?? Why would I feature him if he didn't LIVE here.
Apart from the above the cat gets emails and requests for rooms "ask your people if they have room for us!" Cracks me up!! Love it.
 
We have a dog and a cat and don't mention it on our website because we have a separate innkeeper's house on the property. They are not allowed in any building other an ours. The guests do encounter our dog outside and she is our official meeter and greeter and 99% of our guests are thrilled to have her around outside. We don't accept any guest pets and we even have a statement on our policies that says "no pets (even in your car)". We had problems in the past where guests didn't think they were breaking the rules by keeping their dog in the car overnight. Our dog is relentless. If she knows there is another animal on the property she will do everything she can to get to it and she will keep us awake all night long. Our cat won't let strangers near him.
 
We have a dog. Had a cat but lost him last year. Our dog has the run of our loft apartment and the stairs down past the main floor to the cool basement.
We don't accept pets because too many pet owners don't watch them and I don't want to clean up dog hair, fleas and ticks. We have lots of ticks here. Guests don't want to smell dog in our deluxe suites, and face it some breeds have an odor.
I just have enough on my hands with the wine tours and B&B and don't want the extra cleaning and work that either children or pets bring.
Plus our dog was abused in a kennel and does not play well with others.
I love my animals and think if you want to cater to dogs you may as well take children as well. But pet owners will usually pay the extra to be able to bring the pet. I would definately charge $25 for cleaning and flea treatment after the check out.
Just hope you don't get anyone staying there with allergies.
Riki
 
Why does everyone have to call them rescues? Aren't they your dog or cat by now?
Jus' sayin.....
Because we're proud of the fact that we didn't buy them from a puppy mill but adopted a dog that someone else either abused, neglected, or gave away because they didn't know how to raise a dog :) Or in the case of my cat, just left behind when they moved. Morons...
Of course they're ours now. I have the vet bills to prove it. lol!
 
I'm always confounded by keepers who don't take dogs assuming that guest dogs poop and pee all over the house, jump all over the furniture and other guests, damage everything and leave the rooms hairy and full of fleas. Once in six years did I have a pet-related problem...and it was with the pet owner rather than the pet. The people that travel with pets are not the people who leave their dogs tied out in the yard all the time. In fact, pet owners are far more mindful of the Inn and it's other guests than parents of small children are....I've had BOTH so I can speak from experience. I always find pet parents to be overly concerned....far more so than I am!
Everyone exclaims about our cleanliness and fresh smell. Cleanliness is one of the most mentioned things in our reviews and guestroom journals....even in the room used most by doggie guests.
I'm certainly not trying to talk anyone into taking pets that doesn't, just trying to correct an apparent misconception.
 
I'm always confounded by keepers who don't take dogs assuming that guest dogs poop and pee all over the house, jump all over the furniture and other guests, damage everything and leave the rooms hairy and full of fleas. Once in six years did I have a pet-related problem...and it was with the pet owner rather than the pet. The people that travel with pets are not the people who leave their dogs tied out in the yard all the time. In fact, pet owners are far more mindful of the Inn and it's other guests than parents of small children are....I've had BOTH so I can speak from experience. I always find pet parents to be overly concerned....far more so than I am!
Everyone exclaims about our cleanliness and fresh smell. Cleanliness is one of the most mentioned things in our reviews and guestroom journals....even in the room used most by doggie guests.
I'm certainly not trying to talk anyone into taking pets that doesn't, just trying to correct an apparent misconception..
Little Blue said:
I'm always confounded by keepers who don't take dogs assuming that guest dogs poop and pee all over the house, jump all over the furniture and other guests, damage everything and leave the rooms hairy and full of fleas. Once in six years did I have a pet-related problem...and it was with the pet owner rather than the pet. The people that travel with pets are not the people who leave their dogs tied out in the yard all the time. In fact, pet owners are far more mindful of the Inn and it's other guests than parents of small children are....I've had BOTH so I can speak from experience. I always find pet parents to be overly concerned....far more so than I am!
Everyone exclaims about our cleanliness and fresh smell. Cleanliness is one of the most mentioned things in our reviews and guestroom journals....even in the room used most by doggie guests.
I'm certainly not trying to talk anyone into taking pets that doesn't, just trying to correct an apparent misconception.
The reason I don't take dogs is loss of income from OTHER guests. TOO Many guests are allergic, so it is not worth it, unless the entire property is pet friendly, then I would! I think it would be a blast!
 
Why does everyone have to call them rescues? Aren't they your dog or cat by now?
Jus' sayin.....
Because we're proud of the fact that we didn't buy them from a puppy mill but adopted a dog that someone else either abused, neglected, or gave away because they didn't know how to raise a dog :) Or in the case of my cat, just left behind when they moved. Morons...
Of course they're ours now. I have the vet bills to prove it. lol!
.
Samster said:
Because we're proud of the fact that we didn't buy them from a puppy mill but adopted a dog that someone else either abused, neglected, or gave away because they didn't know how to raise a dog :) Or in the case of my cat, just left behind when they moved. Morons...
Of course they're ours now. I have the vet bills to prove it. lol!
I am just asking as pets that are rescued are always called rescued, I think they need to be their own dog or cat now, not have that label. Like always calling children "these are our adopted children" rescued, "abused, neglected, or gave away because they didn't know how to be raised."
Just something I find curious as people always say that. We also took in our cats who were 'livin' on the streets'
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I'm always confounded by keepers who don't take dogs assuming that guest dogs poop and pee all over the house, jump all over the furniture and other guests, damage everything and leave the rooms hairy and full of fleas. Once in six years did I have a pet-related problem...and it was with the pet owner rather than the pet. The people that travel with pets are not the people who leave their dogs tied out in the yard all the time. In fact, pet owners are far more mindful of the Inn and it's other guests than parents of small children are....I've had BOTH so I can speak from experience. I always find pet parents to be overly concerned....far more so than I am!
Everyone exclaims about our cleanliness and fresh smell. Cleanliness is one of the most mentioned things in our reviews and guestroom journals....even in the room used most by doggie guests.
I'm certainly not trying to talk anyone into taking pets that doesn't, just trying to correct an apparent misconception..
Little Blue said:
I'm always confounded by keepers who don't take dogs assuming that guest dogs poop and pee all over the house, jump all over the furniture and other guests, damage everything and leave the rooms hairy and full of fleas. Once in six years did I have a pet-related problem...and it was with the pet owner rather than the pet. The people that travel with pets are not the people who leave their dogs tied out in the yard all the time. In fact, pet owners are far more mindful of the Inn and it's other guests than parents of small children are....I've had BOTH so I can speak from experience. I always find pet parents to be overly concerned....far more so than I am!
Everyone exclaims about our cleanliness and fresh smell. Cleanliness is one of the most mentioned things in our reviews and guestroom journals....even in the room used most by doggie guests.
I'm certainly not trying to talk anyone into taking pets that doesn't, just trying to correct an apparent misconception.
The reason I don't take dogs is loss of income from OTHER guests. TOO Many guests are allergic, so it is not worth it, unless the entire property is pet friendly, then I would! I think it would be a blast!
.
I would worry too much about fleas and also a guest pet biting another guest :-(
 
Putting a guest with allergies in a room that has had animals in it is as bad as putting a non-smoker in a smoking room. Unless you have a separate pet-designated room, how can you be sure that it's clean enough for someone with pet allergies? You can't.
I don't care how well behaved dogs are or how clean, they still smell like dog. It's hard enough getting the people smells out of rooms.
 
Putting a guest with allergies in a room that has had animals in it is as bad as putting a non-smoker in a smoking room. Unless you have a separate pet-designated room, how can you be sure that it's clean enough for someone with pet allergies? You can't.
I don't care how well behaved dogs are or how clean, they still smell like dog. It's hard enough getting the people smells out of rooms..
Proud Texan said:
It's hard enough getting the people smells out of rooms.
Ha! I am on my third washer load of shams, quilts and bedspreads that my housekeeper brought down today because they smelled funny.
 
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