Help! Currently in an air b&b and having a dispute with the host!

[UpsetMummyofOne]

Hi all, advice much needed ! Currently in an air b&b, a whole flat rental, with my family and two dogs. The listing said dogs and small pets would be considered. I booked this back in November as soon as we got the save the date, and in my very first message to the host I said we had two dogs. Since then, we have had messages back and forth about the keysafe, provision of towels, linen, amenities etc. We arrived earlier this evening and settled in, met the neighbours and let the host know we had arrived via message on the app. A few hours ago I have received a message from the host saying that we have been seen with dogs that we didn't declare and she has respectfully asked that we don't leave the dogs alone in the property while we are here as previous guests dogs have whined when they have been left. I have wrote back apologising that she didn't realise we were bringing dogs and that wasn't my intention and I mentioned them in my very first message to her ! We are here for an event which takes place tomorrow that the dogs will not be able to come to and I am not prepared to leave them in a car for hours, especially with this heat we have been having. Any advice where I stand with this ? I am tempted to open a dispute with air b & b - not familiar with this process. The property was described as modern in the listing - it is farm from modern, quite worn and dated like a lot of dog friendly accommodations are that we have been to before! I am upset that the host thinks I tried to sneak dogs in behind her back. I have looked back at our correspondence and the dogs have definitely been mentioned. Where do I stand and what should I do next ?

dogs are not to be left unattended

Having worked in hotels where you can take dogs, this rule is routinely ignored and nobody in management seems to care about that at all.

OP, forget it, enjoy your night. What’s the worst that can happen from the owner? Ignore, ignore, ignore.

If you are going to ignore this rule/request by the landlords, all that is likely to happen is that yet another property will be removed from the "dog-friendly" register, meaning less choice for the rest of us.
And again, it's not for the owner to "should have guessed" you were intending to leave dogs alone because you were going to a wedding.

You don't leave children alone in a strange place (well most don't) so why a dog?

Don't be ridiculous - dogs are not children. We couldn't leave our dog but many dogs can be left alone without harm or distress.

You don't think your dogs will whine, so carry on as you were In the event that they do whine and neighbours complain, you have the correspondence trail where you declared you had the dogs. But chances are the dogs will be fine and there won't be any issues

I would leave the dogs as planned. I assume you know your dogs are not going to whine or destroy anything, so there will be no terrible consequences of them being left. The airbnb host will have to suck it up this time and change the listing to be more clear on this point in future if dogs are not to be left there.

OP your plan of the day sounds absolutely fine and you know your dogs better than any of us. Carry on as you planned, enjoy your day then tomorrow give your honest feed back of your Airbnb.

Leave the dogs. The owner should have made it clear to begin with so you could make alternative arrangements. It’s perfectly fine for hosts to request that dogs are not left alone, but these rules should be in the terms and conditions before You book.

No holiday cottage owner would be happy for you to leave dogs alone in their property. You should realise this. Nothing worse than living next to a holiday home with dogs barking all day. Thank god the one next to me has recently been sold.

I would have thought that coming back regularly could be even worse if the dogs think you are back to pick them up and then leaving them again. Most dogs I know would cry seeing their owners leaving them in a strange place they don't know. Are you really complety sure that they won't?

What happens if they do, people complain and the Airbnb tell you you have to go there and then, giving you a refund saying that you broke the rules?

I too, think you've been naive thinking it would be ok to leave the dogs, but i guess you know your dogs and expect they'll be fine.
As the problem appears to be concern over a noise nuisance with the neighbour, i would explain your plans re popping back and forth and that the dogs are quiet and used to be left (assuming this is true), and offer to leave your mobile number with the neighbours in case of whining (as pp suggested).
Or you could ask the host if they know of a teenager who could sit with them for the day for a few pounds. At least if the host recommends someone, they're unlikely to have a party.
I think all you can do at this late stage is be upfront with the hosts that you weren't aware of the rule and would like to work towards a solution.

I feel this should have been in the "house rules" and been a lot more clear at the time of booking

Could you perhaps clarify whether it wasn't in the T&Cs at all, or whether it was and you just didn't read them closely?

I'm an Airbnb super host 😉

We take dogs and expect them to be left for certain periods whilst the owners visit attractions or eat out and indeed take many bookings for local weddings.

It helps that the cottage is detached, has thick walls and stone floors with washable rugs but even so I offer a variety of crate sizes or the option to have the dogs walked/let out for about £10; my dog insurance for this is only around £60 a year.

In my opinion your host is taking the money and not providing a good service. Accommodating dogs usually sees bookings up by 30% on similar properties who are pet free.

you have the correspondence trail where you declared you had the dogs

Would that be the same trail in which the owner said the dogs weren't to be left alone? What help would that be?

The owner only said she couldn't leave the dogs alone after she had booked. So plenty of help.

^We've stayed in many places with our dog and there are always 4 key rules:

1. clean up any mess
2. keep dogs off furniture
3. dogs are not allowed in bedrooms/upstairs
4. dogs are not to be left unattended in the accom^

My dog is stupid and you can't persuade him not to go upstairs. The first rule is obvious but lots of AirBnB hosts do not have the other 3.

*We've stayed in many places with our dog and there are always 4 key rules:

1. clean up any mess
2. keep dogs off furniture
3. dogs are not allowed in bedrooms/upstairs
4. dogs are not to be left unattended in the accom*

Yep. This is the default in 99% of pet-friendly properties I've stayed in. It would take specific wording "dog's are allowed to be left" to make me think it was any different at a new place.

Screenshot your first message about the dogs and send it to them again. You told them you would be brining dogs, so they have no right to change their minds now.

Most dog friendly self catering places have a rule about not leaving them alone in the property. I would not leave my dog alone in a strange place anyway. I agree with pps about seeing if you can find a kennels that will take him for the day of your event.

I would be looking at Doggy Daycare in the area.

Opening a dispute right now isn't going to help you. The owner could cancel your booking since you're not adhering to their house rules. You could end up with no accommodation at all. You'll just have to stick with your original plan.
I don't think the host has been UR. You weren't clear when you booked that you were leaving the dogs alone and from PPs it's clear that most dog friendly places don't allow dogs to be left.

@coconuttelegraph Presumably OP would have cancelled and booked somewhere else if the host had been upfront about it from the start. Now I think about it, the host could even have intentionally held this instruction back until it was too late to do this so they didn't lose the booking...

I don't even have a dog and I know it is pretty universal for them not to be left alone or on furniture etc.

I would only expect information if the rules were vastly different.

What is wrong with leaving a dog unattended for a few hours. Everybody does it. Dogs dont bark or whine less when there are people around

A lot of the confusion could be cleared up if the op posted the rules about dogs - could you do a screenshot please.

There’s a difference between having accommodation that accepts dogs and actually leaving them alone in the accommodation where they could cause damage. I think the owner is quite within their rights to say they mustn’t be left alone, and you have to accept that. You need to make alternative arrangements.

Unless it was specifically mentioned in your booking, that you can't leave pets then I think contractually you haven't done anything wrong. Just because 99% of people say it's the norm doesn't mean it's a universal law. It still needs to be stated if the op is expected to adhere to that contractual request. Yes most places state it but if she hasn't included it in her t&cs then it cannot be enforced.

Dogs being left for periods of time is fine. Depends on the nature of the dog and the time.