To find guests bringing dogs to our B&B without informing us beforehand unbelievably cheeky?

[Woolysheeps]

We run a B&B in a rural area in the Scottish Borders.
We do state we are 'pet friendly with additional charges' on booking platforms.
I would say 70% of our guests bring dogs but of this 70% only 10% actually inform us beforehand and enquire about charges and where the dogs are allowed etc. Most just turn up with their dog and walk right in. Some bring 2 or 3 dogs with them and don't bat an eyelid when I say 'you didn't inform us you were bringing a dog....'. Not a single guest who has brought a dog and not informed us has ever mentioned the additional charges specified online and aren't happy when we bring it up. It is making me want to remove the 'pets allowed' feature as I feel it is being abused.
So, my question is, if our booking platforms say 'pets allowed with additional charges', AIBU to expect to be informed beforehand? Would you inform a B&B beforehand if you were bringing your dog?

If you say pets are allowed why would people feel the need to tell you they are coming too unless you explicitly say you need to be informed?

I am certainty guilty of booking, not reading the small print and ignoring the emails that come afterwards... I am not alone! That's just reminded me of charges I need to pay for a stay before Christmas... we are so bombarded by info. .. we simply ignore 80% of it.

I have booked with my dog and I always contact them prior to booking so discuss room options. He's a Yorkie but he sleeps in a crate. Will there be enough room for his crate? Etc

I'm flabbergasted people don't want to discuss what options there are for dogs as each place is different.

Rude and I bet these are the sort that shout over that their dog is friendly when your on lead dog is not.

We travel with our dog a lot and we're used to paying additional fees, but I agree with pp that if I booked via booking.com I'd expect that fee to be included in the price

I wonder if a workaround on the platform would be to list different room types? So one option No Dog and one option With Dog at your higher rate?

I think the only way to make it fool proof is to add dogs like you add guests.

How many guests? 2 = £100
How many dogs? 2 = 30

total = £130

Or whatever…

If 70% bring a dog you'll likely lose that 70% of your trade by not advertising as pet friendly.

The flip of this is lots of people avoid booking dog friendly places, so if you opt to ban dogs instead, you may be able to replace the lost trade with people filtering for dog-free options. Lots of people with asthma or allergies especially struggle with places that allow dogs, no amount if cleaning ever seems to get rid of the hair/saliva entirely.

But in this particular business, the majority of people who want to book are dog owners. It's a giant leap to assume that by turning away 70% of your business you will be able to replace or increase that number of guests with new ones from different market segment.

Well duh right now they are dog owners because she's advertising as dog friendly, so people like me & most of my family won't choose it, as we dislike dogs and my father has allergies. There's a huge proportion of people who do not like dogs who won't currently consider this property but might if it were dog free.

On booking.com I send an automated message as soon as they book to explain some things that are not on the listing because booking.com won't let me write it. Grrrrrrr...

You could ask if they are bringing a dog and state the charge.

There's a huge proportion of people who do not like dogs who won't currently consider this property but might if it were dog free.

I agree with your wider point but I believe OP has dogs, so in this instance it wouldn’t really be fair or wise to advertise as dog free (assuming her dogs are on the premises/Immediate grounds?) so it’s probably best her sticking to dog friendly if she has dogs anyway .

As I said upthread it’s annoying to arrive somewhere you thought is dog free, only to see the owners dogs tearing around.

My comment obviously doesn’t apply if the owner has a separate home where their dogs are kept securely.

I just remembered I went to a health retreat in a lovely rural area a few years back. No dogs were allowed and It should have super relaxing and peaceful but one of the staff would randomly bring her dog from home into the staff office.

I needed to call ahead to make sure the dog wasn’t there if I had to go into the office, but then Despite knowing how I felt she also let it roam around the grounds unsupervised and it would bark loudly at me so I’d also need to call them to move the dog when I was moving between the buildings on the retreat grounds.

I think we’re going to see more of this behaviour at least in the short term before the government gets a grip and there is more regulation . Far too many entitled dog owners and business that fail to do basic risk assessments and consider potential risks of allowing unsupervised pets roam around customers.

That’s so rude of them! I have a dog who I would take on a break with me….buuut I would check the generic website /booking dot com for pet friendly accommodation and then go on each website to check how friendly. DH and I would choose a place that charged more for pets but had gimmicks, for example a big sink at a back door we could wash muddy paws in, or that sold extra sausages at breakfast for dogs!never would I ever expect these things though. It’s just a fun thing we’d pay for if we were undecided between 2 places

People will just be seeing “pet friendly “ and assuming that means it’s fine to take their dog, especially if there’s nowhere for it to say that you need to know in advance. I think the problem lies with the booking system rather than your guests, although if I was booking somewhere that said it was pet friendly but that there were extra charges, I’d be getting in touch before making the booking, to confirm how much the charges would be, so you’d find out that way. I’m surprised people aren’t trying to find out what the extra charges will be.

Could it be the booking platforms you are using? I generally use Hoseasons for all cottage type stays and we have to tick that we are bringing our dog and pay for his costs in advance

If you say pets allowed I would just expect the charges to be added. I would inform beforehand if I thought I needed permission, but your advertising doesn’t read that way. Just add the charges. Why is this a big deal?

Is this the text you can’t change? Charges may be applicable is misleading. It needs to say there is an additional charge.

As previous posters have said if 70% of customers aren’t following the instructions the instructions aren’t clear enough.

I feel your frustration with big companies that can’t meet your needs but without whom you can’t access a market.

I think its sneaky to say you're pet friendly then charge more after the stay to bring a pet. You're pet friendly or you're not. Its clearly a hidden charge or most people wouldn't be querying it.
By saying no pets you're likely to lose that 70% of clients.

although your add may say

'pets allowed with additional charges’

does it include about letting you know/booking their dog in before hand?

If booked through booking.com can you send a booking confirmation email outlining your requirements?

If only 10% of people are paying for their dog then I would remove the dog friendly bit.

It’s not your guests fault, it’s your selection of platform so YABVU not to understand how booking.com actually works as an interface. You should take it up with booking.com rather than moaning about the guests who aren’t informed that they need to inform you about their dogs.

Is there no way you can have a drop down menu for number of pets then people have to specify how manny they’re bringing and it’s automatically added to the cost? So

Adults []
Children []
Pets []

If it said pet friendly I would assume the dog would be declared on the booking system and additional charges applied at time of booking.

Hi,

I think it might be as when you tick the pet friendly option your B&B is coming up so people just assume that they can bring them and haven't read the small print. I found it not the easiest to find on Booking.com for example and I bet people rushing or not concentrating would definitely miss it! But I do get your point completely.

Could you opt for ‘no pets allowed without prior notice’ or something similar ? That would put the ball in the guests’ court as it’s a specific ‘no’.

Exactly - does nobody on here go to the actual website to check the finer details when they book something?

I do agree that after the event charges are sneaky but totally agree that being pet-friendly does not preclude extra charges, it just means you allow them.

Could you opt for ‘no pets allowed without prior notice’ or something similar

Or more positive wording: dogs allowed by prior arrangement