Holiday let does not allow dogs…

[ChristmasCameEarly]

…but it states twice on the booking that the owner stays there and does have a dog, that you cannot complain afterwards that there was ‘dog paraphernalia’ in the house?!

Aside from the fact that ‘paraphernalia’ is almost always applied sexually, if there’s clear warnings (including on the booking email!!!!) that the owner has a dog and so the property is not suited to those with dog allergies or sensitivity, surely if you have such allergies or someone you are bringing with you does then you would not book?!

YABU: they have a right to book.
YANBU: they are idiots and didn’t read the note properly.

That was my first thought, you always hear drug paraphernalia
.

Is one clean bowl under the stairs “dog things”?

Makes perfect sense to me. It's like children. Mine are perfect, yours are occasionally difficult, their's are demon spawn! You can't trust some people with dogs either.

I think it is just your use of dog free that is causing issues as many others have said.
Your let isn’t dog free in any way.

Well, it's highly unlikely that she meant 'there are no dogs at the property but our dog is allowed on the property'; that just wouldn't make sense. But if I was looking to book and I was still unclear, I would just message and ask for absolute clarity on it, rather than booking and then complaining about it later.

It makes perfect sense to you that a property advertised as dog free has a resident dog? Free clearly means something different to you.

Although this property is dog free, pleased be advised the owners have a dog which has full, unrestricted, access to the property.”

OP- this should say 'Please be advised' (not pleased) unless it's a typo in your posting here.

No, it shouldn’t say it’s dog free when it isn’t. This is turning into Schrödinger's dog!

And your point is? !

Get someone else to rewrite your property description. You don't communicate well and misunderstand words/phrases like "dog free" and "paraphernalia."

But it isn't advertised as dog free, it is advertised as no pets allowed.

Try RTFT.

If I’m buying food labelled as free from my food allergen I expect it to actually be free from the allergen and safe for me to eat it.

DS2 has a severe dog allergy. Saying the property is “dog free” sounds like dogs are never there and it’s safe for him.

Your advert needs to be worded the other way around to say something like…

This property is NOT dog free. Whilst we don’t accept guests with dogs, the owners have a dog which stays in the property.

That’s weird. I usually book dog-free properties so I would not be happy to book one to find that a dog is in there regularly 🤷🏼‍♀️

I run a dog friendly Airbnb. I’d say it’s your responsibility to be very clear in your communication because people don’t always read the information properly. The dog free listing could easily be misconstrued. Id put the information about your own dog visiting the house IN CAPITALS IN THE FIRST LINE OF THE PROPERTY DESCRIPTION so it jumps out. I’d also follow up each booking with an email to check guests are aware, and get a response from them confirming that. You can call them idiots but you are the one to suffer from a bad review. In your position I’d now change my listing to be clearer but also ask the agency to remove the review on the basis of it being unfair.

What is your dog called and why not Harry Potter? I like that name.

Yeah I would think drugs before sex as its usually used legally to describe things used to take an illicit substances even if the substance wasn't found.

Paraphernalia really just means 'equipment relating to' though... a saddle would probably be horse paraphernalia, a ball of yarn might be knitting paraphernalia, a tire could be car paraphernalia etc...

Could be read as para for nailing ya, if you had a particularly sexual bent….

This. That's a new one!

Its paraphilia which is sexual!!

They were really ambiguous with the notice about their dog and dog-free, I wouldn't have understood. Could you dispute the 2/10, OP? However, paraphernalia means stuff in a laboratory (or I could have been mislead by a teacher in my youth!)

I've said YABU because you don't know what paraphernalia means.

Clearly, you deserve 2/10 for having such a poorly worded and misleading advert.

This isn’t about them finding a dog bowl but the deliberate deception you’ve employed by referring to the property as ‘dog free’. If you allow your own dog into the property, then it obviously isn’t ‘dog free’.

Presumably the listings allow someone to search for ‘dog free’ accommodation?

You need to accept that you have made a mistake (genuine or otherwise) and that your advert needs changing to accurately reflect the situation, otherwise more people are likely to complain.

Are you sure you aren't confusing paraphernalia with paraphilia, OP?

Can you respond to the review? If so I’d let it be a warning for other people booking. Obviously a professional response not a grumpy or unhinged one.

“We’re sorry for the confusion. As we state in the description and the check in comments, we don’t allow doggie guests but we do have a resident dog who stays in the property on occasion (which is why you found a dog bowl under the stairs). We clean thoroughly before new guests check in however we understand that this property may not be appropriate for those with allergies which is why we take great care to make it clear in the listing that there is a dog on premises on occasion. ”

I don’t use airB&B or private rentals but when I look at hotel/resort reviews I generally look at the lowest ones first. If they are ridiculous (like I would consider this one) then I figure it’s a good place.