When it comes to deciding whether to allow pets in one’s holiday home, many will see it as an opportunity to earn more rental, while many other owners will see it as additional maintenance, pet hairs on carpets and bad odor. So if you still not sure, here are some pros and cons to help you decide:
PROS:
Increase bookings: By allowing pets to stay in your holiday home you can definitely broaden your spectrum of guests, because your holiday home will appeal to a much larger rental audience. The reason is that many holiday home/ homestay owners do not allow pets, and thus allowing pets will give you an advantage which in turn would boost your occupancy.
Earn extra income: Another positive is that you can charge more rental if you allow pets. Pet owners are also required to pay an initial deposit or a pet damage security, in addition to the rental.
Longer stays: It’s a common trend that pet owners take longer vacation. Because pet-friendly accommodations are usually hard to find, most pet owners tend to stay longer. This may result in your property having a much lower vacancy period compared to holiday homes that do not allow pets.
Off-season bookings: Because pets get panicky in a crowd, their owners ideally prefer off-seasons to take their vacation when people in touristy places are sparse and pets are in a more comfortable and calm environment. Thus this could just mean that the days when the holiday home remains vacant during the off-season are things of the past.
CONS:
Wear and tear: On the flip-side is the risk that a pet will do significant damage to your property. This is a serious concern when pet owners do not know how to properly care for their pet and are not considerate of the rules of the holiday home.
Additional expenses: Yes, your maintenance expenses will go up a couple of notches if you start allowing pets to stay in your property, because you will have to pest control and clean your carpets more frequently. Moreover if you have a caretaker or a housekeeper, you may have to pay him more because accepting pets will certainly increase his work of cleaning the house between guests.
Allergic travelers: If you choose to start allowing pets in your holiday home, you might be at the risk of losing travelers with allergies who are unwilling to stay in your property.
If you are to ask me, I would say the pros weigh more than the cons. No doubt accepting pets will mean a little bit of extra cleaning, but overall making your holiday homes pet-friendly can be a good experience. Most pet owners will not travel unless they are sure of their pet’s behavior. So damage to property is very minimal.
However when you are accepting bookings from pet owners, make sure that in addition to the extra you will be charging on the rental, you take a refundable pet fee, which will help you to cover damages, if any. On the other hand, when you are renting out to travelers who do not have pets be sure to disclose that your property is a pet-friendly one at the time of booking to rule out any guests allergic to pets. Include this clause in your rental agreement for guests to sign.
Still not sure? Test the waters by accepting pets in your off-season and then decide based on your experience.
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