My and her bf and his family have used Airbnb on multiple occasions but I just don’t like the idea of it. I stay in hotels on the rare occasions that I travel. We are thinking of renting a house for a couple of weeks in the summer but I am really not sure I want to do it. I would only do the whole house. I would freak out if I got to my rental and there was an unexpected dog there - the OP seems to be saying that she expecting one, less than 20 lb dog, and was confronted by 2, one a pit bull.
I am not a dog person. A few weeks ago, my son called and said that he was at the house with a friend who wanted a legal consult with H. When H and I got home, I realized that this girl had a (to me) gigantic dog with her. It was a Labradoodle, but I still locked myself in my room until they left. I am terrified of dogs but supportive of H’s need to earn a living, so I removed myself from the area. I don’t think I would have set foot in the Airbnb in the situation the OP described and I would have demanded a refund and/or for the host to pay the difference in my hotel bill. The OP was misled, by either the owner or the other guest or both.
Again, pit bull isn’t a breed. This thread just makes me sad so I’ll duck out.
I’d hope that people realize that “pit bulls” sells headlines and thus the media runs with it. “Big dog kills” doesn’t have the same effect even though the pit bulls have about as much in common as a generic descriptor like big dogs.
I implore people to think critically on this issue. This bias and rhetoric literally costs millions of dog lives every year.
I wouldn’t calling the owner of the unit. That’s ridiculous. This guy knew his pitbull would not be allowed so he lied.
I would not want to pay to stay in a place with a any strange dog, especially a pitbull type. They are sometimes very sweet, but that type of dog kills a hugely disproportionate amount of people every year, along with many, many pets. I wouldn’t pay to stay with a strange one.
The unit owner should be told, and at the least you should get a partial refund.
Or is it that owners of such dogs are more likely to train them to be aggressive? (Just like how owners of certain models of cars are more likely to drive dangerously, even though the cars themselves are not inherently more dangerous.)
In terms of bite strength, watch out for dobermans, rottweilers, and German shepherds, as well as some other dogs that have similar or greater bite strength as breeds commonly referred to as “pit bulls”.
I think it is both - nature and nurture, breeding and training in the hands of the wrong people, and again, the size and power/musculature of the different breeds making up the “pit bull” label. Sure, some are sweet and docile but a sizable chunk are not. Who knows what group a particular dog belongs to when you don’t really know the dog?
There are large breeds which are even more common as pets than the bully breeds and you don’t see the statistics and stories of injuries and deaths.
Some towns in my neck of the woods are moving aggressively to regulate airbnb rentals. There is too much traffic and noise… when I apologized to a neighbor for our past construction noise (8-5 weekdays), the neighbor said that it was not a big deal at all. He was happy that the “partytown” was over (apparently, when the house was briefly rented short term, some weekend renters were very rowdy, and the owner was out of town, obviously).
I stayed in a perhaps similar Airbnb situation earlier this year when dealing with a family crisis out of state. The hosts had remodeled a walkout basement into a common area with cooking facilities as well as two private and locked rooms. There were very nice patio areas and hot tubs as well. Various guests came and went in the other room. I was dealing with intense issues and it was very nice to come"home" to a peaceful situation every evening, where I could reheat some food and walk in a scenic residential area in the mornings. A dog stayed with the other guests at some point, and it was just fine. I love dogs. It was also nice to chat with the various other guests at times.
My funds are not unlimited, and I really appreciate Airbnb giving me a way to travel with reasonable cost. At the same time, I appreciate how taxes are added to the fee automatically in some states, as tourists should be supporting infrastructure.
It’s also very tough in some areas to get homeowners or rental insurance if you - or your tenants - have a dog on the “bad dog list”, which includes pit bulls, rottweilers, Chows, wolf hybrids, etc. and varies slightly by insurance company based on their risk assessment. Michigan and Pennsylvania have laws that prevent insurers from denying breed-based coverage, but in all other states it can be a struggle for homeowners and landlords to get insurance if their property hosts a dog that the insurance company has determined is more likely to bite and to cause a major claim.
One of the people in our neighborhood own two Cane Corsos (similar to Presa Canarios) and were without homeowner’s insurance for several months while they found a company that would underwrite a policy. And my guess is that when they did get a policy, it specifically excluded claims that might arise from those dogs.
The other “guest” in the AirBNB rental described in the OP lied to the landlord about only having one dog and that dog being under 20 pounds, there’s a reasonable chance that the landlord doesn’t have insurance coverage for the pit bull should there be an issue.
It is unfair to malign a dog based solely on its breed.
When we have taken our dog to play at the dog parks near our home, we have encountered numerous playful and friendly pitbulls who have romped happily with our dog.
“Perhaps if you know what kind of owner the dog’s owner is…”
Perhaps, but in the OP’s case it is a stranger and a strange dog. Additionally, the dog isn’t in its home environment.
Even if you know the owner, I have encountered many instances where dog owners are oblivious to their own pet’s behavior. Owners who let their dogs jump all over people, get into things, etc. Many dog owners are not objective about their pets much like many of us parents aren’t objective about our own children.
We lived next door to a rottweiler and it was the nicest dog until…children came into the picture. The grandmother lived next door and shared the dog with her daughter. The daughter and I started sharing babysitting but my daughter was 15 months older than her son (although they weighed the same!) and mobile and the first time I left her with them with the dog, I came back to daughter being in a separate room. Shortly after that the dog lived permanently with the grandmother. The dog was fine until there was food to be snatched from a child or shouting and squeals and sudden movement. As time went on, the grandmother didn’t let any children near her dog because he’d begun snapping and being unhappy around others, especially the grandchildren. One bite could have been the end of life for a child, or a bitten finger or something.
I was wondering how good of insurance airbnb provides to its members… and whether that would cover dog bite treatment or damage to property of other renters.
We recently rented through both airbnb and VRBO, with our little dog and a party of 5 humans. At one house, the manager insisted on being there when we arrived. I have to think they were burned before by someone bringing extra dogs and/or people and the neighbors complaining to the town.
One thing that worries me about using my house for rental or house swapping is liability. Dog or no dog, someone can just trip over a step and make your life miserable for years. I would read all the fine print in their insurance and also in my own homeowner’s and umbrella policy.
Ok, did some minor research. As of 2015, Airbnb apparently provides primary insurance up to $1M per occurrence per residence. There are a lot of exclusions - intentional acts and breaking the law is not covered. Duh. Not sure if that insurance is included in the agreement or if that is something a member needs to buy separately. Have no desire to research as we don’t intend to rent short term at all.
Also, researched our local short term rental ordinances. We, the townies, apparently hate “partyhouses.” The owner must claim primary residence and live on site for 2/3 of the year to be able to rent short term for no more than 120 days a year. Plus, a designated property manager must live within 15 miles of a rental if the owner is not going to be there when the house is rented, and the renters must be provided his or her phone number. If the renters are disturbing the peace, the owner is on the hook for their behavior.
“We recently rented through both airbnb and VRBO, with our little dog and a party of 5 humans. At one house, the manager insisted on being there when we arrived. I have to think they were burned before by someone bringing extra dogs…”
Or they’ve been landlords for a while, know the common tricks and wanted to confirm your dog really was the “little dog” you listed on the application. Just like the other renter described in the OP, it’s very common for dishonest tenants to misstate or understate the size and type of dog. Landlords joke about how people always understate the size of their dog by 10 pounds and that “lab mix” universally means “pit bull.”
