How to Make Your Short-Term Holiday Let Dog Friendly
Thursday 21st May, 2020 by Host & Stay
Due to the incredible landscapes and vast space to explore, dog friendly short-term holiday rentals are really popular in North Yorkshire. A study by TripAdvisor revealed that more than half of pet owners take their four legged friends along for their stay, so the pet-travelling market is huge!
If your holiday home isn’t already dog friendly, why not consider it? After all, the wider the audience your property appeals to, the more chance you have of increasing bookings. By welcoming dogs, you’re capturing the pet-travelling market straight away.
Check out our 5 top tips to keep dog lovers coming back to your holiday let year after year!
Go the Extra Mile for your Canine Guests
Going the extra mile for your canine guests can earn you lots of brownie points with human guests too. You can bet that most of the pooches going on holiday to North Yorkshire are completely loved and spoiled by their owners so a little bit of attention goes a long way.
By adding water and food bowls, chew toys and tasty treats, you’re showing that you care. You could also add a doggy bed (which also helps if you don’t want pets on the furniture!).
All of this will certainly earn lots of wagging tails and most likely some glowing guest reviews too.
Pet Proof your Short-Term Holiday Rental
Dogs love to explore so they’re going to love discovering your property. But those pesky paws can have a way of causing havoc. If you’re going to welcome dogs to your holiday home, you’ll need to make sure it is ‘pet proofed’.
If you have a beloved ornament, delicate photo frame or fragile vase, make sure they’re not within reach of a wagging tail or a nosy snout. Keep all delicate items out of reach on high up surfaces.
The same goes for all edible items. If you like to leave a welcome hamper or basket for your guests, be sure you leave it somewhere safe so it doesn’t get found by excited pups first.
If you’re conscious about your furniture, you could consider purchasing a sofa cover for animal-accompanied guests to keep your furniture in good condition.
Set Clear Rules and Boundaries
Just like pets have at home, you can set clear rules when it comes to dogs in your property too. Perhaps you’re cool with dogs being downstairs but you draw the line at bedrooms. Or maybe you’d prefer it if dogs weren’t allowed on the sofa.
Whatever your rules are, make sure they’re clear to your guests. Maybe add a polite notice on your check in information or add the rules to your welcome book.
Take Precautions
In our experience, most guests are usually respectful of the rules and allowing dogs completely outweighs the risks. However, you may experience the odd issue which is to be expected.
If the issue is with guests not abiding by your rules, try more preventative measures such as baby gates on the stairs or covering your sofa with a protector.
It’s also worth taking precautions. We’d recommend including details in your terms and conditions to outline authorisation of any damage costs. You could also request a small deposit up front should anything be broken or ruined.
Another important factor to remember when allowing dogs to your property is cleaning products. Now we understand your short term holiday let will be changed over once the guest has left but it’s worth leaving some cleaning products for your guests to use should there be any accidents. Just make sure the cleaning products are out of reach of children.
Doing Their Business
Let’s discuss the obvious… Answering nature’s call.
If your property has a back yard or garden, you may want to leave instructions as to where the pets can do their business. Again, this can be included in your welcome book or check in details as a polite notice.
If your property doesn’t have an outside area, it is best to direct your guests to local areas such as dog friendly parks or fields.
The short-term holiday rental market is very competitive, so anything you can do to reduce your competition is significant. We understand that dog friendly holiday homes aren’t for everyone but if you’re up for the challenge, it’s definitely worth the effort.
Animal lovers are likely to return to a holiday home they can trust where they’ve had a safe and comfortable stay. So, welcoming dogs can dramatically increase your bookings and therefore your revenue.
If you don’t already welcome dogs, would you consider it to increase your booking revenue?