Pet Friendly vacation rental, tips needed

[Mike Gallagher]

considering turning one of my rentals into a vacation rental, and would like to make it pet friendly. looking for some input and tips for doing this. im open to positive and negative comments.

[Gary Ennis]

@Mike Gallagher we're pet friendly in our Austin vacation rental. While we've only been up and running for 5 months, we've had several guests bring dogs of various breeds/sizes, and we've had no issues thus far. We do hold a small damage deposit just in case a pet does end up staining a rug or damaging a bedspread. 

Our policy is that pets must stay off the beds and couch (we provide a comfy dog bed), and thus far we've seen no evidence of damage, and our cleaning team hasn't had to deal with any major dog hair issues. We even had one guest who brought two 40-50 pound dogs and it ended up raining heavily during their stay. We provided some extra old towels for them to clean off muddy dog feet, and that worked out just fine. 

In general, we've found that most folks who are traveling/vacationing with pets have been very respectful, and appreciative that they are able to bring them along. We also surprise and delight them by including a doggie treat in our welcome package. 

Our current guest has brought along two cats, which are the first cats to stay at the property. So we'll see how that goes. :)