For those of us that have furry family members, we deeply love them because they help to cheer us up, feel loved, or just sit with us and make our day better. Because our pets do so much to bring happiness and an extra amount of love into our lives it is no wonder that many of us want to take them with us wherever we go, including on vacation.

It is said that somewhere around 85 million families in the United States have at least one pet. Of those families with a pet, about 37% of them bring their pets on at least one vacation per year. This adds up to somewhere around 3 million people traveling every year with their furry family members by their side. And as they travel they are looking for accommodations that will allow their pets to stay with them. Because of this many different companies that offer some form of travel allow for pets. From airports to hotels to boarding facilities right next to vacation hotspots.

More and more of the largest hotel chains around the world are offering properties where pets are allowed to stay in the rooms with their owners. And some of the highest-end luxury hotels are even offering experiences and amenities focused just on our pets.

What about vacation homes? It could be beneficial and lucrative to open your home to vacationing families with pets. Having a pet-friendly vacation rental can lower your competition. Looking at the number of homes that allow pets in your area may come up with just a handful as compared to the total amount of vacation rentals available. This automatically means that those homes open to pets just may stand to have a higher occupancy rate.

There are many myths and concerns when it comes to allowing pets into your vacation rental

One of the biggest things that come to your mind most likely when thinking about pets in your vacation rental is all of the top concerns that many people have when it comes to pets. Some of the most common include damage to the home, impact on other guests that may have severe allergies, the excess cost in cleaning, and the potential to irritate any neighbors.

Tips to alleviate common concerns about pets in vacation rentals

Many of the concerns about having animals on your property seem like reasonable ones. Research has shown that pets really are not as big of a concern as they can appear to be. There are also many ways that you can strategically make preparations for the cost of items like cleaning up after a pet stay.

There are two major things that you can do to help protect yourself when it comes to preventing unfortunate occurrences from pets in your vacation rental. That is to take steps to prevent any damages from taking place and make sure that you have protection in place in the rare occurrence that it does happen.

How to protect yourself and the property

The rental agreement contract is key in making sure that you cover all that is expected from your guests and protecting your property and yourself as a landlord. Make sure that you include a paragraph just for what is expected with allowing pets on the property.

Add information about what you expect from cleaning up after pets if there is a special way you would like pet waste disposed of, etc. Explain what will happen if there is damage found and a need to replace anything like linens or furniture due to pets.

It is also good to communicate if the home is in an area where there are rules about barking and consideration of neighbors as well as taking pets for a walk in the neighborhood.

Preventative Measures

Having clear rules for pets on the premises in the rental agreement is the first step in prevention as well as protection. Other preventative measures you can take include charging a pet deposit, which most pet owners expect to encounter anyway to help cover the extra cleaning fees, and helping with purchasing pet amenities so it is easier for renters to stick to the pet rules as well as encouraging.

Communicate that you have supplies and amenities on hand that they are welcome to use to help them adhere to the pet rules. This helps them to feel like their pets really are welcome and you care about their business as well as prevents unwelcome results from pets on the property.

Allowing pets in a vacation rental can open up a much wider set of interested guests in your vacation rental. Many vacation rental owners that do allow pets have found that the profit has outweighed any concern.

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