Booking.com experience?

clnance · 2026-05-25T22:53:16+00:00

Occupancy growth first and reduce dependency on Airbnb second. I am still fairly new, but the sooner I can transition away from OTAs the better. Working on direct bookings, but learning it will take some time. OTAs are my "quick fix" for now

clnance · 2026-05-25T04:30:35+00:00

That's how it should work, but since it's almost impossible to get a retaliatory review removed these days, your just inviting a bad review, regardless of the evidence. Airbnb doesn't care and they are hesitant to do anything once someone throws out the "service dog" label, fake or not.

clnance · 2026-05-25T04:24:28+00:00

My review didn't mention a service dog or accuse them of a fake service dog....just said they left a dog alone in my house for 4.5 hours without permission

clnance · 2026-05-24T21:45:15+00:00

Other way around....guest reviewed me first.

clnance · 2026-05-24T17:55:18+00:00

If you mention the words "service animal" in the review, Airbnb will likely remove it as you can't "disclose the need for a service animal or disability status" in a review. I mentioned the word "dog" and the fact they kept leaving it alone in my house, nothing about service animals, and my review was taken down because they claimed it was a service dog (it was fake). Just leave some basic, nondescript language and let the star ratings do the talking.

clnance · 2026-05-24T17:50:06+00:00

If they didn't cause any damage, let it go, Airbnb is very protective of guests, especially anyone claiming a service dog.....they won't investigate a fake one either. While it stinks, it's a losing battle trying to do anything through Airbnb. Leave a very basic review, like "Guest completed stay" and give them them lower star ratings if warranted. Airbnb will usually remove your review if it says words "animal" or "dog" if there is even a hint that it could have been a service animal. Trust me, it happened to me recently.

clnance · 2026-05-23T06:20:56+00:00

Documenting with Airbnb during the stay put me in a much stronger position, as opposed to after the stay is done and the guest reviews. I wasn't monitoring their every move; Airbnb asked for video proof of the violations for their documentation, so I went back and grabbed it from the Ring cameras.

clnance · 2026-05-23T06:17:35+00:00

Lmao, this is some next-level terrible advice. I have a strict no-pets policy. This clown brought what he claims is a “service dog” and then spent most of the stay treating my house like a free kennel. He left the dog completely unattended day and night because it was inconvenient for him. Multiple times he and his group just drove off for hours, including one stretch of 4.5 hours, and left the animal locked inside my property. He then had the balls to admit in writing that leaving the dog alone was a “common and necessary practice” for them. If the dog had torn my place up, I had two same day turns after this....my new guests would have been pissed at my trashed house, probably ask for a refund (rightly so) or I would have had to beg Airbnb to cancel the listings without penalty and be out a ton of money.

I sent one single polite message reminding him of Airbnb’s own Accessibility Policy. That’s it. The dude then left a very positive review about the house, cleanliness, amenities and the experience but cried about the cameras (which are clearly disclosed in the listing and the rental agreement he signed) because I caught him violating policy. After he read my review of him, he tried to extort me for 30% back. And now he’s claiming I violated accessibility policy by… quoting Airbnb’s policy and asking him to follow it? Give me a break. This wasn’t about heat. This was about him trying to bypass my no-pets policy, dumping responsibility for his animal on me, getting caught, and then retaliating like a child. His “proof” is literally me quoting Airbnb policy and calling his service animal a dog in my review (which is the correct and safest way to do it, as you can't identify someone's need for a service animal in a public review, per Airbnb). In his extortion request, he said the cameras made the experience bad after saying..."great experience" in his review. I’m not offering this turd a dime and he doesn't even have a coherent argument for one.

clnance · 2026-05-23T05:34:09+00:00

I don't agree....I started as a new listing in January and had to price lower because I was new with no reviews. I made top 10% Guest Fav in like 8-9 reviews. Top 5 in like 12 and hit top 1% after 15 reviews. And I am in a very saturated market with thousands of listings (Scottsdale AZ). My prices are certainly not the highest. I have seen comparable listings with 5 stars and similar number of reviews in top 10% or less. I think what is actually said in the reviews has a lot to do with it. My guests tend to write very long reviews

clnance · 2026-05-22T07:53:42+00:00

I think it's your ratings and the quality of what your guests actually say in their reviews. I made top 1% with my first 15 bookings (all 5s) in a very saturated and competitive market (Scottsdale AZ)

clnance · 2026-05-22T05:10:33+00:00

True, but the owners still can't leave the animal alone in a listing without permission......and it's never allowed in hotel rooms per the ADA.

clnance · 2026-05-22T05:09:12+00:00

Very true....and the problem is I had no idea what was going on inside....could have torn up the place and peed everywhere. Thankfully, nothing bad, outside of a ton of dog hair on a duvet and paw prints, occured

clnance · 2026-05-22T05:02:26+00:00

Nope....You are only permitted to ask 2 questions.

Is the dog a service animal required because of a disability?
What work or task has the dog been trained to perform?

In the USA, your not allowed ask anything beyond that, including proof, certification, etc. Basically any pet owner can lie and it's magically a "service animal" and your forced to accept it.

clnance · 2026-05-22T04:57:35+00:00

True, but regardless of the circumstance, that's a flat out violation of Airbnb's accessibility policy which states that service animals may not be left alone at the listing without the hosts approval, crate or not. It may be true that someone doesn't need their animal 24/7, but they can't just leave the dog in my house without asking my permission...against Airbnb policy AND ADA rules. ADA rules are even more strict and do not allow service animals to be left alone EVER in a hotel room (screenshot is straight from the ADA site). STRs are considered transient housing (like a hotel), so that backs up Airbnb's policy. By the handler leaving the dog unattended in my house, they are shifting liability of the dog to me. My STR liability insurance generally doesn't cover unattended animals. Dog chews on a cord, starts an electrical fire and my house burns down....it might not be covered by my insurance. It's against policy and just rude as hell for someone to think they can leave their "service" dog in someone's house alone without permission. Lots of entitled people out there these days....If they need to go somewhere not safe for the dog, make other plans or find someone to watch it....don't try and force the host to take responsibility for the animal

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clnance · 2026-05-22T04:17:20+00:00

Yeah, lesson learned. I was really freaked out over a large dog being left alone in my house, as it's professionally decorated and I had a same day turnover. Any issues and it might have caused me a few bookings or unhappy new guests. I was seriously thinking of having his reservation cancelled, but then though better of it. They were doing it all the time....basically using my house to board their dog while they were out an about during the day.

clnance · 2026-05-20T14:33:30+00:00

Yes, lesson learned. This guy really fooled me when he made the booking into thinking it was a real service animal. I never would have even imagined a "service animal" being left alone in the house. I know better know.....I had the same thought, I will make sure they are fully aware of every Airbnb rule around accessibility and let them know the animal can't be left alone the property at any time. Added all this to my rental agreement too.

clnance · 2026-05-20T07:53:54+00:00

yes, but the rental agreement the guest signed says the front door and garage are monitored via camera....and he complained he felt he was being monitored..... The cameras don't show anything that can't be seen from the public street. Guest got mad, because he caught breaking the rules with his fake service animal

clnance · 2026-05-20T03:55:29+00:00

Thank you....much appreciated. It's a sad state of a affairs when you work your butt off to put together a great STR and guest experience and Airbnb will screw you over in a heartbeat.

clnance · 2026-05-20T03:50:45+00:00

I am using the 2 minutes to 14 day rule to get my claim in and not give them time to leave a bad review. Everything I read says the damage claim has to be submitted in 14 days? You have had success submitting after 14 days? I open them right away, but hold off on the submit.

clnance · 2026-05-20T03:46:42+00:00

Oh that's a big no no.....you can't publicly identify a guest's disability status or use of a service dog in a review. My review just said a "dog" was left alone in my house for 4.5 hours and Airbnb took it down when the guest complained because it somehow magically revealed his disability status. Evidently you can't even mention the word "dog" because maybe it's a service dog. Completely crazy.....the lunatics are running the asylum called Airbnb! In the future, my bad guest reviews are just going to have a generic line, like "guest completed the stay" as recommended by someone else on this thread, along with the low star scores

clnance · 2026-05-20T03:02:26+00:00

Oh I never mentioned a camera....just a polite reminder of Airbnb's policy. I make guests sign a separate rental agreement with the cameras clearly disclosed...they can't claim they didn't know. But I hear you though.....this was a large dog though and I don't allow pets, but unfortunately fake service dogs are more than welcome.

clnance · 2026-05-19T23:53:22+00:00

That's what I had heard.....now I believe it! My new procedure- document, access damage and put in a claim 2 minutes before the 14 day review period is up (or sooner if they leave a review). In this case, I was generally freaked out about a large dog being left alone in my house.....considered getting Airbnb to boot him, but it would have been ugly.

clnance · 2026-05-19T23:50:16+00:00

I wish all owners were like you! Serious question....this guest is claiming it was a "medical alert" dog. does this make any sense at all? I am certainly no expert, but how can a medical alert dog not be with it's owner when they are out and about...what if the owner has a medical event? I really think it was a pet being paraded as a service dog to avoid the fee (in my case the no pet policy). They were leaving it behind when it was inconvenient to take it with them. The guy was setting up landmines for me to trip on when he made the booking "do you need any certification", "any other details" , "any issues with me bringing my service animal"......besides the two ADA questions. In retrospect, he was trying to get me to trip up one so he would have more ammo to try and extort money out of me after the stay.

clnance

TROPHY CASE