335. Tips for Effectively Welcoming Dogs to Your Short-Term Rental

Today’s expert guest is Sara Sokol. Sarah is the creator of the Dogs Welcome Facebook group and vacation rental listing website as well as owner/operator of her own very pet-friendly, and award winning, vacation rental on the coast of Maine.

She created the Dogs Welcome community as a place to connect dog friendly STR hosts with humans who travel with their dogs as a place to advertise her own property and has watched the community explode with growth over the past year and a half. Its website now features sortable listings to make it even easier for travelers with their pets to find appropriate lodging.

We detail her journey from dog training into dog hosting, reveal her incredible communication style for conveying house rules as they relate to pet behavior, and spend a healthy chunk of time on cleaning recommendations, pet fees, and the all-important couch covers.

If there’s one thing we know about people, it’s that they love (and travel) with their furry friends. Opening up your listing to pets is a surefire way to expand your audience and supercharge your bookings – as long as you have the right plans and policies in place to make it work.

(00:01:24) #STRShareSunday: @hillsideamble

(00:05:06) Sarah Sokol: Pet Vacation Expert

(00:08:41) Defining Pet-Friendly vs. Pet Welcoming

(00:16:37) Being a Good Neighbor as a Pet-Friendly STR

(00:22:18) Managing Damage & Special Cleanings

(00:41:37) Dogs Welcome Facebook Group

Resources:

• Visit thanksforvisiting.com/workshop to watch our Hosting Business Mastery Method workshop!

• Airbnb Essentials Checklist: hostchecklist.com

• Website: dogs-welcome.net

• Sara's favorite things: dogs-welcome.net/my-favorite-things

• Breezeway pet-friendly checklist: breezeway.io/pet-checklist