For many, dogs are less like pets and more like important members of the family. They’re best friends, constant companions, and most of all—fun travel partners. According to data collected from Vacasa.com reservations,* travelers would rather not leave their furry friends behind when they hit the road. And, that number of traveling pet parents only continues to grow. Bookings with pets increased by 30% since last year, while overall reservations grew by just 12%.
Yet, only less than 25% of vacation rentals are pet-friendly. This means homeowners can easily stand out from their competition if they welcome pets.
Allowing pets on your property means your potential customer base increases, which in turn leads to higher occupancy rates. Our data shows that homes allowing dogs had higher rental revenue—as much as 15% higher—and higher occupancy than those that don’t.
And if guests don’t have to pay for someone to feed, walk, and check on their dog daily, they might instead spend a little extra on their vacation home. We saw a 15–20% increase in how much guests spend on pet-friendly vacation rental reservations, compared to data collected during the previous year.
Worried about your rental going to the dogs, so to speak? You can rest easy: Our housekeepers are well-trained in cleaning up after pets and will keep your home sparkling clean. More importantly, we compared guest reviews of dog-friendly and non-dog-friendly Vacasa homes and found zero difference in cleanliness or property condition scores.
And of course, allowing pets doesn’t mean that your home will host dogs every night. According to our 2021–2022 data, only 23% of total reservations at pet-friendly homes include a dog.
When it comes to slow travel seasons in your area, being pet-friendly pays. We found that occupancy rates are high for dog-friendly homes during the off-season.
In our experience, guests book more last-minute trips in the off-season. With a small window between booking and the stay, it may be harder to find a dog sitter. And since there’s less competition for pet-friendly homes this time of year, guests are able to both book the perfect home and bring their pet.
Pet-friendliness affects peak season as well. During seasons when market demand is high, pet-friendly homes’ can book up up to 8% earlier than homes that don’t accept pets. With such high demand for great homes that allow pets, and with so few of these homes available on the market, going pet-friendly can give you a nice boost in revenue.
Vacasa collects a small nightly fee on dog-friendly homes, which helps cover operational costs such as additional cleaning to keep your review scores high and pet supplies.
Here are some of the items we recommend stocking in your vacation rental to accommodate dog owners (and their four-legged friends):
And consider attracting them with these thoughtful extras:
If you're already a Vacasa homeowner, you can log in to your online account and update your home to accept dogs.
Vacasa homeowners are enrolled in vacation rental insurance through Assurant and can receive coverage for damage caused by pets or other factors. You'll pay a small nightly fee (only when your home is occupied) for this extra layer of protection.
Guests staying at a pet-friendly Vacasa home can bring dogs specifically authorized in their reservation, including emotional support dogs. If a home isn't designated as pet-friendly, or the guest hasn't specifically added a dog to their reservation, emotional support dogs are not permitted.
Of course, we welcome service animals, as required by law. See our rental agreement for more details.
*Data collected from Vacasa.com reservations July 1, 2021—June 20, 2022. Percentages have been rounded to the nearest whole number.
Call 844-518-0967 to speak with a Homeowner Consultant, who can answer preliminary questions and see if we’d be a good fit for you.
If you'd like to move forward, we’ll put you in touch with our market expert in your neighborhood to explore the financial potential of your home, outline our management fee, and introduce your local team.
*Data collected from Vacasa.com reservations as of July 6, 2020. Additional occupancy data collected from Vacasa reservations as of September 15, 2020. Percentages have been rounded to the nearest whole number.
