Are Service Animals Allowed in Vacation Rentals?
Are service animals allowed in vacation rentals? If you’re involved in the industry or looking to travel with a service animal, then you may be asking yourself this question. The short answer is that yes, service animals are allowed in vacation rentals. However, it’s important to know the definition of a service animal. The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) defines service animal as any dog that is individually trained to do work or perform tasks for the benefit of an individual with a disability, including a physical, sensory, psychiatric, intellectual, or other mental disability. This can include a guide or seeing eye dogs, hearing or signal dogs, seizure response dogs, or psychiatric service dogs.
It’s also important to know that emotional support animals do not qualify as service animals. By law, we are not required to accept emotional support animals in our vacation rentals. We will accommodate them to the best of our ability in a pet-friendly property, and treat them like any other non-ADA-certified dog. Guests must pay the pet fee and stay in a pet-friendly property. The pets must adhere to our policy as well. This includes dogs who are trained and mature and do not exceed 25 pounds each. We’ll also identify in the special request notes that this is an emotional support animal. As part of our vacation rental management services, our team is equipped to handle any questions you have about allowing service animals in vacation rentals.
When it comes to service animals with vacation rentals, we’re required to accept all of these in our vacation rentals. During the booking process, our team may ask you:
- Is this animal required due to a disability?
- What work or task has the animal been trained to perform?
We are also allowed to and will ask to have signed documentation regarding your service animal. We won’t charge a pet fee for service animals, and the pet can be any size dog or a miniature horse. We will send the service animal form at the time of booking for you to sign and return. In addition, we’ll notify our teams that this is an ADA service animal. You can read more about our vacation rental policies here.
Do you have questions about allowing service animals in vacation rentals? Feel free to contact us today! If you’re an owner inquiring about our vacation rental management program, our teams are happy to speak to you about our services.