The Difference Between a Pet and Service Animal

By Nathan Gawlik
Nathan Gawlik's experience includes being a General Manager of a Hampton Inn and other front line roles such as a Banquet Captain, Front Desk Agent, Housekeeper, Catering Event Manager, and Director of Sales.

The Difference Between a Pet and Service Animal

If you allow pets at your property, you don't need to worry about this distinction. But if you restrict access to animals, you may find yourself in legal jeopardy if you aren't careful. Denying guests access to your inn, hotel, or bed and breakfast because they have a service animal could be considered discrimination and lead to fines and other consequences. It's important to know your rights as an owner and to be sure you aren't infringing on the rights of any disabled guests you may be hosting.

Does This Apply to Me?

It's important to review the Americans with Disabilities Act and consult with your local planning department to see how the law applies to your property. In general, if your property has fewer than 5 rooms and the owner lives on the property, then you don't need to meet certain parts of the ADA requirements - like having elevators or providing handicapped parking. However, it's likely the property will still need to accommodate service animals, unless doing so creates a threat to your health and safety.

There are really only two questions that can legally be asked when a guest states they have a service animal. These are restricted to the animal itself. The questions are:

Is the animal trained to conduct a service?
What service is the animal trained to provide?

You can't legally ask about the disability or ask for documentation proving the animal is a service animal. Even if you could ask, people have been known to take advantage of this broad law by just printing up their own service animal certifications online. Presently, there is no centralized certification agency.

Breaking Down the Questions

Clearly, if the answer to the first question, ‘is the animal trained to provide a service,' is ‘No,' then they are not a service animal and the second question is irrelevant. At this point, you can take your stance to refuse the animal entry if you so choose and likely lose the business, likely get a bad review online, and potentially face legal action.

The second question is irrelevant as it just further complicates things and gets rather personal and awkward if pushed too far. This again is likely to help build the case for the guest to claim they are being discriminated against.

Many people avoid the two questions altogether given that someone could claim they are being discriminated against if not handled properly. When we would ask our guests, what service is the animal trained to provide, we would receive a myriad of different answers ranging from emotional support animals to the pet can sense if I'm about to have a seizure. As you can see, with this second response in particular I am now in this gray area discussing a guest's epilepsy. This guest could claim I didn't allow them to stay because they are epileptic.

What is Considered a Service Animal

Emotional support animals, therapy dogs, or comfort animals aren't service animals. Although some states have laws defining these animals, they aren't protected by the Federal American's with Disabilities Act. Be sure to check with your local authority.

Acceptable service animals include dogs and ponies. According to adata.org, "Under Title II and III of the ADA, service animals are limited to dogs. However, entities must make reasonable modifications in policies to allow individuals with disabilities to use miniature horses if they have been individually trained to do work or perform tasks for individuals with disabilities."

Bookings and Third-Party Providers

When considering your policy, check with your reservation provider. When asked, if hosts are required to accept assistance animals, AirBnBs policy states:

Generally, yes, unless there is a threat to health or safety. At Airbnb, we acknowledge that assistance animals are not the same as pets and serve a crucial function for their owner. As stated in our Nondiscrimination Policy, hosts are expected to reasonably accommodate reservations where an assistance animal may be present, even if their listing/house rules state "no pets."

Your Rights As a Business Onwer

If it has been established that the guest has a service animal, the owner may still remove the animal if either of the two scenarios is true:

1. The animal is out of control and the handler does not take action to control it.

2. The animal is not housebroken.

If the animal damages any of the property, the owner is responsible for the cost of repairing or replacing the affected area. Just as would be the case if a guest were to damage the property, you may seek compensation for damages.

Cleaning

Also understand that guests that are hypersensitive to smells, certain cleaning products, and dander. They are also entitled to stay in a room that is free of pet hair and pet odors. Proper cleaning should be conducted to ensure that these guests are fully satisfied with their stay.

Most hotels or other accommodations develop special cleaning standards if an animal of any kind has been in the room. Typically, in addition to the standard cleaning, this could include the following:

Change the bed skirt
Vacuum and clean the carpet if present
Wash or steam clean the drapes if present
Wash the comforter or duvet insert as well as the duvet cover
Wash the mattress cover if present
Washing all linen's and terry even if unused
Clean the upholstery

Thus, why many properties charge up to $200 or even $75 a day for a pet cleaning fee.

Keep in mind, cleaning fees cannot be charged for service animals as that is a form of discrimination.

Providing Customer Service

Meeting the requirements of the ADA while also providing excellent customer service can be difficult. I only informed my staff to ask if the animal has been trained to conduct a service. This came up often while I worked at the front office for a timeshare association. The timeshare members voted not to allow pets into the units.

If a guest came in with a pet or an emotional support animal, I was summoned by the line staff to address the situation. This typically entailed a tearful testimonial by the guest pleading for an exception and then demanding to speak with my manager.

I was delicate and deliberate in my language to offer sympathy to the guest while not asking about any mental, physical, or other disabilities. Once the guest had calmed down, I would provide them options for boarding their furry friend. Property handling will help to reduce frustrations.

Summary

The easy solution is to avoid drawing a line to alleviate any points of contention when it comes to service animals. A property can still indicate they don't allow pets but if a guest claims to have a service animal, emotional support animal, or therapy dog, let it slide. Today lawsuits are far too common and settling to pay outside of court can be the cheapest option, as the fine alone can be as high as $5,000.

The only exception to this would be when admitting a service animal creates an unreasonable burden for the innkeeper, threatening your health or safety. A case can be made for this if a resident of the home is extremely allergic to the animal and, to get to the guest room, the animal has to go through a public area. Understand that if this is the claim you are making, your entire medical history will likely be used in discovery if the situation were to go to court.

It's important to be transparent and communicate clearly, both online, over the phone and in-person, these policies. If your property truly can't accommodate animals be sure this information isn't hard to find for the guest. Make it a habit to bring this up when speaking to guests before their stay and ask if they have any animals traveling with them at check-in.

Another great resource to provide your guests is Rover.com. Here people can find pet sitters in their local area. Many people prefer this over leaving them caged in a shelter.

Sources

ADATA | Service Animals and Emotional Support Animals

AirBnB | What is an Assistance Animal?

MARKETING

OPERATIONS

CASE STUDIES

THEORY

MARKETING

OPERATIONS

CASE STUDIES

THEORY