Guide dogs in Hotels...

What is the name of your state?
New Mexico

I have a hotel and offer my rooms as "PET Free environment for allergy victims" and advertise as such in the phone book and at hospitals.
If I rent the room to a person with a guide dog, then I can not rent it again as "Pet free". Guest checking in next door complain that their allergies are acting up. It costs me $400 each time to clean up the room.

Can I use the section listed below for my hotel?


Under Section C2 of the ADA, a facility can require the separation of a dog guide from its owner, but only if the dog’s presence fundamentally alters or endangers the goods or services of the facility or jeopardizes public use of the facility.

Thanks-Joe

Joe Wilson said:

What is the name of your state?
New Mexico

I have a hotel and offer my rooms as "PET Free environment for allergy victims" and advertise as such in the phone book and at hospitals.
If I rent the room to a person with a guide dog, then I can not rent it again as "Pet free". Guest checking in next door complain that their allergies are acting up. It costs me $400 each time to clean up the room.

Can I use the section listed below for my hotel?


Under Section C2 of the ADA, a facility can require the separation of a dog guide from its owner, but only if the dog’s presence fundamentally alters or endangers the goods or services of the facility or jeopardizes public use of the facility.

Thanks-Joe

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Sounds like it to me, but you really need a good ADA lawyer (and your state has a lot of them) to give you some sound advice.

$400? Gimme a break. What kind of housekeeping service are you using?

I used to work as a housekeeper in a "pet friendly" hotel. Yes, there is additional work that needs to be done when there's been a dog in a room due to allergies, but I'm finding it hard to believe it costs an additional $400.

And how often does it come up, anyway? I still work two days a week at that hotel (though no longer in housekeeping) to keep me solvent between contracts and I can't remember the last time we had a guide dog, even though we advertise as "animal friendly".

And please remember that support animals, be they guide dogs, emotional support, hearing dogs or what have you, are severely protected under law and so are their owners. You could open yourself up for a lot of trouble by trying to seperate them for their stay at your facility.

And if you are going to try to seperate them, you will need to provide additional resources for the person who relies on that animal so they can properly enjoy their stay and make use of your facility. Also, since it is a protected animal, you can't just throw them out in a pen together with a bucket of water and leave them alone, you will need to provide them a safe kennel facility, proper care and carry veterinary insurance in case of accident as well as other insurances to cover their owners while they are staying in case of accident or problems.

In the long run, you are probably going to find it less hassle and cheaper to just allow the animals and keep cleaning.

I also disagree with the $400, I keep emotional support animals and it has never even cost me that much to clean an apartment we moved out of, a good vacuum with HEPA filter, a thorough carpet cleaning and an air filter is all it takes to remove 99% of the allergens.