"While vacation apps like Airbnb and Vrbo have long dominated the market with conventional home rentals, newer ones have crashed the party with specialized offerings — like Swimply, where homeowners rent out their pools by the hour, and Splacer and Peerspace, which turn living rooms into party venues.... [A Sniffspot homeowner's] profit is modest after he pays the 22 percent commission that Sniffspot shaves off the top, plus the credit card processing fee. But as far as passive income goes, it doesn’t get much easier than hosting dogs. [One Sniffspot homeowner] simply leaves guests a key to the backyard, and they come and go without any effort on his part. 'Literally, I do nothing,' he said. 'We have a hose.'... Renting your property to an endless rotation of visitors is not without its pitfalls...."
From "Your Backyard Is Actually a Lucrative Private Dog Park — if You Say It Is/A new generation of apps is allowing homeowners to make extra money by renting out their pools, yards and living rooms for an hour at a time" (NYT).
This article has no comments section and not one word about the impact on neighbors or about insurance and liability. It's just... apps 'n' startups are cool... it's a new income stream for the gig economy.... and dogs dogs dogs.
But here's something that hints of a private world of woe:
[F]or dog owners like Genie Leslie, 34, a copywriter and screenwriter in Seattle, Sniffspot has become a regular routine. Ms. Leslie lives in a townhouse with no yardspace for her dog, Darcy, to run around. Darcy, a rescue, is reactive around people and other dogs, often making the afternoon walk a stressful grind.
So she spends $20 once a month to take Darcy to somebody else's yard where there are no other dogs to romp with, just an outdoor space that doesn't set off this poor animal's reactiveness. And all those other days? Think of all the Darcys populating the sidewalks of Seattle!
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34 comments:
Ms. Leslie should not have bought a dog.
This article has no comments section and not one word about the impact on neighbors or about insurance and liability
That was my first thought--Airbnb already has issues in apartment buildings, jacking up the traffic with even more transient people and it will be a problem everywhere.
That poor dog--once a month? It may as well be never. Genie isn't providing an appropriate home for that dog; all this app does is make it easier for her to fool herself.
The solution is to immerse your dog in situations where they are near other people and dogs until they get used to it.
She is paying $20 to get herself some relief from the anxiety and meanwhile long-term her dog will continue to bark at everything.
I can't think of anything that could go wrong with inviting strangers into your yard at any hour of the day. People seem sane enough these days. You'll probably soon read stories about some guy who used Sniffspot and came over to the yard without a dog.
I love the idea of renting out my living area for parties. Sure. That sounds like good rational fun.
What next? Renting out our bed for sex? Renting out our pantry for pot luck dinners? Renting out our thoughts for...blogs? Invoice is on the way, Ann. It wasn't supposed to work this way.
isn't it GREAT?
That thanx to The New Economy, people are So Desperate; They have to rent out their back yards?
Serious Comment (in the form of questions)
IF you don't have any "yardspace" for a dog; Why did you get a dog?
IF you don't have any "yardspace"; Why did you get one that is "reactive" around people and dogs?
Darcy, a rescue, is reactive around people and other dogs, often making the afternoon walk a stressful grind.
A rescue... i.e. cheap heroics for drama queens and their needy superegos. It's a mutt with pathological behavior problems that are probably incurable.
It won't be long before Genie/Darcy and the Sniffspot property owner will part ways.
"reactive around people"
I suppose that's one way to put it.
"Sniffspot" sounds like an app for people who want to be able to come over and just sniff someone's hair or neck. I read that word and have a mental picture of Joe Biden and some young girl.
Rescue dogs. It seems as though people who don't know how to train a dog not to be reactive get a dog that's already developed a bad behavior pattern and wouldn't be trainable anyway.
I would have huge concerns about liability. I would think you would have to inform your ins. company that you are making money from your property and you would no longer be eligible for just a homeowner rate. Would the raise in ins. costs be worth it?
“I want an Oompa-Loompa and I want an Oompa-Loompa NOW!”. And then discover you have no place for your Oompa-Loompa to roam freely.
Rescue dogs should be trained not to be "reactive" to people or other dogs before they leave a rescue to be sent to a "forever home". If they can't be, they should be labeled as "not suitable as a house pet",
So, she either bought the townhouse knowing it didn't have a yard for her dog, or got a dog while knowing her townhouse wasn't a great environment for it...big brain.
Are people allergic to saying they got their dog "from a shelter"? It's always "a rescue." Yes we get it, you saved your spazzy, unlikable bark machine from a shelter, got it.
"reactive around people"
Just like the Biden's dog!
If a paying guest gets hurt or causes damage to your property and you have not notified your insurer about doing this, they absolutely will deny your claim.
"A rescue... i.e. cheap heroics for drama queens and their needy superegos. It's a mutt with pathological behavior problems that are probably incurable."
This.
Copied from the "host" page where you apply to become a Sniffspot:
"Liability and damage protection
We provide $2M of liability insurance and $5,000 of damage protection"
https://www.sniffspot.com/host
I live in a region where there are significant amount of short term rentals, so much so that the county just voted on a 45 day moratorium on approving new permits so as to have time to devise a more balanced set of rules (since there pretty much was open season up to now, leading to 40%+ of a neighborhood as STRs.
My question is how this is acceptable within zoning laws. Turning residential areas into what are significantly being used as hotels, etc. doesn't seem right. The technology has far outpaced the zoning laws, of course, but I'm curious if there's something there. Are hotels zoned as commercial properties widely (as I think they are in New York)?
@Alison
I see that brief language at the URL you give (the link goes to the wrong place though), but I find no references to insurance in the "terms of service" — https://www.sniffspot.com/terms-of-service — which are full of disclaimers of liability.
I wanted to see the insurance terms. What is excluded?
I've "adopted" several dogs over the course of my lifetime. They technically were not "rescue" dogs, but you sometimes have to wonder why their owner didn't want them around any longer.
As soon as they get acclimated to their new forever home, then it's off to dog obedience school. Sometimes more than one.
A real professional dog trainer can do wonders for making your new pet obedient and safe to be around other people and animals. And you, as the new owner, will be trained as well, which is equally important.
"and not one word about the impact on neighbors or about insurance and liability"
Any word on the aggressive Karen nearby who will be ever so anxious to call the petty tyrants known as the building inspector or zoning commissioner?
These schemes always remind me of something the "Trailer Park Boys" would cook up. Rent out all the neighbors' yards while they're at work. They all come home to a yard full of poop and dog hair in the pool.
I'd want to see that the insurance is provided by a reputable insurance company, and not just this startup company purporting to self-insure.
I assume that one's own homeowner policy might exclude damages arising from use of the home as a business.
It seems that the youngest, least experienced, and most naively empathetic people are adopting rescue dogs. How can they possibly handle this adequately?
"A real professional dog trainer can do wonders for making your new pet obedient and safe to be around other people and animals."
Is it really true that you can fix the problem of reactiveness in an older dog?
Dog tales.
The worst, most reactive (new word for the day!) dog we had was snatched by us straight from the litter, so any failure of socialization was on us. We learned how to handle her adequately but nobody else would have put up with it.
The little guy we have now is a 'rescue' in the sense that some friends of ours were part of a breed 'rescue' service that found foster and permanent homes for dachshunds. I'm not sure where they got him, but he was at least 3 or 4 when we adopted him. He's a very good boy. His worst habit is scarfing worms when we go for walks.
And he has a whole big backyard to himself.
That young woman sounds stupid and cruel.
Lea S at 8:20
"It's always "a rescue." Yes we get it, you saved your spazzy, unlikable bark machine from a shelter, got it. "
Yep, a rescue (Bill Burr's take)
It's not a pit bull, it's a mix!
This is another reason to live in a development with a homeowners association and legally enforceable covenants and bylaws.
It may already be covered. Covenants in my daughter's condo deed prohibit her from renting it for less than 6 months.
My deed covenants prevent the use of my house by other than a single family.
Covenants can only be changed if 100% of owners agree.
I suspect we could implement a bylaw prohibiting rental of yards as dog parks. Probably already banned under the no public business rule.
Changes or additions to bylaws are made democratically by majority vote.
Enforcement is by taking the miscreant to court and getting a lien on the property. Usually by the hoa lawyer. Pretty sure iucould do it myself if the hoa refused to.
We've done it a number of times, mostly for failure to pay dues and for lack of maintenance.
Absent an hoa, how would you prevent a dog park? I'm guessing zoning board? City? Some other govt agency? How's that work out for ya?
John LGBTQ Henry
Like others, I have to wonder why this woman chose this dog. In all our dog acquisitions, the dog chose us. I think that's the way to go.
"It seems that the youngest, least experienced, and most naively empathetic people are adopting rescue dogs. How can they possibly handle this adequately?"
Well, that's a pretty scathing indictment of the Age.
$2M host liability insurance
The name reminds me of a famous Larry Flint centerfold.
Darcy is a zoo animal.
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