[NAGDU] FW: vrbo rentals

Thu Oct 18 14:28:23 UTC 2018

Hi Janell. I would be frustrated too if I were you and as an advocate I am frustrated that there is not a concrete answer to this question. Some of these property owners fall under FHA exemptions and I also think depending on how regularly they rent it out would affect whether an argument could be made that they could be placed in the lodging/hotel category for ADA purposes. It will be interesting to see how many guide dog handlers and other people with disabilities working with service animals challenge owners who use VRBO to rent their homes through litigation or other means and how the law develops in this area. This does nothing for you in the short run in preparing for this vacation I realize.

Melissa R. Allman
Senior Specialist, Advocacy and Government Relations
The Seeing Eye, Inc.
P.O. Box 375, Morristown, NJ 07963-0375 (mail)
10 Washington Valley Road, Morristown, NJ 07960-3412 (deliveries)
973-539-4425 ext. 1724,     Fax:  973-525-1081 mallman at SeeingEye.org  

-----Original Message-----
From: NAGDU [mailto:nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Janell via NAGDU
Sent: Wednesday, October 17, 2018 7:19 PM
To: 'NAGDU Mailing List, the National Association of Guide Dog Users'
Cc: nellie at culodge.com
Subject: Re: [NAGDU] FW: vrbo rentals

Hi Mike,

I did tell them I was bringing my guide dog and that is when they started to give me problems.  If it were just my husband and I I would just show up but we are going to be with my parents (76 and 75 years old) and I really don't want to show up and have an issue when we show up at the door.

I am still so frustrated because I don't have a concrete answer.

Thanks again Mike and I appreciate any help from anyone else as well.

-Janell

-----Original Message-----
From: NAGDU <nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org> On Behalf Of Michael Forzano via NAGDU
Sent: Wednesday, October 17, 2018 4:56 PM
To: NAGDU Mailing List, the National Association of Guide Dog Users <nagdu at nfbnet.org>
Cc: Michael Forzano <michaeldforzano at gmail.com>
Subject: Re: [NAGDU] FW: vrbo rentals

Have you contacted the person you're renting from to let them know you have a guide dog? If they have an issue, you can hopefully at least get a refund and rent from somewhere else. I have had good luck with Airbnb because of their policy.

Just showing up with your dog and hoping for the best is also an option.

Mike

On 10/17/18, Janell via NAGDU <nagdu at nfbnet.org> wrote:
> Hi all,
>
>
>
> Once again I am having an issue with my dog going with us to Florida 
> this March for vacation.  I am so frustrated in trying to find some 
> definitive answers from someone.  Here is the response I got from 
> Seeing Eye (which is not my guide dog school but my trainer that is 
> here from NC contacted) but as you can see it is not totally clear 
> with vrbo which is the company we rented our beach house through.
>
>
>
> Any help?
>
>
>
> Thanks in advance, Janell and rosy
>
>
>
> From: nellie at culodge.com <nellie at culodge.com>
> Sent: Wednesday, October 17, 2018 4:29 PM
> To: nellie at culodge.com
> Subject: vrbo rentals
>
>
>
>                This is coming up a lot. Airbnb specifically has a 
> nondiscrimination policy that forbids discrimination because of 
> service animals which includes guide dogs. It's at 
> https://www.airbnb.com/help/article/1405/airbnb-s-nondiscrimination-po
> licy--
> our-commitment-to-inclusion-and-respect?topic=533
>
> VRBO is a little trickier because of the way they're set up an because 
> some of the homes fall under Fair Housing Act exemptions and it's not 
> clear that the ADA applies to them. I've consulted with a couple of 
> other lawyers about their thoughts on this and it's a bit gray with 
> VRBO. I hope this helps.
>
> Melissa R. Allman
> Senior Specialist, Advocacy and Government Relations The Seeing Eye, 
> Inc.
>
>
>
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