The internet is supporting a couple who dumped their in-laws over Airbnb’s dog rules

Members of a popular internet forum have flocked to defend a woman who left her in-laws homeless after bringing her dog to a pet-free Airbnb.

In a viral Reddit post posted to r/AmITheA**hole, Redditor u/Rich_Butterscotch850 — otherwise known as the original poster, or OP — said she made it clear that pets were strictly prohibited in the rental home family holiday and described her rage as her sister-in-law arrived again with her aging dog.

Entitled, “[Am I the a**hole] for canceling the AirBnB and leaving SIL broken down after bringing his dog?” Publish received nearly 15,000 votes and 1,400 comments in the past 11 hours.

Writing that her sister-in-law was keen on finding a dog sitter, OP said she was assured nothing would go wrong. But when she, her husband and her in-laws showed up at their Airbnb location in Tampa, Florida, she was immediately notified of a major problem.

“My [sister-in-law] and her husband were already sitting in the driveway,” OP wrote. “When they saw me arriving she asked if we already had the keys, which we did.”

“[Then] she said ‘Oh well give them to me quick so I can have Brute [inside] without being seen,” OP continued. “I just stopped dead in my tracks and was like, ‘Are you kidding me?'”

Even before her sister-in-law had a chance to rush the dog inside the rental property, OP said she and her husband got back into their rental car and drove off, returning the keys to the landlord. ‘Airbnb for a full refund.

Using their Airbnb funds, OP said she booked a hotel and spent a week soaking up the Florida sun. His in-laws, on the other hand, were not so lucky.

“All the while my [sister-in-law] blows us up saying she [can’t] afford to stay here… and says she [didn’t] bring anything with her,” OP wrote. “I just ignored her because in my eyes she tried to ruin my trip that I had 100 [percent] paid for.”

“[Now] my [mother-in-law] is in our throats saying the least we could have done was give them money for food instead of leaving them stranded,” OP continued. “I told him ‘No, they can just go home them and look for food there”.

Airbnb, once seen as a cheap alternative to expensive hotels, has become a staple for travelers in the United States and around the world, with more than 5.6 million active listings, according to insurance website The Zebra. .

Over the past six years, data collected by Statistical shows a significant increase in the number of domestic Airbnb users, from 29 million users in 2016 to 45.6 million in 2022.

However, while Application Company reports that in 2021, 300 million bookings were made on Airbnb, a 55% jump from 2020, not all travelers are able to find the perfect vacation home using the rental platform giantess.

Despite abandoning traditional hotel rooms, not all Airbnb locations allow pets, and those who bring pets despite pet-free policies face eviction, heavy fines, poor reviews from owners and, just like voracious revelers, may be banned. of the application altogether.

In her viral Reddit post, OP noted that when she returned the keys to the Airbnb owner she had rented from, she was told that the rental house’s pet rules were flexible and that an exception could be made for his sister-in-law. pooch.

It didn’t matter, however, as OP opted for a full refund and quickly secured a hotel room without thinking twice about his in-laws or their dog.

Throughout the comment section of the post, Redditors applauded OP for being tough and slammed his sister-in-law for flagrantly violating the terms of a rental home she hadn’t paid a dime for.

“[Not the a**hole]“, wrote Redditor u/superfastmomma in the main comment of the post, which received more than 21,000 votes.

“If a person can’t find a dog sitter, they stay home,” they continued, “If a person can’t afford snacks or food, they have absolutely no excuse to leave. on holiday.”

Redditor u/yahomeboysatan, whose comment received over 5,000 votes, offered a more pointed response.

“She ruined her own plans by refusing to follow explicit rules she clearly knew she was breaking,” they wrote. “She left a day before you, so she had plenty of time to discuss bringing the dog if she was really having trouble finding someone to watch it.”

“It seems to me that she never seriously considered leaving the dog behind and would be fine if she didn’t mention it before arriving,” they added.

In a separate comment, which received nearly 2,000 votes, Redditor u/LynnChat lamented dog owners like OP’s sister-in-law and the reputation they create for all dog owners.

“People like your [sister-in-law] give those of us who travel with our dogs and rent a vacation home a bad name,” they wrote. “If it doesn’t allow dogs, I don’t rent it.

“I would never do the kind of selfish stunt she did,” they added.

Newsweek contacted u/Rich_Butterscotch850 for comment.