Cape Town - South Africans love their cats and dogs, and so do many of the country’s most popular hosts on Airbnb.
Rather than leave your cat or dog at a kennel over your next holiday, why not look for accommodation at one of the 3 300 pet-friendly South African homes on Airbnb and take them with?
Worldwide, nearly a quarter (22.6 percent) of Airbnb establishments describes themselves as pet-friendly.
Home to 0.5 percent of the world’s active pet-friendly Airbnb listings, South Africa is ranked number 32 by share of the world’s pet-friendly listings.
Oudtshoorn is the most pet-friendly Airbnb city in South Africa, with 31 percent of its hosts welcoming pets. The Free State is the most pet-friendly province, followed closely by the Eastern Cape and the Northern Cape.
Some other interesting facts and stats about Airbnb hosts and pets:
* Animals are welcome at Airbnb listings in more than 20 South African towns and cities, including the Durban, Cape Town and Joburg metropolitan areas.
* Swellendam is the second most-friendly city in South Africa with 30 percent of hosts welcoming pets; third is Kruisfontein with 28 percent.
* 46 percent of active hosts in Pietermaritzburg have dogs, the most of any city. Oudtshoorn and Swellendam follow with 30 percent.
* 24 percent of Airbnb listings in Pietermaritzburg and Swellendam have cats.
* With an astonishing 109 108 pet-friendly listings and a 16 percent share of pet-friendly Airbnb listings, Italy is most hospitable country for people travelling with pets.
* Next up is the US, with 92 000 pet-friendly listings and France with nearly 80 000.
How can you tell if a listing is pet-friendly?
If you want to see if a space would allow you to bring a pet on your trip, you can check the Amenities section of the listing description on airbnb.com
You may need to ask the host which pets are allowed – some hosts may only accommodate cats or only accommodate dogs.
Adapted from a press release for IOL