‘Sniffspot’ offers Arizona homeowners’ backyards to pet owners

PHOENIX (3TV/CBS 5) -- As many Arizonans find ways to cut back on spending amid record inflation, others are trying to find creative ways to bring in money.

Side hustles often mean being a ride-share driver, or delivering food, but a new service called Sniffspot allows people to rent out their backyard to other people’s dogs. It operates like an Airbnb. Users look up their area to see how many hosts are available. Homeowners can then rent out someone’s backyard by the hour. In the Phoenix area, there are about 50 hosts charging about $15 bucks an hour per dog.

Megan Smones is one of those hosts. She quit her job as an assistant principal to focus on building her own school. In the meantime, renting out her backyard has brought in some serious cash. “We’ve had it up for about a month and we made about $500. So it’s going really well,” she said.  Smones charges $15 an hour per dog, which she helps her bring in upwards of $1,300 a month.

Her tips for success?

“Just get started, post your backyard and see how people like it,” she said.

Sniffspot founder David Adams says Phoenix is one of the fastest growing cities to use this service. “So from the ground up, we made it very safe. We have a great review system, we screen every spot that’s joining and both host and guest get reviewed. So hosts are protected on that side as well,” he said.

Insurance does protect the host as well.

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