Throughout history pets have proved best friends of humans. Most people consider their pets to be members of their family. They never want to be away from their pets. Even when they are on holiday…
However, following a pet-friendly policy is not an easy decision to make. This could mean outreaching a significant potential of new customers but problems pets bring with them make it difficult for hotel runners to welcome the idea.
Then what are the risks and advantages of opening your doors to new guests accompanied by their pets?
Advantages of being a pet-friendly hotel
In the old days, there were only a handful of pet-friendly hotels. Now, the number is on increase. This is why pet owners have started to look for pet-friendly hotels instead of a place that could take care of their pets.
Research shows that pet-friendly hotels are the first preference of the majority of pet owners while choosing a hotel. This means a significant potential for new customers.
Moreover, pet-friendly hotels still constitute a minority in the accommodation industry. Therefore, guests generally accept to pay higher than average amounts for hotels that will welcome them and their pets. Pet-friendliness does not only bring more customers but also helps attain a customer profile which boosts profitability.
Some research also shows that 75% of pet owners become loyal customers of pet-friendly hotels. Once you host a guest and his/her pet, it is highly likely to see this guest again preferring your hotel for his/her next vacation.
Risks of being a pet-friendly hotel
However, hosting pets poses some risks, starting from, but not limited to, cleanliness. It must be recognized that pets are likely to pose some health-related problems in the rooms and common spaces. Therefore, you need to communicate to your guests their responsibilities, which is not enough alone. You need to significantly increase your budget for cleanliness, in order to ensure swift avoidance of a possible “incident”.
One must also take into account the possibility of pets damaging the rooms’ furniture. You may risk some of your timber furnishings with some dogs, while some cats may permanently damage floorings and textiles of your furniture. You must let your guests know about your policies in this respect but you need to do some planning taking into account that not all damages can be fully compensated.
Allowing pets in your hotel also requires capacity to offer services they might need. In addition to food and toys, offering veterinary services could also help you. However, all these may create some financial burden on you, in which case you could at first cooperate with third parties to address such needs, and later decide whether or not to provide such services internally.
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