Hotels have had a rough go of it the last two years.
A global pandemic crippling the hospitality industry as government restrictions and individual safety precautions has caused some hotels to offer more accommodations for guests’ pets — dogs in particular.
It follows the increasing trend of people traveling with their dogs that started before the pandemic, Travel Weekly other skift have previously noted.
For hotels, it’s a two-pronged approach. First, observers have said anecdotally, hotels strapped for cash and seeking additional revenue — however little — having been relaxing their pet policies and charging a little more for guests to bring their pets, within reason. Second, hotels are becoming more experiential and one way to up the game is to allow pets and offer special accommodations for them.
“We have seen that,” said Claude Molinari, President and CEO of Visit Detroit.
“When you’re at 90 percent occupancy, you can set the manner and tone of how you want your guests to be, and when you’re at 50 percent occupancy or less, you’ve got to be a little more creative to keep the lights on so you may accept a group or individuals who may be a little more high maintenance or who may cause some disruption.
“If a dog is barking and you have to relocate other rooms because of complaints, that can cause some negative interactions, so you have to be discerning about what you’re going to do.”
Even though we are nearly two years into the pandemic and vaccines and booster shots are widely available for those who want one, hotels still have not recovered.
