Pet-friendly hospitality | A list of great examples of how to treat your pet guests!
Dog friendly welcome for Jimmy at Le Richebourg Hotel Restaurant & Spa
Chief Happiness Officer Serene at Fairmont Tokyo
Maison Heler in Metz - welcomes guests with dogs
The Doggy Route to Happiness - credits Helsinki Partners
Your four-legged friend is part of the family, and most families want to take their pets along on holiday. Luxury travel is ready for its new VIP guests, and there is a whole world of business built around taking your best friend on your trip. Airlines allowing pets of all sizes in the cabin are popping up around the world, and luxury pet-friendly hotels are creating all kinds of extras for travelling pet owners. We have written many articles on pet-friendly hospitality offered by hotels and restaurants, and we have even spotted some wonderful terms for it: hosPETality, Bark-cuterie, pup-flight, poochini or a puppicino and dogstronomy. In this article, we have compiled a list of great examples of how to treat your pet guests!
4 minutes read
Pet-friendly hospitality | From pet-tolerant to dedicated services like a pet spa and dog walker
Some hotels and restaurants are what you might call pet-tolerant: they allow pets on the premises, but with strict conditions, restricted rooms, weight limits, a maximum number of pets per room, hefty cleaning fees and few or no specialised amenities. The contrast with true luxury pet travel is considerable.
A step up is the pet-friendly approach with basic support: food bowls, water bowls and sometimes a treat or a dog bed. Always check whether all breeds and sizes are welcome, as weight limits often apply and cleaning fees usually do too. Pet luxury takes things further entirely. These hotels treat your pet as a true VIP guest, with custom pet meals, comfortable bedding, access to certain areas of the restaurant or terrace, maps of great walks in the vicinity, and dedicated services such as a dog walker. And for those who want to go all out, we have even spotted spa treatments for pets. At these hotels and restaurants, you and your pet receive an almost equally warm welcome.
As we travel with our office dog Jimmy, we have experienced first-hand how much a small pet-friendly gesture can mean. We still think back fondly on a moment at restaurant Madonnina del Pescatore (**), which at the time welcomed dogs and had a dog biscuit ready as a welcome gift for Jimmy on arrival.
A freshly baked dog cookie at restaurant Madonnina del Pescatore (**)
My idea of hosPETality sits somewhere between pet-tolerant and pet-friendly
We travel a lot with Jimmy and are always happy when a hotel welcomes dogs. We have even noticed that compared to our first dog, Jimmy has been born into far more pet-friendly times! Many hotels across Europe now allow dogs and have a treat waiting for them, some even welcome dogs into their indoor restaurants, although we completely understand when they don’t, given hygiene considerations or the comfort of other guests.
As for the luxury treatments: we love spotting them, but whether Jimmy actually wants to use them is another matter. I remember a stay at Lifestyle & Thermal Retreat Fonteverde in Italy, where guests enjoy an authentic, transformative experience amid olive groves, vineyards, streams and natural hot springs. There is even a small natural hot spring for dogs. It proved a little too warm for her taste; it probably reminded her of bath time at home. She adored the staff and the estate, but had no interest whatsoever in stepping into the natural hot spring. 😉 ^Marjolein van Spronsen
A small natural thermal spring for dogs at Lifestyle & Thermal Retreat Fonteverde
Our previous articles are listed below, linked in the titles.
Tail-wagging ideas to pamper four-legged guests
Dog play area at the Alpin Resort Sacher in Seefeld
What dogs really enjoy: a dedicated off-leash play area; other dogs welcoming their fellow guests, like the Chief Happiness Officer or Director of Pet Relations at Fairmont Hotels and Resorts; dog ice cream; a puptini; plush toys; beer for dogs; a dog-friendly restaurant weekend in a collab with a dog food brand and a dog stick library.
HosPETality | Examples of pet-friendly gestures
HosPETality-@thedoodlecalledjimmy loves to travel
A pup-cation and a Napa Paws Program at the River Terrace Inn in Napa Valley (2022); a pup-friendly happy hour; a dog concierge to welcome your four-legged guests; bibs for dogs; a poochini or a puppicino; a pop-up butcher for dog treats and a food truck with doggy desserts!
HosPETality | Two examples from Charly’s Treat Bar and The Peninsula London
The Peninsula London elevated hospitality with a limited time luxury dog grooming
Two great examples of hosPETality. At Charly’s Treat Bar, everything revolves around dogs, from puppicinos, snacks and accessories to playful concepts built entirely around them. The Peninsula London took high-end pet hospitality one step further with a limited-time dog grooming parlour inside the hotel.
The Doggy Route to Happiness | The world’s first sightseeing tour for dogs
Stickelius Monument with dog – Helsinki Partners – The Doggy Route to Happiness
Last year, Helsinki, known as the happiest capital in the world, launched The Doggy Route to Happiness, believed to be the world’s first sightseeing tour designed especially for dogs.
We also spotted:
- We also spotted a pop-up dog-friendly rooftop cinema in London by POP+BARK and Rooftop Cinema Club UK;
- a playful concept centred around dog nutrition, Dogstronomy by Ornella from Lyon, France;
- a pup flight and a Bark-cuterie by Wasserhund Brewing Company; a
- a simple but charming gesture of hosPETality: the VIP #DogPerrignon service from SiSo Beach on Mallorca.
- Last but not least, we think a doggy treat food truck, like the Mobile Barkery in San Diego, is a brilliant idea. We and many fellow dog lovers would love to grab a hot drink and a dog cookie at an off-leash area.
