We know it can be quite tricky to find a rental or a hotel that allows your four-legged best friend to join you.
Trust me, I know, I’ve been there!
You want to go on adventure to somewhere new but you don’t leave your dog alone and the list of people you trust to take care of your pup is smaller than a teacup chihuahua. And then there’s dog boarding, but it’s not for everyone!
So you’ve scheduled your vacation holiday and it’s time to search for a hotel or a holiday rental but you have no idea what to do with your pooch and she’s giving you those puppy eyes. You know which ones I’m talking about!
So what do you do? You want to do right by your dog and you definitely don’t want to sneak her into a hotel!
Fear not! Like I said, I’ve been there before with Rocky and now we will help you find a hotel that welcomes your furry friend in a few easy steps!
But what if you’ve already booked a hotel?
If you’ve already booked a hotel and now want to take your dog with you, then the best thing to do is call up the hotel and ask if they can accommodate your pet. You might find that if they accept your pet then they will ask for an extra charge, especially if you’re traveling within Europe and the UK, in which many hotels, B&Bs and holiday rentals will ask for a small pet fee, but the good thing is not all of them will charge you, so you might get lucky!
The worst case scenario would be that the hotel you booked before deciding to take your pet does not accept pets at all. If this is the case, talk to the hotel and let them know that you decided to take your pet and if they’re well-behaved then make sure to emphasize that and perhaps they can make an exception.
If not, then most hotels should be able to provide you with a refund if you explain the situation (ie. you decided to take your dog at the last minute because you couldn’t find a pet sitter, etc.).
Finding a pet friendly hotel
In the UK, nearly half of households own a pet , according to the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. In the US, this number goes up to 68%, per data from the American Pet Products Association.
So finding a pet-friendly hotel (or B&B, rental, etc.) should be easy, right?
Well, it’s not easy if you don’t know where to look. But luckily, the world is getting pet friendlier and waking up to the fact that more and more people are considering their pets as part of the family.
Nearly every major hotel and rental booking site now has a filter when searching for hotels.
After years of traveling with Rocky I’ve been able to help break the pet-friendly hotel finding process down for you with a few different tips.
- Search for the amenities/suitabilityÂ
For sites such as Booking.com, Kayak.com, Tripadvisor and other similar vacation booking sites, you can select the city you’re planning on going to then once the results of the hotels/b&bs/rentals appear you can simply choose to filter out places that are not pet friendly. This filter appears on the ‘amenities’ section in many of the sites but you can usually find them under sections such as ”facilities’, suitability’ or ‘filter‘.
See below for a few examples on Booking.com, Tripadvisor, and Wimdu
Once you’ve clicked on that, then a new list of pet-friendly hotels should appear. You can then click on the individual listings and view more information about the hotel including their pet policy. You might find their policy asks for a pet fee or, even better, that pets can stay absolutely free (this is the best!).
If you’re not sure about their pet policy, then you can call the hotel up just to make sure what their pet policy is. You can also send them an email.
The same applies for other rental holiday sites such as Wimdu, etc. Most of them have pet filters that will narrow down the selection for you.
- Â Look at dog friendly hotel search sites
There’s quite a few dog friendly hotel and rental home sites such as London-based Petspyjamas which specializes in only pet friendly hotels or allfourpaws UK which focuses on pet friendly country escapes with your pet.
- Search for b and b’s and hotels near you and call them up!
Not really into looking online? Prefer the old school method of driving around or
A word on pet friendly hotels : bring a bed, just in case. Make sure your dog is trained to be in a hotel and not bark.
- Ask your travel agent
I don’t know anyone who uses a travel agent anymore, but they’re still around and they can definitely help if you’re planning a holiday retreat and want to take your dog with you. You can simply tell them you’re bringing your pet and if needed, then you can provide them with your pet’s breed, weight, etc. in case the hotels/rentals ask for them.
A few more tips when searching for a hotel.
Be prepared to spend more
Finding a pet friendly holiday rental or hotel could be quite difficult and many people still don’t want dogs (or cats, ferries, giraffes) in their flats or hotel buildings. So the ones that do allow them may charge a premium! More often than not, holiday rentals with dogs are a bit more expensive than non-pet friendly ones and I found that usually this is because bigger, more expensive homes, are the ones that are likely to be more pet friendly, as opposed to tiny, inexpensive flats. However, this is not always the case, and you still have a good shot at finding pet friendly hotels and holiday flats for just as cheap, if not cheaper than non-pet friendly ones.
Be sure to click that pet filter
Many times I’ve found awesome apartments and hotels to rent online for really great prices only to realize I forgot to click the pet filter! Always double check or triple check, especially at the check-out, that the hotel you selected is in fact pet friendly!
Get used to rejection
If you’re going to old-school method of calling up hotels and B&Bs to ask if they’re pet friendly then perhaps you should prepare to hear a few no’s before you hear a yes.
Be flexible
That beautiful centrally-located hotel with the waterfall pool that you envisioned staying in might not be pet friendly so you might have to settle for a smaller, and more plain-looking hotel a bit outside the city in order to accommodate your dog. But hey, they’re family! It’s worth it!
Also plan ahead as with the increasing number of people taking their pets traveling with them means they’ll be high demand for pet-friendly hotels and rentals!
Bring a dog bed
I’ve found that pet-friendly hotels will really appreciate it you bring a dog bed with you. Of course, it may not be mandatory and in my years of travel only one holiday rental requested I bring a dog bed. But you might want to bring one anyway as maybe your dog really likes the comfort of her own bed!
So that’s it!
Now you know how to find a pet friendly hotel so now you can look at your dog while she gives you the puppy eyes and then pack her suitcase too!
If you’re planning a road trip with your canine pal, check out this awesome car seat hammock for dogs! It will keep your pooch comfy in the car!
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