Hotel pet policies are complicated, inconsistent, and full of gotcha fees. With a little preparation you can avoid most of these costs and headaches.
Here’s the basics of staying at hotels with your pets.
What ‘pet-friendly’ means (and doesn’t)…A pet-friendly hotel is generally one that allows some animals on the property under some conditions. However, many pet-friendly hotels charge an additional fee. Sometimes this is a flat per-stay fee, sometimes it varies by the number of pets or number of nights stayed.
Not all pet-friendly hotels allow all pets. Most allow dogs only, and many of those have size and breed restrictions. Most hotels don’t allow pets to be left unaccompanied.
How to find hotel pet policies…Generally, each hotel property has its own pet policy. There is no blanket pet policy for, say, every Holiday Inn. Every Holiday Inn location has its own policy.
These policies have become so complex, a mini-online industry has sprung up around providing clear, easy-to-understand information about specific policies. Sites such as BringFido and Petswelcome host individual pages for each hotel property with reviews from pet owners and a simple summary of the pet policy.
Go-to hotel brands for pet owners…Although individual hotel properties often have their own pet policies, some hotel chains and brands are generally more pet-friendly than others. IHG hotels, including Holiday Inns, are pet-friendly, though many carry a fee. Kimpton Hotels, which are part of IHG , allow all pets and carry no fees.
Aloft Hotels, part of Marriott, allow dogs up to 40 pounds for free, but the number of dogs allowed varies by each hotel. Red Roof Inn allows one pet up to 80 pounds for free. Motel 6 allows up to two pets weighing 150 pounds combined for free.
Which major hotel brands have the lowest pet fees? As traveling with pets becomes more common, more hotel brands are pitching themselves as pet-friendly while charging exorbitant pet fees, which are often buried in the fine print. To shed some light on these fees, we compared dozens of properties within seven major hotel brands to see which charged the lowest pet fees.
The differences between brands are striking. Radisson and IHG each charge about $30 on average per night in pet fees, while Hyatt and Marriott charge more than $90 per night, on average.
Tips and best practices during your stay…Inform the staff during check-in that you’ve brought a pet. Some properties have specific pet-friendly rooms set aside, and others have special amenities for pets.
Keep your dog on a leash while inside the hotel. Your dog might be well-behaved, but it could encounter another guest’s dog that isn’t, leading to barking or fighting.
If you must leave your pet unattended for a short time, bring a crate. Nervous pets can wreak havoc on an empty room, racking up expensive damage fees. If your dog barks when left, don’t leave it by itself for other guests’ sake.
Inform housekeeping if your pet has an accident. You could face a fee if you don’t, and most hotels have specialty cleaning supplies that can take care of the mess in a hurry.
The bottom line…Pets are part of the family, so why board them when you go on vacation? Although hotel pet policies can seem like a complex maze, they are easier to understand and navigate once you know the basics.