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07-17-2006, 02:40 PM | #1 |
YT 6000 Club Member Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: Seattle, WA
Posts: 6,238
| [News] Exotic Vacations for Pets Too! In her 4 1/2 years, Molly, an 8-pound Yorkshire terrier, has become one well-traveled pooch, with overnight stays at the Inn by the Sea in Cape Elizabeth, Maine, trips to the Affinia Gardens and Regency hotels in New York, and visits to the Chesterfield Hotel in Palm Beach. "She loves it there" in Palm Beach, says Molly's owner, Priscilla Braverman of Newton Center, Mass., who notes that she and her husband opted for a small dog in part because of the travel-friendly size. "That is one of her favorite places. They greet her when she comes in, and she knows just where the treats are kept. It makes me, as an owner, feel really good that they care about her." Of course, all this love is also big business. Americans spend more than $38 billion a year on their pets, according to the American Pet Products Manufacturers Association. The travel industry has taken notice. For pets, and their owners who can't bear to leave them behind, hotels are not only rolling out the red carpet but also offering animal massages, plush beds with fine linens, dog biscuits baked by pastry chefs and even portable pet cabanas for poolside. Traveling with pets is in some ways the latest status symbol, a sign that travelers have the means to indulge themselves. Sure, anyone can load the family dog into the car and head to a beach house for a week. But checking into a hotel or resort with your pet undoubtedly carries a certain impression of affluence. Flying with a large dog means you've probably spent hundreds of dollars on transportation alone or, in places such as Aspen, that you flew in the old-fashioned way: on a private jet. "It all has become part of the lifestyle -- the whole trend of pets as accessory, " says Joel Morales, marketing manager of the James Hotel in Chicago. "People want to feel welcome with their pets. You've seen that in retail, and now you are really seeing that in the hotel industry." The James opened in March with a full line of amenities for pets for a $75 fee, including in-room bowls and a nightly carob "truffle." The hotel already has had a handful of pet guests, including a Great Dane. Leaps and bounds In the eight years since he became a co-founder of Dog Friendly.com, a Web site that lists hotels, parks, beaches and restaurants that welcome pets, Len Kain has seen the options for owners traveling with their pets expand. "It used to be just some low-end places like Motel 6 and Super 8 along with a few midrange chains that accepted dogs," he says. "But now you can choose from low- and high-end places, and extended-stay residences. And more now not just accept dogs, but welcome them." Hotels may charge $25 to $125 for having a pet stay; the fee typically covers the cleaning of the room and basic amenities such as water and food bowls and cleanup bags. Chains such as Kimpton Hotels, Best Western and W Hotels have long opened their doors to pets, but now hotels of all sizes are kicking in over-the-top amenities. The St. Regis in Aspen has high-count linens on its 5-inch-thick dog beds with royal purple covers. The Peaks Resort & Golden Door Spa in Telluride, Colo., operates an on-site "doggie spa" where $60 buys a 30-minute massage. But it's not always about pet pampering. Hotels are rolling out activities that owners can do with their pets, such as, well, drinking cocktails. The W San Diego started pet-friendly cocktail hours last fall. The Ritz-Carlton Golf Resort in Naples has started obedience classes, including a socialization class for puppies 10 weeks to 5 months old. And the Loews Coronado Bay Resort in San Diego offers dog surfing classes. Yes, surfing. The hotel rolled out a $300 package in the spring that includes one night's accommodation, a surfing lesson for the dog (but not the owner), a meal for the pet, and board shorts (seriously) for smaller dogs. "We have sold close to 40 of those packages," says Anne Stephany, public-relations manager for the resort. "With a package like that, we usually sell five." Around the world There are even international options -- that is, if you can wade through the entry restrictions, which vary by country. The Rome Cavalieri Hilton, for example, has a room-service menu for dogs that includes, in proper European form, both first and second courses. Las Ventanas in Los Cabos, Mexico, provides dog cabanas. Pet menus are becoming more common at resorts, but owners may prefer to travel with their dogs' regular food rather than risk a digestive disaster. Still, some owners see no harm in mixing up the diet of a pet, which, after all, is on vacation, too. Paul Wade, executive chef at the Eldorado Hotel & Spa in Santa Fe, rolled out a pet menu at the end of May complete with tenderloin of beef and dog biscuits with a touch of lamb demi-glace. "It's all based on brown rice," says Wade, a dog owner who cooked at other pet-friendly hotels in Colorado including the Little Nell in Aspen, where, he says, he once saw a guest trot through the lobby with an otter sporting a diamond necklace. An otter in a hotel lobby does seem extreme, but after all, Aspen is the ultimate pet town, surrounded as it is with hiking trails. It's not unusual for 40 percent of the guests at the Little Nell to have pets in tow. The St. Regis there encourages guests to check out an Aspen animal-shelter program that lends dogs for day hikes or overnight stays. Getting there Often the real barrier to traveling with pets isn't finding a hotel that will accept them but rather getting to the destination. Aside from service dogs, airlines only allow pets in the cabin that will fit in an airline-approved crate under the seat. Bigger dogs must be checked as luggage, a prospect that turns off many owners. When Leigh Branch returns to Aspen this summer for an extended stay, she will circumvent commercial flying constraints by traveling by private jet from her home in Sarasota. "There will be two dogs, two cats, two sugar gliders and a hamster on the plane," Branch says. Everyone, including a 9-year-old husky she adopted from the Aspen shelter, will be comfy in the cabin. "But the cats can be pretty loud. I might put them in the bathroom." http://www.orlandosentinel.com/trave...avel-headlines |
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07-17-2006, 03:47 PM | #2 |
YT Addict Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: New Mexico
Posts: 491
| That was a great article; thanks for posting. I can’t tell you how much it means to me to feel that my pet is welcome when I stay places. She’s an important part of my life and I hate to feel like others find her a bother. How wonderful that these places are including us dog lovers when they think of accommodations! I hope this trend sticks.
__________________ Liz & Ginger |
07-18-2006, 04:03 PM | #3 |
Mojo, LilyGrace & Me Donating Member Moderator Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: cuddling with my babies<3
Posts: 17,329
| Thanks for sharing! Love hearing about how pets are becoming welcomed at more places! We love to travel with Mojo - in fact, he goes everywhere we do - where he is allowed anyway!
__________________ Hi I'm Jenn Mom to..... Mojo,LilyGrace & DD Kate RIP Mojo FOREVER in our hearts! |
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