HOSPITALITY Hotels welcome canine guests

In an effort to boost occupancy, hotels open their arms and doors to pets.
By ANDREA COOMBES
KNIGHT RIDDER NESPAPERS
SAN FRANCISCO -- If your dog leads, will you follow?
That's what some hotels are counting on as they ramp up their offerings to vacationing pet owners.
Although many are simply putting out the doggie welcome mat, others are going all out to entice owners, with amenities ranging from pet beds, treats and extra leashes to monogrammed raincoats and dog-walking services.
Starwood Hotels and Resorts Worldwide, which operates the Westin, Sheraton and W hotels, is the most recent chain to add a pet-friendly program to its 300-plus hotels in an effort to lure new guests.
"Today the market is so competitive, [hotels] are looking for an edge to get guests in," said Michael Mahoney, director of hospitality and leisure consulting at PricewaterhouseCoopers.
Industry plummets
Hotel occupancy rates have plummeted in recent years, hitting 59.2 percent in 2002, compared with 63.4 percent in 2001. The rate has been lower in only five of the past 75 years, Mahoney said.
"The industry is down in terms of its profitability, and anything you can do to get a guest in ... it's good business," he said.
Internet search sites have sprung up to help pet owners find the estimated 25,000 hotels, motels and bed-and-breakfast inns that cater to pets nationwide and abroad, including:
Uwww.petsonthego.com.
Uwww.petswelcome.com.
Uwww.bring-yourpet.com.
Uwww.travel-pets.com.
Twenty-nine million Americans traveled with their pets within the past three years, according to a 2001 survey by the Travel Industry Association, but some say that number has been rising.
"People are more aware, [they] now understand it's not a big deal, your pet can come along," said Dawn Habgood, co-founder of PetsOnTheGo.com and co-author of "Pets on the Go," a book about traveling with pets.
Open arms
Although some hotels, like the 40 boutique hotels run by Kimpton Hotels (www.kimptongroup.com) and the 19 operated by Loews (www.loewshotels.com), open their arms to just about any animal (one Kimpton hotel once housed an iguana), other hotels are likely to be less accommodating, with many, such as Sheraton and Westin, limiting their pet policy to dogs.
And, at some properties, not all canines need apply: Many chains only allow dogs that weigh, say, less than 40 pounds, and some provide a limited number of rooms to pets. "Not all of their rooms are pet friendly," Habgood said. "When those rooms are full, you're out of luck."
Pet-friendly polices "are great, it's wonderful they're doing it, but it's important to understand it's not carte blanche," she said.
Prices vary as well. In general, pet owners should expect to pay about $5 to $25 per day, Habgood said, though at the Kimpton and Loews hotels, pets stay for free, as do dogs at the Sheraton and Westin chains.
Some hotels may charge a refundable deposit of about $25 to $50, but travelers should be wary that some hotels are starting to make that nonrefundable, Habgood said.
Additional services, such as dog-walking or pet-sitting, generally cost extra, though Kimpton Hotels, which has been pet-friendly since 1981, provides these for free, said Steve Pinetti, senior vice president of sales at Kimpton.
Owners should also check to see whether their pet can stay in the room when the humans want to go out. "When you go out to dinner, you can't leave the pet in the room or in the car. It's problematic, particularly in the summer months," Habgood said. "We tell people to make sure, if they need to leave their pet in the room that the hotel allows it."
And for international travelers, consider this: Virgin Atlantic offers frequent-flier miles to dogs and cats.