What Most Hotel Pet Policies Get Wrong
Nine in ten of the policies we read contain more prohibitions than courtesies. The typical one forbids six things and offers fewer than two, and only one in five mentions something as basic as a water bowl. Many contain a trap nobody intended: they close the restaurant and bar to dogs and then forbid leaving the dog alone in the room, so a guest travelling alone with a dog cannot eat dinner in the hotel.
The first sentence decides who the document is for. Four British policies in five open with a welcome; only half of American policies do, and one American policy in five opens with a statement of the guest's liabilities. Even the noun matters: policies that call the dog a guest read as the warmest, and those that call it an animal as the coldest.
The Legal Drafting Does Less Than You Think
The waivers, indemnities and fines that make so many policies unwelcoming turn out, on review of the law in the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada and Australia, to be somewhere between weak and worthless. The things the law reliably backs are short and reasonable: a fee the guest saw before booking, damage charged at cost, and a handful of conduct rules that staff actually enforce. This is general information, not legal advice.
What A Good Hotel Pet Policy Contains
- A welcome in the first sentence, addressed to the guest and the dog
- What the dog gets: bowls, a bed, treats, a walk
- Where the dog can go: which shared spaces, the garden, the terrace
- The costs in one glance: the fee, whether a deposit applies and how much, per stay or per night
- How many dogs per room
- A behaviour test in place of breed lists and weight limits
- If dogs may not be left alone, a solution: a sitter or a supervised lounge
- Two sentences of law: damage at cost, and the house rules staff enforce
The Friendly Dog Policy
The Friendly Dog Policy is a one page hotel pet policy, backed by Roch Dog and free for any hotel to use. It leads with what the dog gets and where it can go, states the costs in one glance, keeps the law to two sentences, and replaces breed lists and weight limits with one fair test of how the dog behaves. It is set out in The Fine Print.
A policy written this way also carries four of the six minimum requirements of the Roch Dog Friendly Standard on its own: a written policy available before booking, the fee, the deposit and the number of dogs per room.
Questions
Asked And Answered
What should a hotel pet policy include?
A welcome, what the dog gets, where the dog can go, the fee and deposit stated once, the number of dogs per room, a behaviour standard rather than breed or weight rules, a solution if dogs cannot be left alone, and two sentences on damage and house rules.
Is there a free hotel pet policy template?
Yes. The Friendly Dog Policy is a one page hotel pet policy, free for any hotel to use, set out in The Fine Print at rochstandard.com.
Should a hotel have a weight limit for dogs?
We recommend a behaviour test instead. A weight limit excludes many well behaved family dogs and says nothing about how a dog will behave in the hotel.
Can a hotel ban dogs from the restaurant and the room at the same time?
It can, but it should not. If dogs are kept out of the restaurant and may not be left alone in the room, a guest travelling alone cannot eat dinner in the hotel. Offer a sitter, a supervised lounge or a dog friendly space to dine.
Do pet policy waivers protect a hotel?
Much less than most hotels think. On our legal review in four countries, broad waivers and indemnities are weak, while a disclosed fee, damage at cost and enforced conduct rules are what the law reliably supports. Take your own legal advice.
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Talk To Us About Your Policy
Tell us what your pet policy says today and what you want it to say. We will tell you what the Friendly Dog Policy version of it would look like.
Talk To Us About Your Policy