19%
Fall in US interest in "pet friendly hotel", 2022 to 2025, while "dog friendly hotel" grew
Roch Dog Research
4x
How far "dog friendly" now outruns "pet friendly" in British searches
Roch Dog Research
1 in 2
Hotels using the pet-friendly label that grade D or F when assessed
Roch Dog Assessment
3 in 10
A and A+ hotels that let the dog stay free; the welcome, not the fee, is what the guest pays for
Roch Dog Assessment
The Guest Has Moved
The Word Guests Have Stopped Believing
Pet-friendly has no definition and no verification, so any hotel can claim it, and guests have noticed. In the United States interest in pet friendly hotel fell 19 percent between 2022 and 2025 while dog friendly hotel grew; in Britain the dog term now runs at more than four times the pet term. Guests have moved to the word that says what they mean, and they want the specifics before they book: which dogs, which spaces, what it costs, how many.
That is the need. A hotel that answers it, in writing and the same way on every shift, is the one the guest books twice. Nobody Trusts Pet Friendly sets out the evidence.
The Field Is Open
Half The Label Is Unkept, Which Leaves Room At The Top
Half the hotels that market themselves as pet-friendly grade D or F when they are independently assessed. The hotels that get it right are few, and because the welcome is measured, a hotel that builds one is visibly different from the hotel next door. The name on the door tells the guest nothing; the grade does.
Even Inside One Brand
The Variance Is Wider Inside A Portfolio Than Between Brands
Across the groups and portfolios we have assessed there is often a high degree of variance between hotels, even under one brand and one corporate policy. Inside a single luxury brand we have measured a spread of 70 points between the best hotel and the worst. The gap is decisions, not buildings. Our paper Dog Friendly Performance Across Luxury Hotel Portfolios sets it out.
Hundreds Of Standards, None For Dogs
The Best Operators Have No Framework For The Dog Guest
One flagship luxury group codifies 270 core operating standards: the phone answered before the fourth ring, no guest waiting longer than 60 seconds at reception. None of them mention dogs. One of its estates offers spring water on arrival and a walking programme; across 12 of its hotels we measured a 28 point spread. The framework is the missing piece, and a hotel that adopts one gets to say so.
The Fee
What The Fee Should Buy
The most common American pet fee is $150 a stay, while the real incremental cost of a dog is $6 to $25. The hotels charging the most are not the ones providing the most: among A and A+ hotels nearly three in ten let the dog stay free. A fee stated before the booking, with the bowl, the bed, the bar and the walk named behind it, is one a guest accepts. In the United States, Britain and Australia the law now requires mandatory fees in the first price a guest sees, which is general information, not legal advice. The Hotel Pet Fee has the figures.
What You Get To Say
Say Exactly What The Dog Gets, And Mean It
The hotel that fills the gap gets to say things its competitors cannot. Which dogs are welcome, which spaces they can enter, what it costs and how many, before booking. That the bowl and the bed are in the room, that the dog can sit under the table at dinner, that a walk or a sitter can be arranged. And that an independent grade, which cannot be bought, says so.
Our guides on the hotel pet policy, the hotel dog menu and writing for the guest with a dog show what each of those looks like on the page.
- A written dog policy guests can read before booking
- One fee, stated up front, with what it buys named
- The bowl and the bed in the room
- The bar, the terrace or the lounge open to the dog
- A walk, a sitter or a groomer the hotel can arrange
- The same answer on every shift
- An independent grade, A+ to F, on your own page
Begin
Fill The Gap At Your Hotel
Tell us about your property and what you would like to be able to say to the guest with a dog. We will tell you what it would take.
Talk To Us About Your Hotel