Dog Friendly Hotels

[Tropicana]

So, wha' onno tink bout pet friendly hotels? I suppose they are a convenience for dog and cat owners but .....

Can you imagine if you stay in a hotel room and just before you the guests had a dutty stinkin; dog running loose, sleeping pon de bed and doo-dooing up de place.

Man there are a lot of questions to ask when booking into a hotel.

If they had one or two floors where they allowed dogs I suppose that could work but it is so bizarre to be sharing an elevator with a dog. They should keep one elevator for people with pets and not allow them in the others.

[My Looh]

Agreed!

I'm OK with certain rooms being reserved strictly for people with pets, but I would not be too happy about sleeping in a room that has housed animals in the past.

However, with that said, I also can't stand the idea of sleeping in a bed that has had fellow humans doing all sorts of nasty deeds in it before I climb into said bed. The first thing that I fling out on the balcony when I check in to a hotel is the bed spread. I prefer to take my own pillows as well.

[Tropicana]

You now I really wonder if they change the bed spreads before the new guests check in.

[kia027]

What about service dogs? They are allowed in most hotels and could easily have been in a room that you were in previously.

When I have seen the hotel cleaning staff push their carts down the hall, I have very rarely seen bedspreads in their laundry carts

[Tropicana]

Not sure what the policy is on service dogs. I clarified with a pet friendly hotel and they only allow dogs on one floor BUT they could assign any guest to that floor....so if the hotel is pet friendly, always ask what floor is for the dogs and make sure they don't put you there.

[diabolical_Tanya]

most higher end hotels will have allergen free rooms requesting one is the best way to get one that has not had pets in it.

you may pay more for it though.

[Tropicana]

Excellent suggestion.

[Nanook]

Quintata Inns are dog freindly. They were very accommodating to me and 3 of my dogs during my Dad's funeral services stay. I specifically asked for a no smoking room so they wouldn't stick us in one of those rooms just because I had 3 dogs. I paid a fee (can't remember how much) but I think when dogs are involved the fee covers the whole bedding change and likely do extra cleaning, or at least more inspecting.

As for service animals, they can NOT discriminate in any manner and must comply with request of owner of the service animal and they cannot charge a fee.

If it really bothers someone that much, or if there is a potential for allergy problems etc, it is just better to choose accommodations where they do not accept pets, yet they will still be housing a service animal from time to time regardless).

Rose did not sleep on the sheets. Normally I make the bed in the morning right away when I am staying with or without dogs, but this was the morning of my dad's funeral and it slipped my mind to cover the sheets.

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That said, I have stayed in hotel rooms with as many as 8 or 9 dogs at a time while traveling the US during my dog showing days and the filthiest hotel room I ever stayed in was one that did not allow dogs in Vegas but I sneaked my tiny girl in via my camera bag. Needless to say, after finding a plate with bread crusts & uneaten food under the bed (thankfully, I found it before my dog did as I always inspect hotel rooms because for the most part they gross me out) I checked out first thing in the morning and we found a beautiful hotel room where I again hid a squirmy 5 lb MinPin right under the elevator guards nose under a coat and kept her there in the room the rest of the week. shhhhhh..... I told her if she made a peep we'd be homeless and she was quiet as a mouse & I left the do not disturb on the door the whole time and just got fresh towels and such from maids in the hall. Oh the memories of traveling with my girl Ruby!

[Nanook]

Agreed!

I'm OK with certain rooms being reserved strictly for people with pets, but I would not be too happy about sleeping in a room that has housed animals in the past.

However, with that said, I also can't stand the idea of sleeping in a bed that has had fellow humans doing all sorts of nasty deeds in it before I climb into said bed. The first thing that I fling out on the balcony when I check in to a hotel is the bed spread. I prefer to take my own pillows as well.

THIS. ALWAYS! Gross icky bedspread has go to go and the blanket too. Sheet cover is usually good nuff. With dogs though, I will sometimes leave it on so the dog doesn't leave hairs all over the sheets. No doggie no blankie!

[Tropicana]

That said, I have stayed in hotel rooms with as many as 8 or 9 dogs at a time

Wow, that is a LOT of dogs for one room. Nanook, are you saying that you paid extra so you did not have to stay in a room allocated for dog owners? What was your concern? Does the hotel provide care for the dogs when the owner goes out or are the dogs cooped up in the room. It hardly seems fair if they are.

I know that some properties charge a cleaning fee in their pet-friendly rooms. Hopefully the rooms are cleaned properly. What is disturbing is the fact that the pillows and spreads are not cleaned whenever a new guest checks in. I guess it must be the same story with the extra blankets and quilts in the rooms in case you get cold. I am with My Looh this is just as disturbing as having pets in the rooms before you check-in.

[Nanook]

Wow, that is a LOT of dogs for one room. Nanook, are you saying that you paid extra so you did not have to stay in a room allocated for dog owners? What was your concern? Does the hotel provide care for the dogs when the owner goes out or are the dogs cooped up in the room. It hardly seems fair if they are.

I know that some properties charge a cleaning fee in their pet-friendly rooms. Hopefully the rooms are cleaned properly. What is disturbing is the fact that the pillows and spreads are not cleaned whenever a new guest checks in. I guess it must be the same story with the extra blankets and quilts in the rooms in case you get cold. I am with My Looh this is just as disturbing as having pets in the rooms before you check-in.

Tropi the charge is just for having dogs in a room, not a specific type of room but I was worried they would throw me in a smoking room so I asked specifically not to hasve to endure that as I was already in distress. I can only assume that the charge is because they change all of the bedding instead of just the sheets, which makes sense, but you and I both know that does not always make things so, just because something makes sense.

[Tropicana]

I can only assume that the charge is because they change all of the bedding instead of just the sheets, which makes sense, but you and I both know that does not always make things so, just because something makes sense.

Yup...it could be just a cash grab to fleece pet owners. I should start another discussion about the bed spreads. Not sure what forum it belongs in.

[WitchyOoman]

Not sure what the policy is on service dogs. I clarified with a pet friendly hotel and they only allow dogs on one floor BUT they could assign any guest to that floor....so if the hotel is pet friendly, always ask what floor is for the dogs and make sure they don't put you there.

ADA Law: Any guest with a service animal of any kind (and a very good friend of ours who lives in Bonita Springs, FL - so he flew out of the closest airport to Naples, FL - was forced to fly with his service Dalmation, and there was also a service goose on that flight! OMGoodness! A Service GOOSE.) must put said person and their service animal in any room in the hotel, as necessary. Period. End of discussion.

Also, per ADA law, the only things that management may lawfully ask of someone traveling with a service animal are the following TWO questions:
(1) Is that [animal] a service animal?
(2) What task(s) does that service animal perform for you?
That's ^ it. Nothing else, and the wording must be exactly what I wrote above.
As soon as the answers are (1) Yes, and (2) s/he states whatever task(s) the animal performs for the human, then the animal is covered by ADA law. End of story. That's it. Done.
No "proof" necessary. (ie - no special cards or ID, can't make the person have the animal perform any of those tasks, etc.)
BUT then, the animal must be compliant to the ADA law as it's written. (ie - it must remain under the handler's control at all times)
And if anyone else is allergic to, or fearful of, said service animal - their only lawful recourse is for the non-handicapped person to move or leave.

Trust me. I am crackerjack on ADA law, having had to rely upon it, myself. No, I personally do not have a service animal at this time, although I may soon need one, again. I need a balance dog - so mine would be a very large dog... like a Golden Retriever, a Rottweiler, an English Sheepdog, a Bearnese Mountain dog, a Newfoundland dog, a Saint Bernard, a Great Dane, etc.

[WitchyOoman]

most higher end hotels will have allergen free rooms requesting one is the best way to get one that has not had pets in it.

you may pay more for it though.

Also, most higher end hotels have separate entire wings for people with pets, and the rest of the hotel rooms are pet-free. NOT dog-free, just pet-free: Service animals are, by law, NOT pets.
And those of us who travel with pets pay a good deal more for our rooms in places that accommodate our pets, believe me! (not to mention the hefty deposits we must put up when we check in and that hotels hold onto for up to 5 days after you've checked out with no damages to said room or property!)

[WitchyOoman]

THIS. ALWAYS! Gross icky bedspread has go to go and the blanket too. Sheet cover is usually good nuff. With dogs though, I will sometimes leave it on so the dog doesn't leave hairs all over the sheets. No doggie no blankie!

Really? You let your dogs lie on filthy hotel blankies??? Not me! Midnight always traveled with his own blankets and bedding, which I tossed on top of his bed, and sealed into a black plastic garbage bag after we packed to leave!

Then again, I do this ^ for us, too. NOTHING goes back into my suitcases that touched anything in the hotel room; it ALL goes into sealed plastic bags, which are heated throughly in the garage at home before they come back inside my house for laundering. It all goes into the washer on the hottest water possible, and with Oxyclean (it's a non-chlorine bleach, so it's antibacterial to a point). and into the dryer on the hottest setting for at least 30 minutes.

And I only use hard-shell suitcases, these days, what with bedbugs so rampant in some parts. Don't keep 'em open; just get what Ineed and close 'em up again.

We've never had any diseases, insect critters, or other unwanted 'things' either.


And, Nanook, since I have asthma... and since Mr Witchy is dreadfully sensitive to nicotine in the air even... and to smoke... (and is a heart patient)... we always insist upon (pre-requested/reserved) non-smoking rooms, wherever we go. I also needed to stay in a fully-ADA-compliant room, as well... but not since I finally got out of my [so-called] permanent wheelchair. Now, I can step into a bathtub shower with Mr Witchy's aid, if I must...