This post will be short and sweet because my point on the matter is pretty cut and dry: Hotels are for humans, not for dogs.
I don’t believe that everyday hotels should allow dogs to stay in the room with guests. My views have nothing to do with me not owning a pet, or me being anti-dog. It has everything to do with me having allergies and having young children who may have allergies. It has to do with health and safety issues. And it has to do with the imposition of someone else’s choices on my comfort and relaxation.
IF a hotel has a pet policy, it should be bold, front and center on the hotel’s website. The hotel should maintain pet-desingated rooms same as with smoke-designated rooms. Standard ionizers do not cut it when it comes to ridding pet allergens from all crevices and corners of rooms. Believe me, allergy senses can pick that stuff up!
I cringe when I think about possibly sleeping on sheets that a guest may have allowed their dog to sleep on. And I don’t owe that to my slight case of OCD! Granted, lots of things happen on hotel bed sheets, and to think of that now, makes me cringe as well, however, the immune system wouldn’t necessarily pick that up. I once stayed in a hotel where the coverlet smelled as if an animal had been there. Needless to say, my bedding was changed, I pitched a fit, and my room was comped. Also, needless to say, my head will not be resting at that particular establishment again, knowing that they have a pro-pet policy.
People who don’t travel with pets assume that the hotel they are staying in is pet-free because, legitimately, it’s not something that they think about. However, if there was an indication on the front page of a hotel’s website or brochure, I’m sure they’d think twice about staying at that specific establishment.
Bottom line: not everyone likes dogs or other pets. And besides that, some people are uncomfortably allergic to animals. It is unfair that they are blindsided when they believe a hotel is strictly for humans. Travelers whose animals accompany them are a unique subset of hotel guests and should be treated as such. I completely support a brand of (clearly identified) pet-friendly hotels. Heck, I’ll even design a universal pet icon to load on the Home page of their site.
I’m sure the last thing that any hotel wants is a lawsuit from a guest who had an adverse allergic reaction to a previous guest’s animal. Plain and simple.
Or maybe a specific line of hotels for those with severe allergies?
I normally travel with my husband and 3 year old daughter. We leave our dog at home most of the time. However, next summer we’ll be moving halfway across the country. Needless to say, there will several hotel nights involved in that process. Sometimes people who travel with pets do so out of neccessity, not by choice. And certainly not because we want to impose on anyone else.
I agree that hotels should be up-front about their pet policty, but I think that pet-friendly hotels are absolutely essential for many families.
Remember, humans first.