If you want to travel with your furry companion this year, you are in luck: at least 5,512 hotel properties across seven brands of the Hilton portfolio worldwide are now pet friendly as the result of a partnership with Mars Petcare — which is the largest pet care company in the world — and consistent pet fees which start at $50.00 per stay will be introduced.
These 7 Hilton Brands Are Now Pet Friendly
The seven brands which are participating in this program — which is expected to set a new standard for travel that is friendly to pets — are:
- Canopy by Hilton
- Embassy Suites
- Hampton Inn and Suites
- Hilton Garden Inn
- Home2 Suites by Hilton
- Homewood Suites by Hilton
- Tru by Hilton
Two of the brands — Home2 Suites by Hilton and Homewood Suites by Hilton — first became 100 percent friendly to pets in the United States and Canada effective as of Saturday, January 1, 2022, with the implementation of programming and benefits which are focused on pets.
“As pet ownership continues to rise, people are spending more time with pets now than ever before. A recent online survey revealed that 85% of pet parents say they’re likely to travel in the next year, and 65% say they’ll bring their pets along. By combining their industry-leading expertise in hospitality and pets, Hilton and Mars Petcare have come together to anticipate and address the needs of pet parents to make traveling together more seamless and enjoyable”, according to this official press release from Hilton. “Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, approximately 23 million U.S. homes welcomed a new pet, which accounts for nearly 1 in 5 households. After months of spending extra time at home with their furry friends, 58 percent of pet parents say they are seeking pet-friendly accommodations.”
Final Boarding Call
Although certainly not an accurate representation of the overall reaction to this policy, none of the comments which were written by readers of The Gate pertaining to this article — which was posted back on Tuesday, December 21, 2021 — were positive, supportive, or welcoming of this news.
Potential problems in the hotel properties may include noisy or rambunctious pets, health issues for other guests who may have allergy issues to pet dander, and that the rooms may not be cleaned enough for the next guest after pets have stayed in them — but I suppose some people would say the same about children.
Questions which still remain — which are likely left to the policies of individual hotel properties — include:
- How many pets are allowed in one room during a stay? Can someone bring their ten cats and five dogs for a stay?
- Will pets be permitted in common areas of the hotel property — such as places in which people dine or fitness rooms?
- What pets are deemed acceptable to the program? Can a ferret, a miniature horse, a turkey, or a pig stay as a pet?
- What happens if a pet is considered out of control?
- What will the actual total costs be to keep a pet in the room?
- Will this program be further expanded to other brands of the Hilton portfolio?
- Will the property owners and managers be ultimately happy with this new program?
All photographs ©2016, ©2018, and ©2019 by Brian Cohen.
