Pets are Welcome: Travel Tips for Your Furry Friends

There’s a great scene in the recent excellent debut of FX’s original series “Fargo.” Billy Bob Thornton’s character Lorne Malvo tries to check into a local motel in the show’s fictional setting of Bemidji, Minn., and is amused by the run down property’s Pet Policy — pets are allowed but it is $10 dollars more for a dog or a cat.

"What if I got a fish? Or what if I kept spiders or mice? What if I had bacteria?” Lorne asks, not sure that the motel’s Pet Policy of $10 more should be standard; it should depend on the animal.

While Lorne’s confusion on what constitutes a pet and the motel’s lack of established policy, and what actually constitutes a pet for that matter, is a bit silly. A good word to the wise — amateur entomologists should keep their bugs at home!

All kidding aside, it does illustrate a good example for hotel-bound pet enthusiasts — if you are traveling with a furry friend make sure to do your homework and figure out what options hotels have for you. Pet policies vary widely from dogs only, with no special pet services, to allowing a variety of animals complete with available pet beds, food bowls and even treats from the kitchen.

Our hotel, The Daniel, has a Pet Policy and it lets you know exact guidelines for bringing a pet.

Here is what we say at The Daniel:

We love animals! But, despite our unconditional love for pets, we are aware that many of our guests don’t share our love. Therefore, we do have a limited policy regarding your furry family members.

Pets are limited to dogs and cats. No other animals of any kind are permissible. We do have designated rooms that allow for pets, so you must inform us at the time of booking, as these rooms are subject to availability.

We require guests to sign a damage/pet waiver and make a $100 deposit, which will be returned after checkout if no damage occurs.

As the comfort and safety of our guests is of the utmost importance, pets must not bark or be aggressive; they must be trained and housebroken. Pets are not allowed in the spa, fitness or dining areas. Owners must not leave their pet unattended or leave the premises without their pet, unless prior approval has been made. Any pet or owners violating this policy will be asked to leave the hotel.

An AAA study found that 51 percent of American travelers would bring pets along on every vacation if they could, illustrating the demand for pet-friendly hotels.

The perhaps obvious number one concern for those wishing to travel with pets is actually finding pet-friendly accommodations. According to AAA, some of the things that matter the most include: finding places that accept pets (95 percent), learning about pet policies such as size limits and fees (49 percent) and getting details about available pet services (22 percent).

“Traveling with Your Pet: The AAA PetBook” offers some other useful tips.

It is great when hotels, such as The Daniel, have such a clear Pet Policy, but not all do and sometimes it can be difficult to find out.

Increasingly, pet lovers are turning to pet-friendly websites and social media to find pet-friendly hotels, even more so than traditional visitors bureaus, newspaper travel sections, magazines and guidebooks.

Pet Hotels of America is one of the best websites to check out. The site hawks 25,000 pet-friendly hotels in the United States through a specific search engine and pet travel guides for popular U.S. travel destinations.

If anything, websites such as Pet Hotels of America can be a real help in highlighting what travelers need to consider when bringing along a pet.

The Daniel offers up a few more local travel tips to keep your pets happy:

·         Nearby grassy areas

·         Neighborhood dog parks or pet friendly parks

·         Groomers or pet day care

·         Local veterinarian

So, load up man’s best friend and head on out. With a little prep it can be a pet-friendly travel world out there. As far as bacteria goes, though, Fargo’s Lorne Malvo is probably out of luck.

Q&A: Checking In with Boston East India Hotels Director of Operations Jim Heineman

Jim Heineman is Boston East India Hotels Director of Operations. He is responsible for overseeing overall operations and management of the company’s hotels and villas worldwide and advising the development and project teams on operations and feasibility matters involved in the company’s current and pipeline projects.

Jim has three decades of experience in the hotel industry, and has held strategic and tactical senior leadership management roles both in hotel management/ownership and in the real estate development industry. 

He has been the General Manager at a wide variety of branded and boutique hotels, including the Parsippany Hilton in New Jersey, The Roosevelt Hotel in New York and the Algonquin Hotel in New York. He has also served as a Senior Vice President for the Applied Companies during the development and pre-opening for the W Hoboken. Jim started his career with Interstate Hotel Corporation and has a Bachelor of Science in Hotel Administration from Cornell University. 

Hear what Jim has to say about his role with Boston East India Hotels and his background in the hotel industry: 

Describe your job in five words or less.

Rewarding, Complete, Exciting, Intense Fun

How long have you worked in hospitality?

I am almost afraid to say that I have worked over 35 years in the hospitality business. I started in high school working at a local restaurant in the kitchen as a dishwasher for $2.14 per hour, then a cook, and then head chef. I grew up in the back of the house and worked my way up to the top.

What is the most challenging aspect of your job?

Producing financial results in revenue generation and profitability in different hotels in different parts of the world.

What is the best part of working for Boston East India Hotels?

The teamwork and collaborative efforts that happen every day with each and every project, which in turn yields the best possible results.

What are the short-term goals for your job?

Improving existing hotel profitability and hiring and training the best possible staff in industry from around the world to grow both Troca Hotels and Boston East India Hotels.

What are the long-term goals for your job?

Establish published SOPs on revenue generation, payroll reduction, expense management, budgeting of operations and capital, training and best practices to open any hotel in any country successfully.

Who is a Troca Traveler to you?

A Troca Traveler is a valued guest that loves our curated services and price value of their experiences such that they will always search for Troca Hotels first in any location all over the world before any other hotel. 

Do you remember the first time you spent the night in a hotel? How old were you and where was it?

I traveled with my family every summer to visit the historical places all over the U.S. and Canada. I was six years old and remember the Holiday Inn name somewhere in the U.S. and a swimming pool. What else would one want! 

What is your favorite place to travel to?

I have worked all over the United States and have traveled to Lisbon, Paris and India for work. I love Europe to explore the heritage and architecture, so Paris is my number one choice, followed closely by India. 

What is your most surefire travel tip?

Wherever you go, you must be willing to look outside the normal tour. Open you mind and find a local that knows all the best places off the beaten path. If you stay in the tourist areas you will never really know what life is really like in that spot you yearned to travel to for so many years. Your eyes must be wide open and explore.

Hotel Amenities: What’s in Your Guest Room?

It’s not easy becoming part of Troca Hotels. Just ask some of the amenities lined up to vie for a coveted spot at one of our hotels. If you want to be part of the brand you had better bring your “A” game because we take the selection process seriously.

The fact of the matter is not just any amenity is going to end up at one of our hotels. No, to make the final cut, to earn that spot at one of our hotels, such as The Sofala 15°74 in Goa, India, or The Daniel 43°69 in Brunswick, Maine, you’ve got to have an interesting story, perform really well, and be a little different. 

When guests check into a property within the Troca Hotels collection, they are not seeking cookie-cutter experiences. From the check in to check out, Troca Hotels are an experience — from caring and helpful staff, to creative interiors and artwork to guestrooms that are thoughtful and comfortable. Amenities, long overlooked as throwaway essentials, are a part of the details we care a lot about.

At Troca Hotels we are curators of our guests’ experiences. We are not shy about sharing our learned opinions about what will make their stays most enjoyable nor are we reticent to ask their opinions and learn from them. We are creating experiences for our guests by listening to their needs and then adapting to them. When it comes to amenities, that means lining them all up and digging in to figure out what our guests will appreciate and enjoy best and searching for the signs that convince us it should be part of the experience we offer.

There is no shortage of suitors: Float by William Roam, Aveda, Malin+Goetz, Philosophy, and C.O. Bigelow, to name a few. 

The first part is the fun stuff — testing different lotions, and fragrances; eyeing the cool package and sleek design; stacking the different products up against each other, literally, to see how they compare. Our CEO's own viscosity index -- which measured how watery a hand lotion is -- added to the many hurdles faced by the competitors. 

But that is hardly the end of the process.

Green, eco-friendly, sustainability these words are tossed around probably a bit too lightly nowadays by some, but not us. Our choice is not going to be just the perfect amenity on the face, but it is also going to be backed by a company that takes dedication to sustainability and the world we live in seriously.

In the selection process, the product is only part of the story and you can bet before we choose, we will study the whole story. We are buying the company not just the product.

Yes, we know that William Roam is aligned with 1% For The Planet and pledges one percent of all sales to environmental organizations.

We also know about Aveda’s Full Circle Recycling Program and that the company has partnered with g2 Revolution, a recycling innovations company, to provide product users a chance to return Aveda packaging and accessories not accepted by municipal curbside recycling programs to their Aveda Experience Centers.

And you can bet we are aware that Malin+Goetz founders Matthew Malin and Andrew Goetz are dedicated animal lovers and have pledged to never test their products on animals. In addition, there is the company’s pretty cool Product Hounds section of its website, dedicated to their “customers’ best friends.”

It matters to us, because we know it matters to you.

So the amenities are overflowing right now in a race to the top of the Troca Hotels list.  We’re putting a lot of thought into what we present to you — when you use these products in our hotels, we hope you will see and feel that attention to detail. The winners of our selection process are to be announced soon — stay tuned.

We look forward to seeing you soon!