In a true barking embarkers way, I would like to elucidate about how significantly more hygienic dogs are when compared to babies. No offense meant toward the infants and human mothers out there; but in the same way infants are allowed into buildings and hotels, I feel a well trained dog should also be welcome into this environment. I have been lucky to become fearless when it comes to calling ahead and asking if places are dog friendly; but when you’re traveling across the country, trying to find a place to sleep, sometimes it is indeed more difficult to find pet friendly places than baby friendly places. In reality; I feel we should just be open to all people and situations. If a person misbehaves, they are asked to leave- why can’t we treat dogs the same way? Anyway; here’s to you crazy awesome travelers out there, embarking your way on a journey; let’s dive into learning more about Pet Friendly Lodging.
Hotels
Here is the truth about hotels- some are ‘pet tolerant’, and some are exclusive to humans only; and there are even hotels that are exclusive to adults only. Thankfully there are also hotels that advertise ‘animals welcome’. I have not found any sponsors by these hotels yet, so you know that this is all just me talking, and my experiences, no one has paid me to discuss pet friendly places to stay.
LaQuinta Inn and Suites are well known to be an ‘animals welcome’ hotel chain. Most LaQuinta’s are extremely dog friendly. The one in Rapid City, South Dakota even has a fenced dog park. Awesome right? So you can let your dog work off his or her energy and then enjoy the really cool water park at that same hotel while they take a lovely nap. This is changing in the wrong direction unfortunately, and some LaQuinta’s have started charging fees! My suggestion is to call in advance just to be sure.
Family Run Hotels are also commonly dog friendly. In Maine I stayed at the cutest local hotel in Bangor that was apparently only 2 stars; but seriously felt like 4. Though it was without a dog park, there was a great, big yard (covered in snow when I was there) with potty bags. The hotel clerk had oodles of treats, and Chloe managed to find the cute little bear in our room immediately after arrival (I don’t think it was meant for her, but by golly talk about adorable). I’ll tell you how to find these local hot spots using google in the next section, but these are not to be neglected!
Super 8 by Wyndom is also pet friendly. I know. I know. I am not a huge fan of Wyndom (they would probably never sponsor me anyway), but after they bought out Super 8, many of the hotels went under renovation and are a lot nicer. Not to mention it can be so darn cheap. I have found a couple really nice, pet friendly rooms for 80$ a night. Solo female travelers, be careful because even with renovations the hotels can still be known to be a little on the sketchy side; but they are cheap, they are dog friendly, and a good place to sleep.
Here is one of my favorite signs I ever did see (At the La Quinta in Billings, Montana.) “Dogs are welcome at this hotel. We’ve never had a dog that smoked in bed and set fire to the blankets. We never had a dog that stole our towels and played the T.V. too loud, or had a noisy fight with his traveling companion. We never had a dog that got drunk and broke up the furniture….. So if your dog can vouch for you, you’re welcome too.” – For real. Let’s be respectful of the places that let us stay overnight shall we? Sure they overcharge, but maybe watch that Friends episode where Ross brings home ALL of the soap and light bulbs, all of the free stuff- and that makes the price a little bit more reasonable. But you know what? Dogs don’t even do that.
Online Services: Bring Fido, petswelcome, dogfriendly, AAA
Okay my tech-savvy readers, you can maybe skip over this paragraph. Or maybe not, it’s still interesting stuff. Recently there have been some pretty incredible resources out there for people who are traveling with pets. My personal favorite from AAA. Weird right? I attached the link to the references if you want more info about dog travel, but AAA has really great information on traveling with dogs! From dog friendly hotels you can find by typing in the city, and dog parks located along the interstates of the state of your choice, to awesome information about how to keep your pup safe while driving- it’s all super cool. Highly recommend giving it a read.
In order to find pet friendly hotels, I have used the BringFido app. Not only does this app feature a list of dog parks and and pet friendly restaurants, but the app itself shows pet friendly hotels in the city of your choice, with a number of stars for how pet friendly the hotel is featured, with reviews! I’ve used it a lot, definitely an awesome way to bring fido along in a happy way!
Petswelcome.com is a new find, I have actually never used. It looks pretty spectacular though, allowing you to type in your starting point, and destination and all of the pet friendly hotels or bed and breakfasts along the route. My favorite is right away when you open the sight, there are some featured pet friendly hotels- great galloping guacamole, they have hotels with cat houses! Here I thought a dog park was awesome, but imagine having a room with its own little house for you cat inside! I would go to some of those hotels as a destination. Let me know if anyone uses this, and what you think of it.
Google searches, of course, also yield great results! When I plan to take a trip, I typically google whatever town I am probably going to sleep in ahead of time. If you look for ‘hotels in blahblah, Maine’ a bunch of options pop up. You can find your favorite, and when you click on it, try the ‘about’ tab. It will show if it is pet friendly or if it is not. Google doesn’t relay if there is a small fee though, for your pet to come, so if you go ahead and say, “Okay google, call such and such hotel in blahblah Maine” it will connect you, and you can find out if animals are welcome, or if animals are tolerated, in which case they usually charge you extra (bah hum bug).
This is the method I probably use most often, because you can do almost all of it voice activated, while driving (SAFELY. PLEASE. HANDS FREE EVERYBODY). If I struggle, I just call my lovely sister, who has a history of being my awesome travel agent and booking hotels for me using our points together. Here is a shout out to my sister and all of the times she’s booked a hotel for me while I am on the road.
Airbnb
Another fantastic option for traveling with a pet is the great and wonderful Airbnb! I have had some really great pet friendly finds while using Airbnb on the road. From an amazing 3 month stay in Walla Walla, where the family I lived with had pets and were heavily involved at the humane society (seriously awesome people), to the farm I lived at in Maine, that was an actual doggie heaven. I think it is a lot easier to use Airbnb and the pet friendly filter, for whatever town in which you choose to stay. Typically farm houses or unique homes are the best finds, but I did have a really nice apartment in a cute downtown area that was welcome to pets as well. Hit the filter, do some digging, and when in doubt send a message to be sure.
Camping
Camping is my personal favorite, because there are SO MANY free campsites out there that are just waiting to be found! BLM land, National Forests, County Parks (these are the free and cheap ones), Privately owned RV parks, KOA’s, State Parks, Hipcamps, lake campgrounds (these are the ones that cost); so many of these outdoor opportunities are dog friendly! I am passionate about camping, it is true but there are many times when the weather was not friendly, or when I came down with the flu, and before I had my camper, when I had to find pet friendly lodging.
This turned into a long blog post! I will say, I have personally never had much luck bringing Chloe into bed and breakfasts. I have had some really interesting stays, even a crazy adventure at a bed and breakfast, but none with Chloe. I use bedandbreakfast.com to yield good results. Has anyone had any luck staying at bed and breakfasts with their pets? Does anyone else have strategies they’ve used for pet friendly lodging? Thank you so much for reading, and as always, Happy Trails and Happy Tails to you all, my barkingly wonderful traveling friends.
I absolutely agree if dogs are well trained and behave they should be welcome! I have heard and known (unfortunately) humans that have horrible manners and respect for hotel property and they are still welcome. *Eye roll. I love that your sister helps you research and book once in awhile! Ah she’s awesome! And so are you! And so is Chloe, who is always welcome at the Harbour hotel if your travels take you our way! 🙂
The Harbour Hotel!! Chloe would LOVE playing with your pups!! Yes, I feel like that song from frozen ‘Reindeer are better than people…’ could absolutely apply to dogs 😂 Thanks so much! You are awesome too. Cheers!!