A chain of budget hotels - or even a service in partnership with a budget hotel chain (LaQuinta, I'm looking at you!) - designed for pet owners who want to take their pet on vacation with them.
If you go to, say, Disney World there are several hotels in the area that allow pets, and there are even a few local boarding facilities. But they are ridiculous expensive, and who wants to leave their dog at some strange boarding facility? Everything pet travel related is geared toward rich people who will pay $100s for Fido to have a spa day or some other nonsense. But what about middle income people?
Apollo hates hates hates to sit in a strange hotel room by himself, even long enough for me to go get dinner and bring it back to the room. He would definitely not be happy if I took most of the day to do Epcot. So my service would be two-fold: you can either bring your dog in and he can play at the facility, or someone can come babysit your pooch in the hotel room and keep him company. Or, if your dog is more mellow, you can just get someone to come walk him at a certain time.
What would make us different from what already exists is that we'd be partnered with a hotel chain, which gives us credibility and sets us apart from Billy Bob and Wanda's Doggie Day Camp and Chinese Buffet, plus our pricing would be affordable for middle income people: Our money would be made on volume, not margin or "what the market will bear". Plus we'd be a national venture so folks who've used our services in Orlando would feel comfortable using us in Gatlinburg or Sandusky or New York City or San Antonio.
It's a win for LaQuinta because it would also make pet owners more likely to stay at their hotel. For example, when I go to NYC I stay all over the place with no loyalty to a particular hotel. But if there were a reasonably priced hotel that would also take good care of Apollo while I'm pissing around Chelsea and Greenwich, I would never stay anywhere else.
Great idea, huh?
If you go to, say, Disney World there are several hotels in the area that allow pets, and there are even a few local boarding facilities. But they are ridiculous expensive, and who wants to leave their dog at some strange boarding facility? Everything pet travel related is geared toward rich people who will pay $100s for Fido to have a spa day or some other nonsense. But what about middle income people?
Apollo hates hates hates to sit in a strange hotel room by himself, even long enough for me to go get dinner and bring it back to the room. He would definitely not be happy if I took most of the day to do Epcot. So my service would be two-fold: you can either bring your dog in and he can play at the facility, or someone can come babysit your pooch in the hotel room and keep him company. Or, if your dog is more mellow, you can just get someone to come walk him at a certain time.
What would make us different from what already exists is that we'd be partnered with a hotel chain, which gives us credibility and sets us apart from Billy Bob and Wanda's Doggie Day Camp and Chinese Buffet, plus our pricing would be affordable for middle income people: Our money would be made on volume, not margin or "what the market will bear". Plus we'd be a national venture so folks who've used our services in Orlando would feel comfortable using us in Gatlinburg or Sandusky or New York City or San Antonio.
It's a win for LaQuinta because it would also make pet owners more likely to stay at their hotel. For example, when I go to NYC I stay all over the place with no loyalty to a particular hotel. But if there were a reasonably priced hotel that would also take good care of Apollo while I'm pissing around Chelsea and Greenwich, I would never stay anywhere else.
Great idea, huh?
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