Pet unfriendly lodging
 

Okay, I have held off on asking this question for fear of provoking a fire storm, but we are about to begin a winter of serious traveling.

Are there any hotel chains that are absolutely pet free -- no dogs, no cats, no gerbils?

Are there hotel chains that will give you an iron-clad promise that a particular room has not been occupied by pets (like non-smoking)?

It's an allergy issue. I have had dogs and cats but can't any more.

Thanks in advance.

I think it's more difficult to find hotels in the US that are pet friendly. Those with pets usually end up having to tough it out at a Super 8 or Motel 6. Both are good reasons to leave the dog at home.

But I've never checked for "no pets" at all.

All US Hotels allow service dogs...

But the only way to find hotels that do not allow pets is research.
I can tell you that ALL La Quinta and Kimpton properties allow pets.
But MOST don't.

I think all Westins allow pets too.

So far you're getting a good list of pet friendly places.

I'm impressed that so many more hotels than I thought allow pets. No more Super 8 for me! YAY!!!!

I did a google search "pet friendly hotel chains" and I get this list:

Best Western
Candlewood
Clarion Hotel
Comfort Inn & Suites
Courtyard by Marriott
Crowne Plaza
Doubletree
Econo Lodge
Embassy Suites
Fairfield Inn by Marriott
Hampton Inns
Hilton
Holiday Inn
Holiday Inn Express
Homewood Suites
Hotel Indigo - NEW!
La Quinta Inn & Suites
MainStay Suites
Marriott Hotels & Resorts
Motel 6
Quality Inn & Suites
Renaissance Hotels & Resorts and JW Marriott Hotels & Resorts
Residence Inn by Marriott
Rodeway Inn & Suites
Sleep Inn & Suites
Staybridge Suites
Studio 6
Suburban Extended Stay
TownePlace Suites by Marriott and SpringHill Suites by Marriott

Also, I'm 99% sure all Kimpton properties are dog-friendly. Doesn't look like you have that many choices left...

Sorry - but you can't be sure any hotel room will never have had an animal in it.

Even US properties who don't allow pets must allow service animals.

I usually check a hotel's website to see if pets are allowed, if there is a note "pet deposit".

But as there is no guarantee nobody smoked in a non-smoking room, there is no guarantee nobody hid a pet under that bedspread.

>>But as there is no guarantee nobody smoked in a non-smoking room, there is no guarantee nobody hid a pet under that bedspread

That is the very reason we always check our room prior to check in. We have turned down many a 'non' room because it reeked of smoke and had ashtrays in it. We have also found a few that smelled like a kennel.

The long list of pet friendly hotels above is a bit misleading.
Some properties within the chains DO allow pets while most still do NOT.
In addition, many of the hotels that DO, have rooms assigned specifically for guests with pets.
So you could still stay in a hotel that allows pets if you ask to be in a no-pet room.

<there is no guarantee nobody hid a pet under that bedspread. ?

That is the least of my worries about hotel bedspreads.

RedRock has it right. Just because a hotel doesn't allow pets -- that has little to do with whether or not there has been a pet in the room -- honestly!

We knew folks whose baby was black lab who could sneak in and out of a hotel room like a second story man. Have to agree with those who say just because it says pet-free....

Ask to see the room; if you start to wheeze, you'll know!

Since many hotels allow pets or have had guests sneak them in perhaps you should look at B&Bs. Most of them do not allow pets and their standards seem to be more restrictive in that regard. Certainly more likely that in a no pet B&B animals haven't been there.

...except that in many B&Bs the owners have pets (which is why they don't allow other pets).

I've read that some newer or renovated hotels and chains are featuring specially equipped rooms for allergic individuals.

Look at this article for some ideas
http://travel.nytimes.com/2007/03/25...acallergy.html

Wyndham hotels has some special rooms
"Wyndham now offers ClearAirSM meeting and guest rooms for the most comfortable environment for all guests, especially allergy sufferers"
http://www.wyndham.com/specialoffers...s/clearair.wnt

At a small b&b that have no pets of their own, you should be OK. I can't say it is impossible to sneak a pet into my small inn, but very improbable to be able to do so without me knowing.

Ackislander,

Now that you've discovered how not to get your question answered.

Maybe you could give an idea of where you go and get suggestions.
I know of a place out in Benson AZ that has a no pets policy.

Ackislander,

I believe Ramada is typically pet-unfriendly? But your best bet is probably to call your top three hotel options and double-check their pet policy. As you suspected, many pet-friendly hotels set aside specific rooms for furry guests -- to avoid both allergy issues and noise complaints. Before you book, I'd make sure this is the case at your chosen hotel, and politely emphasize that you're only asking because of your serious pet allergy.

LSky: &quot;<i>Now that you've discovered how not to get your question answered.

Maybe you could give an idea of where you go and get suggestions. I know of a place out in Benson AZ that has a no pets policy. </i>&quot;

Huh? The question has been answered in GREAT detail. Even to the point of telling about allergy-free rooms in some chains.

And that place you know in Benson w/ the no-pets policy doesn't guarantee a thing. They must allow service animals when requested, or be hit by huge ADA law suits. So &quot;No Pets&quot; does not mean &quot;No Animals&quot;

Ackislander, the answer to your specific question:

&quot;Are there hotel chains that will give you an iron-clad promise that a particular room has not been occupied by pets (like non-smoking)?&quot;

is no, not in the U.S. Your best bet is a private rental, but even these owners in almost all cases follow the ADA law, and allow service animals.

Oops sorry janisj, I should have stuck a little happy face on my comment.

It just struck me as funny when I looked at the first couple of answers that listed hotels that might allow pets. In fact, I have no idea if the hotel in Benson AZ has animals since the only time I’ve ever considered it, I had my dog.

I personally thought the list of pet-friendly hotels was helpful in a &quot;process of elimination&quot; sort of way.

I travel with my dog quite often and when we do a search on, say, travelocity for pet friendly hotels it usually eliminates over half the hotels available in that particular location. For instance, we were considering Williamsburg for Thanksgiving...when we clicked on &quot;pet friendly&quot; the hotel choices narrowed down from over 30 to about 10.

The thing is I think that even within the chains individual hotels may/may not be pet friendly. I think there are only a few chains that are entirely pet friendly, like the Kimpton hotels, La Quinta Inns, etc. Comfort Inns and Holiday Inns can vary from city to city. We were in Charleston over the summer and booked a pet friendly Super 8. We originally walked into the wrong one by mistake and that particular hotel was not pet friendly. The one on the same street, a few miles away, was.

I would never, ever sneak my pet in a hotel that was not pet friendly, but I'm sure there are people out there that don't care about rules (or other people) and do it. I would imagine that the rooms nearest to the lobby would be safest from this, although I would worry about the noise level. Don't book a hotel with exterior cooridors because I imagine that if people were to sneak in a pet, this kind of hotel would be easiest.

I agree with others that suggest B&amp;Bs. Since B&amp;Bs are houses, it's much harder to just sneak in a pet. Just double-check to make sure that the owners do not have pets that live on the property because, as mentioned above, a lot of them do.

Good luck!
Tracy

One of the things you can do is call ahead and ask the hotel to place a HEPA air purifier in the room. Most places have them for when a room has been smoked in or otherwise contaminated. If they set it up ahead of time it minimizes the amount of allergens in the room. The vast majority of Hampton Inns do not allow pets. Many of those listed are there because they allow service animals, which they must do by law.

HI Ack.....I so hesitated to open this thread b/c I was so sure it was going to be a rant by an animal lover! :)

When we stay at the Harraseeket in Maine, the bldg where they allow pets is completely separate from the one where they allow people. So you would be safe there.

I fear that you will have to contact the individual properties and be assured that even if some part of the establishment does allow pets, that those areas are completely separate and that the rooms used for pets are never rented to animal-free guests.

I know what you mean about the firestorm.....I have often wanted to wonder about the current trend of being accompanied by one's animals wherever one goes but it is clearly a &quot;to each his own issue&quot; (and I myself have a sister who often travels w/2 cats and a dog!), but I for one, prefer not to make the acquaintance of adorable doggies in my hotel accommodations.... :) I don't think you need to have allergies in order to have that preference.

Thanks, everybody, especially socialworker for getting it.

We are basing ourselves in Richmond for the winter with monthly trips home to Nantucket and other journeys to the western Carolinas and probably back to SW Florida.

Although tests showed years ago that I am allergic to cats, it really hasn't become a problem until recent years, and being confined in a room with a dog also affects my breathing.

The other issue is best explained in this anecdote: at a hotel in Mystic last year, some of our fellow guests went out for a long, late evening leaving two lonely little dogs to yap and bark the entire time they were gone. Why am I paying to endure this?

Fido may never bark when you are there, but when you are gone he raises hell for hours and, if my own wonderful Cairn terrier was any example, pees all over the furniture legs to tell you how mad he was that you were gone.

PS: We didn't ever leave him in a hotel room.

When we moved from the NorthEast to Florida, I found that all La Quinta hotels allow dogs.
When we moved from Florida to Portland Oregon, we only stayed in La Quinta Hotels.
When we got to Portland, we found out at the Monaco Hotel that their chain also accepts dogs.
Pup was a very well traveled dog who stayed in some pretty cool hotels :)

Even those hotels which charge for pets, such as Marriott and their $100 charge in properties which allow pets, that is no guarantee that the supposed "pet cleaning" actually took place. The charge is, in some instances, levied as some sort of guarantee against damage; in others it is levied as some sort of post-pet cleaning/pest destruction fee.

As you know, people sneak pets into their rooms.

<that is no guarantee that the supposed "pet cleaning" actually took place>
So true! Our cats have gotten fleas from hotels we've stayed in with them. And no, we don't go everywhere with them: we have moved across the country several times.

This is a 7 year old thread.

That's 49 dog years.

And 89 million generations of fleas.

Oops .. my fault ..

There's no fault! What's the biggie about commenting on an old thread?Some people here act like it's a crime.

I'd say 7 years old or not that it is completely relevant for those people who are concerned about pet allergies.

Yes, the issue is not time-sensitive, but is more relevant than ever as more and more people travel with pets and (it seems) more and more people have allergies.

I didn't see any new information about hotels that were now pet friendly or pet unfriendly, just a repeat of basic advice that had already been covered 7 years ago. I am sure some hotel chains have changed their policies since then but may have missed where someone posted an updated list.

Nobody said it was a crime to comment. I simply pointed out that it was old because occasionally people will inadvertently top an old thread, triggering a cascade of people trying to give advice to an OP who has long moved on. I sincerely apologize to NewbE for pointing out the age of the thread and hope he/she can forgive me the transgression.