Have Pooch, Will Travel
Molly is an effortless business traveler. She finds flying relaxing and acclimates easily to her three main destinations, Florida, New York, and Massachusetts. She is something of a celebrity, recognized by the concierges at her regular hotels, and when she shows up at the Chesterfield in Palm Beach, she can expect one of her favorite meals to be waiting for her: a small plate of bacon bits.
Molly is an 11-pound Yorkshire terrier, and her owner, Stephen Braverman, is a fundraiser who travels the East Coast on business, usually with his dog in tow.
Once upon a time, such a work-related travel pairing was unheard of. The pet travel niche had been isolated to low-end motels catering to road-tripping families and luxury hotels bending the rules for fussy celebrities. The pet industry has since exploded to its current state, the second-fastest-growing sector for U.S. retailers, according to the American Pet Products Manufacturers Association.
The travel industry has embraced the trend, and that has in part led to almost twice as many travelers with pets since 2003, the trade group says. Derek Welsh, president of Bringyourpet.com, a website that lists pet-friendly lodging, says the number of hotels that take pets has increased substantially in the past few years. "For hotels to be more competitive, they've got to accept pets," he says.
And often, hotels do not stop at just "accepting" guests' furry friends. Loews Hotels offers specialized bedding, place mats, and food and water bowls for pets. The Ritz-Carlton San Francisco features a Bow Wow Chow menu that includes raw beef tenderloin (with boiled sliced carrots) at $45 per pound, and the Hotel Indigo Atlanta holds a weekly Canine Cocktail Hour where Chihuahuas mingle with Great Danes while listening to the Baha Men classic "Who Let the Dogs Out."
Snack time. While most owners traveling with their pets are on leisure trips, business travelers have not been left out. Extended-stay hotels, which cater to business travelers, have long recognized the advantage of pet-friendliness. Staybridge and Candlewood suites offer goodies for their four-legged guests-and also boast notable pet populations.
Midwest Airlines' pet-friendly approach to frequent-flier miles has enticed animal-loving road warriors. After three round trips, an animal's fourth flight is free, while human fliers can redeem their own miles to purchase trips for their pet. For those higher on the pay scale, NetJets, in which fliers have partial ownership of aircraft, offers 24-7 access to veterinary advice from the University of Pennsylvania.
Even if it's easier to get a Pomeranian on a plane than a bottle of lotion nowadays, traveling with pets is still no walk in the dog park. Plenty of hotels are pet-averse or impose restrictions, such as weight and occupancy limits. Airlines can also be restrictive, says Barbara Parks, who books corporate trips for Garber Travel. She checks to see whether a client's flight has not already exceeded its limit of animals on board. Travelers with pets must often also stop at the check-in counter to show veterinary paperwork and have the animal inspected. Flying with pets is expensive, too. Most hotels levy fees of from $10 a day to $125 for an entire stay, while major airlines usually charge anywhere from $50 to $100 one way to carry pets in the cabin. Employers typically won't fork over the extra money.
For some business travelers, though, the cost and hassle are worth it. Martha Macks-Kahn, a Baltimore art dealer, estimates she'll spend only three days at home in February. To cope, she totes Diego, her 2-year-old Chihuahua, around with her wherever she goes. "He has his job," she says. "He has to keep me happy."
Keeping morale high may ultimately be good for business, and for Macks-Kahn, Diego himself is a boon. The 5-pound wonder is a good-luck charm when it comes to selling her high-end pieces. She says he even helped her unload a painting their first day together. "It's nice to have company," she says. "It's an added bonus that he can sell art."
This story appears in the February 26, 2007 print edition of U.S. News & World Report.
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