Whenever we plan for our next trip we always want to make sure we do our due diligence to find the best petfriendly hotels for our adventure dog, Bodhi. Having traveled to 7 countries and over 30+ cities, we have had our fair share of amazing hotels to not so great stays.
Over the years, we have nailed down the top websites we use when looking for petfriendly hotels and for planning. We use a combination of all the sites to find the very best deals, but also to save the most time when planning!
Disclaimer: All views and opinions expressed in this blog article are our own and do not necessarily reflect the views or positions of any entities they represent.
Petfriendly Hotels - The ONLY 4 Sites Worth Your Time to Ensure You Get The Best Deals 2023
We found that Booking.com is our absolute favorite site when looking for petfriendly hotels and accommodations. Mainly because their pet filter is ACCURATE. Most hotel aggregators sites usually have similar listings and prices so there isn’t much to differentiate them by. However, once we started traveling with our pet, Bodhi, we noticed a lot of hotel aggregators do not keep their pet filter up to date.
Imagine: You spends days, weeks, maybe even months researching everything for your vacation. Looking for the perfection destination; making the perfect itinerary; making sure everything is perfect. You look forward to making new memories with your pet in new locations, but when you arrive at your hotel, they inform you that they do not allow pets. The horror! You’re tired, annoyed, and just over it. After hours of traveling, the last thing you need is finding out that your booking site did not update their pet filter. We’ve experience this nightmare before. So now, we always use Booking.com as the first stop when looking for hotels where we can bring our dog, Bodhi.
After we find a few different hotel options we like, we double check other sites to see if there are any prices differences. Booking.com usually has great deals if you are a part of their loyalty rewards program. We strongly recommend joining their rewards program, Genius. Sometimes we’ve been able to get over 30% off (during high season) of petfriendly hotels because of this!
Below, is a search bar for you to quickly use if you want to start researching petfriendly hotels now. Make sure you turn on the pet filter! 😊
After you put in the place you’re headed to and your dates and click on the search button. You’ll be loaded onto a new page. On that new page, scroll down to where it says “Amenities” and select “Pet friendly”. It will automatically reload your search with the right filter.
The next place we like to check is Hotels.com. Why do we go here next? Because we really like their little “What’s around” section. Many hotel aggregator sites have this information, but we find that Hotels.com has the easiest interface to follow. They will typically include the top tourist landmarks, nearby airports, train stations and how long that walk/drive would be. You can see the example of what we mean below.
Saving time with little hacks like this — really adds up so you can get to good part, which is your vacation with your pet! We use Booking.com to find petfriendly hotels that we know are up to date. From there, we’ll narrow down our list to about 5 or so. Next, we use Hotels.com to look up the hotels and build out our itinerary. When you click on a hotel, in the expanded view, they have the “What’s around” section so you can easily plan walks and site-seeing adventures quickly!
Not sure if anyone has heard or used Klook before… we actually only started using Klook recently. We used to be those travelers that didn’t really plan a lot before jetting off to our destination. Now that we bring Bodhi with us all over the world, planning ahead is crucial. Over the years we’ve become more active “travelers” rather than “vacation-ers”. There is nothing wrong with wanting to just relax (no thinking or doing) on vacation — however, with Bodhi we now prefer to be more active outdoors. It is now a priority for us to embrace the local culture and truly explore the places we visit.
As avid travelers, we typically look for the best authentic experiences. We always try to find the best deals and have found that Klook offers better deals compared to sites like Viator and Airbnb Experiences. As you can see below, Viator (first picture) has the same activity for $259.00, Airbnb Experiences (second picture) has the activity for $279.00 while Klook (third picture) has it for $174.70.
Now of course we can’t talk about petfriendly hotels or pet travel without mentioning Bring Fido! They are an exceptional website, specializing in dog travel! If you’re looking to travel with your dog, cat and other pets then this site is an amazing resource. They offer a wealth of knowledge about dog beaches, parks, restaurants, hiking trails, tours, and pet-friendly shops all over the world! Whether you’re ready to book a hotel or not, we recommend at least checking out this site as you start planning your trip with your pet.
Typically we do not use the Bring Fido site to book hotels (as we’ve seen more up to date hotel options with Booking.com). But we love their restaurants and activities tab. They have so much information for almost every city in the world — so we find this very helpful when creating our itinerary or just to find inspiration for our next trip with our dog!
Bonus Tip When You're Booking Petfriendly Hotels + Flights
We always recommend using a VPN to book your travel related needs! Most websites use dynamic pricing (meaning they are automatically updated and changed) for the location you’re in. We have found some extra savings when booking through a VPN and setting our location for a different country such as Italy, Turkey, or France.
Our VPN of choice is NordVPN because they have the easiest set up, friendliest user interface and also the fastest customer support. Their plans are quite affordable at ~$5/month we have been able to save hundreds of $$$ on flights and hotels because of the VPN!
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
What are the best hotels to stay in with Pets?
We find that there isn’t a straight answer to this and instead recommend you use Booking.com as the main place to look for petfriendly hotels. We explain why we love and use Booking.com above.
However, there are many petfriendly hotel chains that we can recommend across the board. Hilton hotels, Sonesta, Best Western, and Accor Hotels are among some of the best hotel brands Bodhi (our traveling dog) likes!
How do I select petfriendly on booking com?
To find petfriendly hotels on the Booking.com website, go to the left-hand side of the page, find the “Facilities” sub-heading, and select “Pets allowed.” Wait for the page to reload with the filtered results.
We also explain in more details in the Booking.com section above!
How do I know if my hotel is dog friendly?
Tips for finding petfriendly hotels:
- Check hotel amenities for petfriendly options.
- Inquire about the hotel’s pet policy when booking.
- Explore travel directories listing petfriendly hotels.
- Look for specific petfriendly amenities, not just tolerance.
Can I leave my dog alone in a hotel room?
Most hotels are generally fine with guests leaving their dogs alone, but keep in mind that they may ask you to leave if your dog becomes too loud or destructive during your absence.
Is petfriendly still an option on Airbnb?
Yes.
Airbnb gives hosts the flexibility to choose whether to allow pets in their homes. While some hosts may opt to not accommodate pets due to allergies or cleaning concerns, the platform ensures convenience for guests by offering multiple listings of petfriendly hosts, giving them a range of options to choose from.
However, please note that we generally do not prefer Airbnb’s stays when we travel with Bodhi (perhaps that is another blog for another day).
What happens if you don't tell a hotel you have a dog?
When you check in, the staff will most likely notice that you have a pet with you. Please note that hotels will generally have guidelines and conditions you need to agree to before checking in.
Failure to comply with their pet policy may result in eviction from the hotel and potential fees or penalties. Guests are typically required to sign a pet agreement upon check-in at most petfriendly hotels.
Are dogs allowed to sleep in hotel beds?
Generally we haven’t had an issue with Bodhi sleeping on the hotel beds. If there are any concerns about protecting the hotel’s linens, you can always ask the hotel to provide extra blankets for your pet to sleep on. You can also check with the hotel upon arrival as well!
We hope you found this article helpful!
Peace out,
Travel Dog Bodhi 🐶
Did this post help you sniff out some useful info for your furry friend?
If so, don’t be shy, give us a bark in the comments section! We love hearing from our fellow dog lovers on the go.
