Dog-Friendly Hotel…Kind of

My twin sister can’t stay in many hotels. That’s because she’s a dog. I’m not saying that hotels are discriminating against my ugly sibling. My sister is literally a dog. Thirteen years ago, my mother “adopted” a stray puppy and, since the puppy was born sometime in March, gave the puppy a birth date that just happened to be mine. So, I refer to her as my twin sister. I don’t mind sharing my birthday with Pup Pup Pollard (yes, that’s her name);it’s just that when my mother gave Pup Pup a birth date, she forgot that it was the day that I was born. (By the way, can anyone recommend a therapist?) To be fair, I can see how my mother made this mistake; Pup Pup (who is part Chow) and I both have purple tongues.

I just read an article about hotels that market themselves as dog-friendly, yet they have weight limits of around 25 pounds. This means that Pup Pup can’t spend the night in many hotels because she weighs 40 pounds. (Where’s Al Sharpton when you need him?) What kind of positioning is this? “We’re dog-friendly – kind of.” Can you imagine if other companies took this approach:

“I’m lovin’ it – sometimes.”

“You’re in good hands with Allstate – unless you weigh over 200 pounds.”

“Like a good neighbor, State Farm is there – but not if you’re fat!”

The article said that some Best Western hotels have weight limits as low as 12 pounds. 12 pounds? I grew up in a tough part of New York City; I’ve seen rats that weighed more than 12 pounds.

I have to admit that this weight limit disturbs me for another reason other than its affect on Pup Pup: if I were a dog, I’d be barred from most hotels, too. That’s because I weigh about 60 pounds in dog weight. (I’ll let you figure it out.)

Hotels impose these weight restrictions for several reasons. For example, bigger dogs shed more fur. I did a lot of traveling when I was the regional sales manager of a small software firm. To save the company money, salespeople had to stay in some hotels that barely had one star. When you checked in, you were given your room key and a can of Lysol. I once asked if I could get clean sheets and the hotel manager gave me a box of detergent and change for a dollar. At these hotels, I often found hair in shower stalls and even on comforters. Should hotels bar men with beards and women with hair past their shoulders?

Hotels also say that there’s another issue: bigger dogs make bigger “accidents.” This increases the cleanup costs and it affects the smell of the room. As a business owner, I can understand this. Then again, has anyone ever gone on Spring break? Talk about accidents in rooms – and the smell. I’m sure a hotel’s cleanup costs are high after Spring break, too. I wonder if hotels with weight limits for dogs also bar students on Spring break?

Lastly, some people just don’t like dogs. They don’t even want to ride elevators with dogs, especially big ones. (Knowing that I weigh 60 pounds in dog weight has shed a new light on all the times I’ve held the elevator for people, only to have them say, “That’s okay – I’ll catch the next one.”)

Some hotels, such as La Quinta, have lifted their weight limits, which is a good idea because I’m sure that what was originally a marketing blunder by many hotels, has now turned into a PR nightmare.