The Dog Friendly Standard

There is no agreed definition of “pet friendly” in the hotel industry. Hotels use the label freely but apply it inconsistently. Policies vary by property, by staff member, and sometimes even by the day. Dog owners cannot reliably compare one hotel to another because the same words mean different things in different places.

Independent assessment of more than 2,000 hotels across 56 countries found that 49% of properties describing themselves as “pet friendly” scored a D or F against basic dog friendliness criteria. The label is broken, and dog owners know it.

Cat owners have even less reason to trust it. Only 12% of hotels using the term actually allow cats. For dog owners, the label suggests a consistent, comparable standard of welcome, but in practice it signals nothing reliable.

“Pet Friendly” misleads one group while excluding the other.

The Roch Dog Friendly Standard replaces undefined claims with a precise, enforceable definition. It sets out seven minimum requirements that any hotel must meet to call itself dog friendly. Hotels that meet all seven are certified. Hotels that do not are not. There are no partial passes, no tiers, and no exceptions.

The standard defines what dog friendly means. The assessment framework defines how it is tested. The reference guide defines every term used in the standard.

Under this standard, an accommodation is dog friendly when it permits dogs to stay overnight in guest rooms as a matter of published policy, applies dog rules clearly and consistently, provides real food and water bowls in dog rooms, and allows dogs to accompany guests in at least one shared indoor guest area where legally permitted.

The term means predictable access, transparent rules, and non discretionary treatment. Temporary allowances, informal permissions, and discretionary exceptions do not meet this definition and are not considered dog friendly under this standard.

Read the full definition →

Certification is pass/fail against all seven. No partial certifications, no scores, no tiers.

1. A published pet policy, accessible within two clicks of the homepage
2. Real food and water bowls provided in dog rooms
3. Dogs allowed in at least one shared indoor guest area
4. Fee transparency: amount and structure disclosed before booking
5. Deposit status clearly stated
6. Deposit amount disclosed, if applicable
7. Maximum number of dogs per room stated

Read the full requirements →