VisitScotland’s research has shown that the pets market is large: 46% of all UK households have one pet or more and 31% of all households have a dog. Almost a third (30%) of holidaymakers plan their entire holiday around how suitable the destination is for their pet and 72% of dog owners claim they would take more holidays in the UK if there was a better attitude towards dogs. These potential customers are valuable – those that holiday with pets had an average spend of an extra £126 compared to holidays without pets, while over two thirds consider their dogs as family members when booking holidays.
The ASSC believes that self-catering should be a perfect fit for holiday-makers with pets and we’re keen to encourage more members to take their share of the ‘hound pound’.
In 2016, the ASSC won an award from VisitScotland’s Growth Fund to encourage our members to consider welcoming pets and to highlight to visitors to Scotland the advantages of choosing self-catering accommodation when holidaying with the family pet. Our activity focuses on dogs, but we are also featuring properties which welcome other pets, including horses.
With this in mind we’ve introduced a new Pets Welcome Charter and we’re asking out pet friendly properties to sign up to the Charter and to use the Charter mark.
The Paws for a Break Pets Welcome Charter
ASSC Members offer guests a warm welcome and many members already welcome pets. The ASSC’s Paws for a Break Pet Welcome Charter allows you to show potential guests that you make an extra effort to ensure pet owners feel comfortable on holiday, with appropriate facilities and services that demonstrate an alignment to the ASSC’s long-standing commitment to quality, which helps us stand out in a crowded marketplace.
If facilities meet or exceed expectation of guests and pets alike, guests are more likely to return year on year.
To qualify as a Paws for a Break Pet Welcome Charter Member:
INFORMATION TO BE CLEARLY IDENTIFIED ON YOUR WEBSITE
- Be clear about the number, size and type of pet accepted (this can be restricted to dogs only).
- Detail any additional charges for pets.
- Detail any restrictions or rules for pets.
- Detail any damage or breakage policy.
- Your EmbraceScotland listing should include ‘pets welcome’ in the description, which will ensure your property is returned in search results.
YOUR PROPERTY
You should provide:
- Water bowl.
- Suitable disposal equipment (poop scoop bags) and bins to be provided, as appropriate.
- Details of suggested local dogs walks if appropriate.
- Contact details and directions to local pet shop and vet. If you don’t have local facilities then this should be highlighted and details of the nearest facilities provided.
- Pointers to suitable exercise area nearby.
- Display of Scottish Access Code, available from www.outdooraccessscotland.com
- Details of local pubs and restaurants, where pets are accepted.
You might like to consider providing
- Dog towels for drying off wet dogs.
- Food Bowl.
As a property owner, you may wish to go even further and offer more facilities to your pet owning guests, and exceed guest expectations: branded dog blanket, dog tags, lead, dog walking, day kennels, treats, dog grooming etc.
