Hotel cards, chains, and pets

[Anonymous]

Having just spent my two free nights at the Hyatt Carmel Hylands and typing this from a room in San Francisco that will be free via Arrival+ points, my attention is turning to the next trip we're discussing. When I first found the world of CC's, I opted for A+ since we were primarily a road-tip, non-brand-loyal couple. While this is still primarily true, I learned that the branded hotel cards can have some awesome benefits and got Hyatt and RC (still have free RC nights to use). We since switched to stockpiling MR, but it looks like the trip that that was intended for is some time off. New, more immediate plan: 

back to road-tripping, likely with two dogs. So...

Any thoughts on chains/cards that are good for dog friendly stays. I know one or more of the Marriott brands is dog friendly (RI?) We're looking at a week+ trip up/down CA/OR/WA this summer. A preliminary bit of research makes me think that two likely places to stay are Choice or BW and neither card seems particularly breathtaking. I'd love to hear opinions if anyone has them. (I may still have a pre-approval/invitation to apply or something for the BW on my desk.) 

I posted in an active IHG thread as that's another possibility I think. And that one at least has a decent sign up and ongoing bonus. 

And we're in the last couple days of the SPG bonus. Looks like those take pets, but there aren't a ton in the non-major areas. 

Part of our wallet shuffle for 4/1 has been deciding whether to switch from MR to UR given that I've recently gotten the Ink + and FU on top of the Freedoms we have. But hotel transfer isn't all that great for that. And we'd probably be better off with utilizing the Arrival+ for general spend given our current direction. 

(And I haven't even begun to look at which hotels don't have crazy pet charges if they DO take pets. I think RC fits in there. And I think our dogs are too big for Hyatt, IIRC.)

[Anonymous]

Starwood as a chain are extremely dog friendly.  I have yet to stay at one of their properties that is not dog friendly.  However, their footprint is pretty small when compared to HIlton or Marriott, so they may not be in the places you're looking to visit.  Starwood is also certainly not the cheapest, and if you can find an aLoft or an element in a city for under $150/night there's probably also a Hampton Inn or Courtyard for the same or cheaper.

I also stay at a lot of Hiltons and I'd guess only about 20 - 25% of their properties allow dogs.

[Anonymous]

We stayed at a Best Western that allowed dogs. And while that's usually not my first choice in hotels, I must say they were very accommodating. They gave us a little welcome doggy bag full of treats and offered extra bedding for her crate. I also remember seeing quite a few dogs at the Montage in Laguna Beach. Though that was several years ago. We're in a similar situation as you. Mostly road trips along the West Coast. It's been more difficult than expected finding pet friendly properties. I feel like smaller, independent hotels tend to be more accepting. That's one reason I wanted the Venture.

[Anonymous]

I had almost talked myself into SPG for me or DH. All the Sheraton's and some of the Westin's I checked took dogs with the best policies I could find. I was going to go for it today before the 35k deal expired if I could figure out how to meet the spend.  But it expired yesterday. 

Probably for the best. But truly, no extra charge, no deposit, if they take them, they take big dogs. I'll still look to stay at Sheraton's potentially. Not the best use of MR, but if we didn't want to pay cash, we could use some MR. And if we find we like them, we could go for a deal the next time it comes up. 

[Anonymous]

Good thread. I am keeping an eye on it because we have a dog and would like to travel with him.

[irunfromcredit]

I take both my fur babies on road trips and we stay at the residence inn, part of Marriott or just rent a vacation rental that is dog friendly.

[Anonymous]

Good to know Starwood properties are so accepting. I just picked up the SPG and this is a great unexpected benefit!

[Anonymous]

At least one Park Hyatt allows dogs (i.e., DC). But I would imagine the dogs would have to be rather refined in nature.

http://parkwashington.hyatt.com/en/hotel/our-hotel/pet-policy.html

Treats, a comfortable dog bed, special attention, a pet menu, water bowl, and other canine amenities are also provided.

A number of the Hyatts also provide walking trail maps for you and your pet, illustrating good routes to walk your furry friend.

Several Hyatts even provide a dog welcome letter, , a dog welcome card in the room in the room in addition to the letter, and a special amenity in the room for your canine friend.

http://hyatthotels.hyatt.com/content/landingpages/en/corporate/global/pet_friendly.html?icamp=hy_hpp...

The PH Chicago also donates 100% of the pet accomodation fee to no-kill shelters:

http://chicago.park.hyatt.com/en/hotel/our-hotel/pet-policy.html

Nice.

[Anonymous]

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@Anonymous wrote:
Good to know Starwood properties are so accepting. I just picked up the SPG and this is a great unexpected benefit!

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Congrats on your SPG. I'm sad I missed it, but as I said it's probably for the best. 

I had trouble finding the dog/pet policy, but if you go to the page for the hotel, you have to click on Announcements. (It's not in the menu along the top, it's down below the name of the hotel IIRC. 

I didn't see them take dogs at any Four Points. If anyone sees that they do, let me know. After trying a few, I stopped looking. 

[Anonymous]

For our family, it's La Quinta. They always accept pets, and if you're a rewards program member, never charge a fee or a deposit.

My wife and I travel with our six cats, and have taken some epic road trips and stay almost exclusively in La Quinta properties. Our longest journey by mile was 9,997 miles (Chicago area to New England, then down through the Blue Ridge Parkway and through Smoky Mountain National and back to home) and our longest by stays was 24 nights (Chicago northwest to Seattle via Glacier National, then through the Utah parks, Rocky Mountain National and then back home), 22 of the 24 nights at La Quinta hotels.

We have used other hotels where a La Quinta was not available. But LQ is easy because it's a sure thing. Sometimes other hotels indicate that they are pet friendly, but then when you actually go to book (or show up at the property), you find out that the management changed last week and they no longer accept pets, or that they accept pets, but there's a $200 "non-refundable deposit," in other words a fee, or some other nonsense.

LQ's rewards program is typical to other chains'; 10pp$ on the room rate, and we have no problem unloading our points at > 1¢ per point, so we're effectively getting a 10%+ discount on every stay. Every month there is a list of double and triple-point hotels (usually new or recently renovated properties), and periodic specials where everything is double points for a specific time period. Other promos can be lucrative, like the one last summer which gave 50¢ off per gallon per LQ stay on the Shell FuelRewards program. We got two full fillups of gas at 1¢ per gallon, in addition to the rewards program points and the CC points!

We had the old LQ Visa card from Chase and last year got the newer LQ Visa card from FNBO. The current LQ Visa card adds another 5pp$ on the entire charge amount for every LQ charge, 2pp$ on car rentals, gas and dining, and comes with a bonus of 20k points on first purchase, plus another 20k points for $10k of spending in the first year. If you figure points are nominally worth 1¢, that equates to at least 3% cashback on general spending, 2% on gas/dining/rentals, and 5% on LQ stays.

I will note that LQ properties run the gamut. Generally speaking, properties that were built as La Quinta's are fantastic. Spacious rooms, beautifully appointed, great lobbies and other public areas. LQ's that were converted from other brands can be really, really, tacky; think an old dilapidated Motel 6 with a paint job and a new sign. TripAdvisor reviews are your friend.

But overall, we've been quite pleased with LQ properties and the LQ card from FNBO.

Chris.