A king-sized bed, room service, Netflix and Skype probably sounds pretty relaxing.
Wag Hotels believes your dog will think so, too.
Those are some of the amenities at Wag Hotel's Capitol Suite in West Sacramento, where an overnight stay will cost you (and your pup) $110 per night. The high-end pet-boarding chain is trying to turn the kennel experience on its head.
"We saw that there was a need for a different type of pet care -- pet care that people feel really comfortable and excited about. There was no place that you could take your dog and feel that he was in safe hands. There was the kennels, the loud barking, where everyone is in a room. Wag Hotels is the opposite. We have private rooms -- a customizable stay. Each dog is different in their personality, and we wanted to ensure that each dog coming in had that experience," describes Kristen Rau, who oversees business development for Wag Hotels.
Wag Hotels' business model includes boarding, grooming and doggie daycare, where owners can drop off their dogs starting at 7 a.m. and pick them up by 7 p.m. Aside from the West Sacramento hotel, the chain includes locations in San Francisco, Redwood City and, as of next month, Oakland. With large areas for dogs to run around in, outdoor spaces and spacious suites, each hotel has more than 30,000 square feet of space.
"We have monthly pack people where they get their monthly pack every single month and it's a rotation. It's the five-day-a-weekers. And then you have some people where it's once or twice a week; it kind of depends. We get a lot of nurses who work a 12-hour day and they don't want to leave their dog at home," Rau explained.
While the ultra-luxe amenities may strike some as absurd (dogs in the Capitol Suite are promised a "before bed belly scratch and bedtime story"), the business is clearly striking a chord. Last month, Wag Hotels raised nearly $3.2 million to continue its expansion and upgrade existing facilities.
"The idea is just to continue growing. We're looking in Sacramento, L.A., continuing into the Bay Area, so we're constantly looking and keeping an eye out for a good property that speaks to us," Rau said.
Wag Hotels is currently hiring at all its locations for positions in client services and grooming. Rau said the company provides training, and groomers can make between $60,000 and $70,000 annually. Applications are online at Wag Hotels' website.
