Pet hotels provide a place for your dog or cat to stay when you are traveling. Unlike a simple kennel, a pet hotel is more luxurious, with some of the more expensive suites actually resembling a real home, with couches, beds and chairs. With people spending around $10 billion on their pets annually, starting a pet hotel can be a great way to turn your love for animals into a steady business. It takes careful planning to open a pet hotel, but if you do things right, you'll be a success.
Instructions
1. Determine how luxurious your pet hotel will be. A pet kennel just has crates to house the animals, but a pet hotel should be a step above that. You may want to create some "budget" rooms that are large crates with comfortable amenities in addition to larger rooms. Doing market research in your area will help you determine how much money people are likely to spend on pets. In high-income areas, you may want to have more luxury rooms. You may also want to include pet-grooming services, so that pets can have a day at the spa.
2. Write a business plan. A solid business plan will give you direction for opening a hotel for animals. It can also help you get the funding you need to build your facility.
3. Talk to a bank about funding. You'll need a considerable amount of money to start a pet hotel---funds to cover renting or buying a space, remodeling the space to look like a pet hotel and purchasing supplies, such as food and pet beds. SBA loans are low-interest loans designed for new business owners.
4. Find and set up a location. The location for a pet hotel doesn't have to be in a well-trafficked area, which means that you may be able to save some money. Once you've found a space, you need to create pet rooms throughout the building where pets can stay. Luxury rooms should feel like a real home, while budget rooms should still feel comfortable.
5. Hire employees who are knowledgeable about animals. Your staff should understand animals and enjoy spending time with them. Pet owners want to leave their animals in the hands of someone who obviously loves pets.
6. Advertise for business. Talk to the owners of pet-related stores and service providers in your area---the pet supply shop, the veterinarian, the pet groomer. Offer to exchange referrals and give them business. For example, if you buy all of your supplies from the pet supply shop, they'll have no problem referring their customers to your pet hotel.
Tags: budget rooms, business plan, funding need, real home, rooms should, supply shop, your hotel