"Fully Booked for Three Months"... 'Pet Hotel' Bustling Ahead of Summer Vacation

Sono Hotel & Resort, Over 90% Booking Rate in July-August
Kensington Hotel & Resort Fully Booked 3 Months in Advance
Diverse Room Types Based on Pet Dog's Age and Personality

As the peak summer vacation season approaches, pet-only rooms where guests can stay with their dogs have been fully booked for three consecutive months.

Pet-friendly cafe & restaurant 'Thinking Dog'.
Photo by Sono Hotels & Resorts

According to the hotel industry on the 8th, the reservation rate for pet-friendly rooms at major hotels and resorts has significantly increased. Sono Hotels & Resorts, which has the largest number of pet-only rooms in Korea with about 170 rooms, saw over 90% of its pet-only rooms booked during the summer vacation period at the end of July and early August. The average reservation rate for the last week of July (including weekends) was 80%, and for the first week of August (including weekends), it reached 95%. Considering the steady increase in 'petfam'?people who cherish their dogs like family?Daemyung Sono Group first introduced pet-only rooms in July 2020 at Vivaldi Park in Hongcheon, Gangwon-do, and Sono Calm Goyang in Gyeonggi-do. According to the Korea Rural Economic Institute, the domestic pet market size, which was 1.9 trillion won in 2015, has grown about 2.4 times to 4.5786 trillion won this year. It is expected to reach approximately 6 trillion won by 2027, four years from now.

Kensington Hotels & Resorts, which operates about 100 pet-only rooms combined in Seorak Valley and Chungju, has already fully booked weekend reservations for the next 2 to 3 months. Especially, the 'Premium Pet Room,' which has fewer rooms, has such fierce competition that guests have to wait more than three months. A representative from Kensington Hotels & Resorts said, "Since COVID-19, the reservation rate for pet-only rooms has steadily increased," adding, "All rooms were fully booked during this month's holidays as well. The popularity of pet-only rooms is expected to remain high during the upcoming summer vacation season."

In response to this situation, the hotel industry is introducing various products to capture the petfam, who have emerged as a new 'big spenders.' They are diversifying room types according to the age and personality of the dogs and displaying and selling amenities provided in pet-only rooms throughout the facilities. Kensington Hotels & Resorts operates private pet rooms for dogs that lack social skills and cannot get along with other dogs. Guests staying in these rooms can use a private passage that connects the room directly to the pet park without encountering other guests, allowing them to spend independent time in the pet park as well. Daemyung Resort sells various pet supplies at its pet-only restaurant, 'Thinking Dog.'

Professor Eunhee Lee of Inha University's Department of Consumer Studies said, "Consumers who own dogs are likely to have a certain level of economic power, which overlaps with the main target demographic of hotels. Therefore, expanding services for petfam is one of the important strategies for hotels," adding, "We expect various facilities and services for petfam to continue emerging in the hotel industry."