RDWP-01 · White Paper

Pet Friendly Is Broken

Why the hotel industry needs a dog friendly standard, and what that standard looks like.

White Paper

Pet friendly has no agreed definition, no shared standard, and no accountability. This white paper sets out the case for replacing it with something specific, verifiable, and honest.

Published by Roch Dog · RDWP-01 · Version 2.0 · March 2026

White Paper RDWP-01 · Version 2.0

Pet Friendly Is Broken

"Pet friendly" is one of the most used phrases in hotel travel. It is also one of the least meaningful. The term has no agreed definition, no shared standard, and does not even specify which animals it refers to. In practice, the vast majority of travellers booking pet friendly hotels are travelling with dogs. Most pet friendly hotels only accept dogs. Only 10% accept cats.

Roch Dog assessed more than 2,000 hotels across 56 countries and found that 49% score D or F against our ranking measure. All of them call themselves pet friendly. The label is not just vague. It is actively misleading.

This white paper sets out the problem, the data behind it, what hotels are getting wrong, what the industry is saying, and what the Roch Dog Friendly Standard (RDFS-02) does about it.

Download the white paper (PDF) 13 pages · 315 KB

What the paper covers

The problem. Why "pet friendly" as a category is broken. How the same label covers wildly different policies, restrictions, and experiences with no way for guests to tell them apart.

The traveller. How the relationship between dog owners and travel has changed. The rise of DINKWADs, the $4.6 billion market, and what guests actually want from a dog friendly hotel.

The business case. 28% more bookings. 30% more revenue. 76% return rate. Why authentically dog friendly hotels outperform, and why they currently cannot prove it.

The data. What Roch Dog found when it assessed 2,000+ hotels across 56 countries. 49% scored D or F. The five most common failure patterns.

The standard. What the Roch Dog Friendly Standard (RDFS-02) defines, how certification works, and why independence matters.

The industry response. Feedback from hotel operators, consultants, investors, and industry associations during the development of RDFS-02.

Related documents

RDFS-02 Dog Friendly Standard. The standard referenced throughout this paper.

RDFRG-02 Defined Terms. All 29 terms defined in the standard.

RDCAF-02 Assessment Framework. How certification is assessed and maintained.

Published by Roch Dog RDWP-01 · Version 2.0 · March 2026