pet friendly hotels

We occasionally get questions from visitors who are planning trips with their pets.  Since we specialize more in air travel for pets, we asked Leila Coe, dog travel enthusiast and blogger on AndASmallDog.com, to tackle the following question about taking pets on road trips and how to plan for the big move:

Depending on the cost to fly my dog from Georgia to Wisconsin, we may drive our dog up during our move (June 1-14 time frame)...Do you have a list of hotels that would take our dog along the way?

-Dan P.

Taking a road-trip with your pet can be a fun and less stressful trip than flying with your pet. There are pet-friendly motels and hotels along the highways - especially in or near major cities - so that finding a hotel should be fairly easy. You may have to stop in at a few different hotels before you find one that accepts pets, if you haven't pre-planned your stopovers.

Some things to keep in mind:

• Budget-friendly hotels such as La Quinta will most likely accept dogs and many don't charge any extra fee. There are a lot of new La Quintas and rooms can be less than $100 including breakfast and internet. Motel 6 is now completely pet-friendly with no fee and no weight limits.
• If you are traveling with a family as well as your pet, and want more room, then many Residence Inn's and Hawthorne Suites will accept pets.
• If your dog is less than 25 lbs. you'll have an easier time finding hotels at the spur of the moment. If your dog is over this weight, pre-planning is recommended. Hotels often have weight limits which can vary a lot - but general rule is the smaller your pet, the easier it will be to find accommodations. This rule isn't necessarily fair and is something I'm hoping to change.  Check out my new initiative, Give Dogs A Break.
• There is often a pet fee - sometimes charged per pet, per night or sometimes a one time charge. Always ask before you make a reservation what the pet fee is, and if its per night. Pet fees can range from $10-$100+ so you will want to avoid a nasty surprise on your bill.

If you're looking to find a place to stay with your pets in the United Kingdom, try Maps4Pets.  This website offers free interactive maps for researching pet friendly accomodations in the UK, including hotels, bed and breakfasts and more.  This could be a great resource if you're looking to get away for a while, or need a place for you and your pets to rest after a long flight!

If you and your pet are feeling lucky, a relocation to Las Vegas just might be in the cards.  The housing market slump in the Vegas area means that you're likely to find a good deal on a house.

If you're looking for pet friendly hotels upon arrival, this Examiner write-up has some great pet-friendly options.  Just remember - the casinos themselves are for two-leggeds!

If you're traveling in or out of the Bradley International Airport in Connecticut this summer with your pets, you might look into staying at a pet friendly hotel the night or after before to reduce travel time.