Hotels going to the dogs

Pet friendly hotels have been around for years with a growing number of sites pointing to hotels that are pet-friendly. But lush hotels designed and operated exclusively for pets seem to be a new frontier in hospitality according to a report in the Chicago Tribune.

The report features the Paradise 4 Paws resort run by Mr. Saq Nadeem noting that "with the travel industry plummeting last year, entrepreneur Saq Nadeem couldn't have picked a worse time to open a luxury pet hotel. The "resort is complete with splashing pool, indoor grassy play area, flat-screen TVs, Webcam access and private rooms with attached patios. It opened near Chicago's O'Hare Internatonal airport in May of last year just as the travel industry was descending rapidly due to the economy."

Its success has led the entrepreneur to plans for another location near Chicago's other airport, Midway with larger plans to open in 10 cities  over the next five years subject to raising funds.

Others have preceded Paradise 4 Paws and include Waghotels in California whose first quadriped hostelry opened as far back as 2006. There are plenty of others in the competitive mix including pet retailer petsmart with as many as 152 petshotel locations nationwide. What sets apart paradise 4 paws is, unsurprisingly, the three words that are dinned into every hotelier: location, location, location. By situating themselves at airport locations, paradise 4 paws seems to have melded convenience with costs as real estate prices are likely to be lower there than in the heart of cities.