Hotel pet policy

dnewton3

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Indianapolis, IN
Wife and I are in Phoenix area for T-day week to visit inlaws. Staying at a major hotel chain location we’ve been at many times before because we’ve been happy with it.

Last night the adjoining room had a small dog which barked frequently on/off nearly all night. After two hours I called at 11:40pm to complain and the night manager said he’d investigate. This morning at 5:30am it woke me up, after repeatedly waking my wife through the night. I walked down to speak with the desk clerk; it was the same man I spoke with on the phone prior. He said he didn’t have a chance to check last night (in 6 hours?!?). I asked when they were checking out and he said that he couldn’t give out that info. He said that he could move us to another room if it’s a problem tonight, as if somehow we’re the bad guys and we should be inconvenienced (move to another room) for being inconvenienced by the barking dog. I said that if I had to pack our stuff, the move would be to another hotel and not another room. He had no reply other than to let me know after noon if they check out. He also said that the hotel can’t stop a barking dog but moving us would fix the issue (I guess that is true as long as another dog doesn’t move in close by again). So we’re the villains for being victims In my view.

On my way back to my room I actually passed the man on our floor and his dog was barking in the hallway as he carried the little yapper. I asked if his dog was the one barking all night and he replied “not all night”, as if we could debate what the phrase “all night” meant. I guess he’s deaf to his own barking dog, but he was clearly aware that it barked repeatedly through the night. What a tool.

We like the hotel for its proximity to amenities and in-laws. But this may be that camels straw which breaks out back. I looked up the hotel brand policy on the official website and it only said to call each local hotel for pet policies. I guess there’s no written policy to see.

Some people today have no sense of polite and responsible behavior including pets and kids. We both really like dogs but dogs are pets and should be controlled especially in a public area Where people are trying to sleep at a normal time.

Am I wrong here? Are we the problem?
 
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No you're not the problem.

Sadly, this seems to be another example of "I don't get paid enough to handle this" and the easier path for the clerk was to uproot you rather than deal with the issue. If you agree to change rooms or leave early, problem solved and he didn't have to confront the real problem.

Seems like a lot of businesses today are catering to the trouble-makers and not worrying about the people they should really be worried about pleasing.
 
Where I stay they put all the dogs on the first floor opposite of the pool.
That said you always get somebody sneaking one in as it is $7 a night for a pet.
My second worst experience was someone the floor above sounded like they were bowling all night.
I never went back.

The worst experience I had was I went to lunch and came back to the Hotel. Four rooms up
the man beat up his wife and then killed himself. I arrived as they were hauling him out.
Doesn't make for the warm and fuzees....
 
They should have at least offered you a ROOM UPGRADE!
Not much to upgrade from what we have because we get a suite for the five days we’re here. I may ask for a night‘s refund based on the fact that I complained and they did nothing for hours by the night manager’s own admission.

I don’t know what irritates me more… the lazy attitude of the hotel nite mgr or the “don’t-care-how-I-screw-others“ attitude of the dog owner. It’s not the dogs fault after all. The owner could muzzle the dog presumably but he probably thinks that would be cruel. Some folks care more about animals than people.
 
Villains? Easy on the drama. As someone who does 200 nights a year in hotels for 24 years now, it's not just dogs. It's people who talk loudly in the halls, it's drunks, it's kids hockey tournaments in Canada and Girls softball tournaments in the USA (the parents are worse than the kids), it's ice machines being used at 3am, it's loud music and TV's on all night, it's door keys that don't work, it's..it's...it's.....

Life in a hotel isn't like life at home. Either you take a deep breath and let it go, or let it get under your skin. Like airline delays it's out of your control sometimes.
 
I agree with everyone that you aren’t the problem, but feel sorry for the folks stuck with a yappy dog. I would have graciously taken the offer of the room move and carried on. Life’s too short......
I generally try to find compromise. But if I have to pack up to move to another room then another hotel with no pets may make for a more assured sleep. Assuming yappy kids or noisy adults don’t show up. Which is why we’ve liked this hotel and used it for more than 10 years; always been a good experience until last night.

in this case moving to another hotel shows I’m willing to take my money elsewhere. Taking another room only shows I’m a pushover.
 
Villains? Easy on the drama. As someone who does 200 nights a year in hotels for 24 years now, it's not just dogs. It's people who talk loudly in the halls, it's drunks, it's kids hockey tournaments in Canada and Girls softball tournaments in the USA (the parents are worse than the kids), it's ice machines being used at 3am, it's loud music and TV's on all night, it's door keys that don't work, it's..it's...it's.....

Life in a hotel isn't like life at home. Either you take a deep breath and let it go, or let it get under your skin. Like airline delays it's out of your control sometimes.
Well said
Talking in the hall and door slamming tick me off.
 
I know every one of them really is annoying. No matter when I leave I hold that door from slamming and gently pull it shut. I've gotten immune to it all over the years, it is expected even if it truly is obnoxious that people just don't care. When my kids were small they would know they had Dads rules in hotels lol.

Some hotels will address it, but a $14/hr night auditor is just hoping it will go away.
 
I travel for work and spend more than half the year away from home. I choose hotels that don't allow pets. I always ask for a top floor, facing away from the road or highway. Furthermore, at the first sign of trouble, I ask for a new room. I try not to let it become a week long ordeal. There are times when all hotels are full, and change is not an option. However, that's relatively rare.

One universal truth, it's always nice to book a great hotel room. Some hotels have suites with a separate bedroom, that is also back from the hall. This puts at least half of the walls and the hallway (mostly) out of earshot.
 
I travel for work and spend more than half the year away from home. I choose hotels that don't allow pets. I always ask for a top floor, facing away from the road or highway. Furthermore, at the first sign of trouble, I ask for a new room. I try not to let it become a week long ordeal. There are times when all hotels are full, and change is not an option. However, that's relatively rare.

One universal truth, it's always nice to book a great hotel room. Some hotels have suites with a separate bedroom, that is also back from the hall. This puts at least half of the walls and the hallway (mostly) out of earshot.
CJ,

All great tips... Will also add away from the elevator and ice maker.....
 
I travel for work and spend more than half the year away from home. I choose hotels that don't allow pets. I always ask for a top floor, facing away from the road or highway. Furthermore, at the first sign of trouble, I ask for a new room. I try not to let it become a week long ordeal. There are times when all hotels are full, and change is not an option. However, that's relatively rare.

One universal truth, it's always nice to book a great hotel room. Some hotels have suites with a separate bedroom, that is also back from the hall. This puts at least half of the walls and the hallway (mostly) out of earshot.
I too tried the top floor trick.
I figured with nobody above me I could avoid some of the noise.

Well I got screwed. Top floor was a dump and dirty and held i guess for locals or overflow and storage.
No vending and no services.

This time that didn't work.
I checked out...
 
The days of common courtesy and manners is long gone. The manager should have asked them to quiet the dog or they would have to move to another room.

But in today's climate of snowflakes inability for civil disagreement the problem is you and your systemic privilege expecting perfect neighbors. So If you don't quiet down and stop complaining you will be banned you from the hotel. This is the upside down world we now live in get used to it or get ear plugs.
 
I also travel with a white noise machine, helps a little bit. I was just in Las Vegas and may have ticked off the people next to my room. The hotel alarm clock was apparently set to midnight and after a long day of imbibing with friends I went to bed at 11:30. The alarm was blaring when it finally penetrated my deep, deep sleep at 1:27 AM. Hopefully nobody else had to hear it, felt bad about that one and was pissed I didn’t look at the clock when I arrived at the room.


 
I do overseas projects and have a choice of hotels or apartments - even though dining is so much easier in a hotel - the rest is not worth it - so got an apartment again … Found a 2BR that shares no walls downstairs - and just one bath wall upstairs … it’s quiet too …
 
CJ,

All great tips... Will also add away from the elevator and ice maker.....
True. But some hotels put their suites near the elevator. It's not all that bad, as the "living room" is adjacent to the elevator shaft and is sufficient insulation from the noise.
 
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