Hotel pet policy

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?
There's no quiet hours for watch dogs. They are on alert 24/7. The only rules a hotel makes are number and size (weight) of the dogs.

But they are no different than noisy humans.

Just get another hotel room that is offered by the front desk.

My large dog rarely barks, so no one notices I have a dog, and I usually stay at La Quinta when I travel with my dog.
 
I was told inone hotel if my dog barked and another guest comainedni woukd bave tknpay for their room and had to sign something agreeing to that.

Extra incentive to keep her quiet.

When i heard another dog barking, i was wondering how to prove it was not my dog, if it came to that.
 
Hotels have been trending to pets being permitted more and more. I would assume those catering more to business travelers will not take part in this trend.

More and more recreational travelers seem to be taking their pets with them and are on the lookout for pet friendly hotels. Those hotels are between a rock and a hard place.
 
Hotels have been trending to pets being permitted more and more. I would assume those catering more to business travelers will not take part in this trend.

More and more recreational travelers seem to be taking their pets with them and are on the lookout for pet friendly hotels. Those hotels are between a rock and a hard place.
Being from Florida you get it.
My hotel had a 45 pound max policy but it didn't mean anything.
My dog Georgia in my avatar was a great girl. ( 130 lbs)
She never barked when told not to even though others yapped all night.
Dogs need a place to stay too. Not against any of that.

They should try to isolate the dog rooms so they are one block. Less complaints that way.
 
If you can get an entire home with VRBO or Airb-n-b or similar, it's often worth it. Especially if travelling in a group. We rented a home in Seattle for our daughter's wedding and of course, we had the whole house.

Even homes with multiple rooms for rent seems better as there is a bit of verting with such services. Hotels have to take whoever has the money for a reservation.


And no, you are not the villain here.
 
I've had bad experiences with noisy people in the room next door but never (not so far) with noisy dogs.

If there is too much noise I insist on another room. We moved on one occasion in the middle of the night.

We generally travel with our dog. I don't believe our dog ever barks in a hotel room and we don't leave her by herself either. If we go out we take her with us.
 
After my experience in the 1990s with the guest next door first calling his wife and talking loud enough that I could hear him and then him getting it on with a co-worker after the call, I carried ear plugs.

Shouldn't have to, but some people are inconsiderate. Dogs, kids, etc, I've heard it all.

I do like the AirBnB and similar as I said before. Especially if we have the whole house for the family.
 
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.

Yep. I always request a top floor far away from elevator.
 
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....
Well you can't expect a hotel to advertise a no pets policy, no wife beating and a no murder/suicide policy. Not sure I'd stay at a hotel that had those last two as a policy. (As an aside, hotels were actually pretty popular for suicides, the numbers went down after they put in GFCIs in their bathrooms.)
 
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?

As a super strict dog owner, there is no excuse for allowing them to yap all night long. That is just rude.

I had an instance where a hotel staff member was wheeling some kind of super loud cart up and down the hallway at the pet friendly room I was assinged to. They did this all night long and the sound of the cart would wake the dead. This was an instance that initiated barking and I was hard pressed to control it.

If I were in your shoes my anger would be more directed at the folks with the dog than the hotel staff. I'd would have asked for a room upgrade and moved in a heartbeat. I think staff gets worn down with confrontation and does not want to get into a verbal battle with the rude dog owner.
 
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.

In a way you sort of have to pick either price, quality, or compromise something that is not what you like (location, style, features, breakfast, etc).

When I am traveling with my wife I would definitely not stay in a hotel too close to highway, too affordable so the worst sort of vacationers (family with bad parenting) will pick, with thin insulation, with too many "nightlife" around, etc. I would pick a "not impressive" hotel or motel that is just boring and quiet, even if it cost more. Is it perfect? No, but it is never the worst-case scenario.
 
Hotels have been trending to pets being permitted more and more. I would assume those catering more to business travelers will not take part in this trend.

More and more recreational travelers seem to be taking their pets with them and are on the lookout for pet friendly hotels. Those hotels are between a rock and a hard place.
IMO people have been abusing the "support animal" movement. Now everything including miniature horses are "support animal".
 
Just to update…
I spoke with the dayshift mgr:
he agreed that the night mgr should have dealt with it immediately
he offered us a free night on our next trip but not this one (useful as we return every year and do like the hotel)
he said that will probably be the end of the night mgr as my complaint was one of many over two months
the dog owner did check out the next day and no issue since

Part of the pet agreement for the hotel is all animals cannot become a nuisance and if they do then they must immediately leave. The night mgr should have investigated and enforced. I can accept that the hotel did its best to rectify the issue after the initial failure.

As a former dog owner (3x) I understand the challenges. But I also never shirked my responsibility to control my animals and not let them burden others. IMO the real jack-wagon is the dog owner who knew his dog was barking on/off alight and never even apologized when I spoke with him. Rather, he wanted to debate the nuance of what “barking all night” meant as if I was being overly sensitive. What a total tool…. He’s probably the same guy who will be in the left lane of I-40 for 9 miles while not passing the semi next to him, then flip me off when I go WOT to pass him when I head back to Indy after the holiday.
 
If it happens again give the manager a reasonable amount of time to address the situation. If the don't resolve it just call the police for a noise violation.
 
Are you the problem? No.

I’ve observed that there is a lot of entitlement and also questionable behaviors with folks with dogs. That’s not to villianize dog owners or anything.

Most all of these are owner-related. Some are dog personality related. But I think it’s fair to say that there’s something not right if a dog is making all kinds of noise and disturbing everyone. This, cleanup, and allergies reasons are why no-pet policies exist.

Again, not looking to villianize dogs or their owners, and I’d hate to be in the shoes of someone who owns a dog, needs to take it on a trip, and can’t get it quiet. Imagine if you’re not oblivious to it… but can’t get it quiet? Or another variant… what if you had a crying baby, and couldn’t?

So I feel for the owners assuming they weren’t oblivious or absent.

What I have an issue with is the hotel not making a better case for isolating the room, for the night manager not going to investigate the noise very quickly, and proactively offer a good option. They may well have no space. And they may well be short handed. But it seems like your issues were handled poorly, and that runs the risk of permanently losing your business. You should make that known. At minimum, you should get a refund. I know they need to be careful with giving these out Willy-nilly, otherwise everyone will abuse policies. But I’d be adamant about at least that so they understand that their pet policy and lack of attention is an issue.

Edit, looks like you got some resolution.
 
I'm the kind've guy who not too much really bothers me. My motto is, I'll put up with your noise if you put up with mine. My gf and I can get pretty loud:D
 
I worked for a Best Western for 7 years, and I see both sides. We did toss out people but very rarely. Usually we'd offer to move someone to a quieter room but some guests had so much stuff it made it difficult. They should have offered an upgraded room if available. The night audit is usually fairly easy, but depending on the hotel chain some have more paperwork to complete than others.
 
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