Holiday homes: Earn higher revenue with dog hampers

Earn higher profit from welcoming dogs in your holiday homes

With a growing market of dog-loving guests, increasing numbers of holiday home owners are actively welcoming dogs to their accommodation.

If you are willing to accept pets in your holiday home, you may attract more bookings thus increasing your overall revenue.

However, offering dog provisions and covering doggy damage comes at a cost, so it's important to plan ahead, to ensure attracting this type of guest does not reduce your profits. 

Here's how holiday homeowners can create a memorable canine welcome, and why it also makes solid business sense.

Growing demand for dog friendly homes = Growing profit potential

The demand for holiday homes accepting dogs is growing, creating opportunities to attract longer-staying guests and their dogs, willing to pay more for their stay.

"The pet charge cost is significantly cheaper than boarding / Kennels so it also reduces the cost of a trip away." Jonny, Maya's Owner.

This isn't a niche market, platforms like Airbnb and Booking.com already offer pet welcome filters, and you can add this option to your own website too.

"I mostly search for dog friendly properties with the dog filter first" Laëtitia, Gimli and Jack's Owner.

Plus, satisfied dog-owning guests can leave great reviews, return for future stays, and refer others in their doggy community, boosting your bookings well beyond the extra margins on individual stays.

1. The essentials: Provide a doggie hamper with thoughtful touches

If you want to attract guests with dogs, providing a dog hamper is an attractive option. 

Drawing on insights shared by hosts:

• Basics:
  Provide food and water bowls, poo bags, and a silicone eating mat to keep mealtime tidy.
• A cosy hamper:
  Include essential and appreciated items such as a mat, towels, soft blanket, collapsible water bowl, and a low-fluff toy makes arriving guests feel at home.
• Treat presentation:
  Kilner jars filled with natural, hypoallergenic treats (with ingredient labels) look great and help avoid allergy issues.
• Extras:
  Consider a simple, cleanable toy, a lightweight dog bed (choose one that is easy to clean), and a tick remover in rural or high-mobility areas.

"Provisions-wise, a blanket is nice but I usually bring the dog's bed." Jonny, Maya's Owner.

2. Covering the costs of your dog gifts

There are choices around providing a doggie hamper.

• Cover the costs yourself by reducing your profit
• Cover the costs by increasing your nightly cost
• Charge your guest for the service.

Let's look at the costs first.

Basic hampers or kits can vary and the sky is the limit, however buying in bulk can reduce costs to around £5 per stay.

Some hosts benchmark the 'free dog gift' costs against a percentage of the first night’s rate (eg, 10–15%) to maintain proportionality; using this as a guideline for guest gift costs.

The impact on your profit will depend on the length and profit per bookings that you receive and other free gifts that you provide, such as a welcome basket. 

An alternative approach is to increase the overall base price per night. Psychologically this could appeal to guests as there are no extra fees, whilst covering the costs of the dog gift. 

This option should be weighed up carefully, considering the impact on overall bookings of increased nightly prices versus the increased opportunities of higher appeal to dog owning guests. 

2a. Paid optional 'dog add-ons' to boost revenue

To offset costs and increase flexibility you can create an optional extra, otherwise known as an Add-on, that guests can book during the booking process, or after.

These could include:

• A standard dog hamper, reserved during /after booking. 
  If you can't cover the costs of any dog products without reducing your profit, providing a standard dog hamper will still appeal to guests with dogs. 
• An upgraded dog hamper, reserved during /after booking. 
  Guests can upgrade to premium options (e.g., better-quality toy, fleece blanket, extra towel, picnic pouch).

2b. Paid non-optional 'dog add-ons' to boost revenue

To offset costs and increase flexibility you can create an obligatory extra that guests can book during the booking process, or after.

These could include:

• A pet surcharge / Pet cleaning fee.
  To help cover any additional cleaning or wear and tear, add either a flat fee or % of the booking per dog or per stay. 
• No surcharge.
  Some guests may be more drawn to your property because there is no surcharge for dogs, so by increasing your standard rates, or simply absorbing the costs, may bring more bookings during periods when there are fewer bookings.
• A refundable damage deposit.
  Include a refundable deposit that will ensure that you are protected if the dog damages any of your items or the property needs an extra clean.

"I love it when I find a listing that doesn't charge for pets, or even ones that just charge a flat fee even if I'm bringing both old labs." Colin, Owner of Happy and Luna, two labradors. 

3. Balancing cost, quality, and guest experience

Item or Service	Cost estimate (GDP)	Notes
Basic dog hamper kit	£5 (covered by the host or paid by the guest)	Includes mat, bowl, towel, waste bags, toy. Consider the type of dog that will stay, as not all dogs like the same toys.
Add-on/upgraded hamper	£10–20 (paid by guest)	Premium toys, blankets, natural treats.
Pet surcharge or cleaning fee	£10–50 flat fee per dog (or charge a refundable deposit)	Covers extra cleaning and damage, extends your profit margin. Some guests may be happy with this, others may be put off by the fee.
Refundable damage deposit	£100 upwards	Covers extra cleaning and damage without affecting your profit margin. Some guests may be happy with this, others may be put off by the fee.
Ingredient-labelled treats	Minimal extra cost	Valuable for allergy-aware guests, however may be more difficult to obtain.

Encourage guests to select the add-on when booking: it enhances their experience and helps you cover, or even profit, from the offerings.

Use your dog welcome services in your holiday home advertising

Don't let your efforts be a complete surprise to your guests! Whilst a surprise is nice, you can use your hamper as part of your marketing efforts to attract more guests.

You can do this in a number of ways: 

• Take high quality photos of the dog hamper and the items that you're including, and include them in your property photos on the Channels like Airbnb and on your Own website. 
• Remember that if you're a dog-friendly holiday home, including a photo of a dog in the garden, walking on the local beach, sleeping on the porch will capture attention of potential guests. 
• Use all these photos within your social media and in your email marketing.
• Mention your dog hamper in your property description, giving details of what you'll provide, with a short on-brand message about why you've chosen to do this. 

"It's nice when a listing mentions that they provide a doggie hamper!" Laëtitia, Owner of Gimli and Jack, a Chihuahua and a Pomeranian.

Legal & ethical must-haves: Support for Assistance Dogs

It's vital to welcome assistance dogs, not just as a courtesy but by legal mandate.

Under the UK’s Equality Act 2010, assistance dogs must be allowed at no extra charge, and hosts who mistakenly treat them as 'pets' could face legal consequences. 

Assistance dogs are highly trained, unlikely to damage property, and offering a simple kit, water bowl, dog bed, chew toy, waste bags, can make their stay smoother.