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Sniffing Out the Facts:
Starwood Hotels
Contrary to recent news, not
all U.S. and Canada Sheraton and W Hotels are dog-friendly. In August
we were pleased to hear Starwood Hotel's news release which announced
"Sheraton, Westin, and W Hotels to Allow Dogs Brand Wide." We
decided to call Starwood's central reservations phone line to confirm
the announcement. They stated that every Sheraton and W Hotel in the U.S.
and Canada now allows dogs up to 80 pounds. They also told us that all
Westin Hotels have a 40 pound limit.
Since DogFriendly.com focuses on listing places that allow
dogs of all sizes* (and in non-smoking rooms), we decided not to call
the Westin Hotels. We did however begin to call the Sheraton and W Hotels.
During the week of September 1, 2003, we
called all of these hotels individually and found that over 32% still
do not allow dogs. Of the hotels that allow dogs, 63% allow dogs up to
about 80 pounds (or more) and in non-smoking rooms, 31% allow small dogs
only, 5% allow dogs in smoking rooms only, and 1% had a daily pet fee
of $100 or greater per each day.
We did find a handful of Sheraton
and W Hotels that were switching over to become pet-friendly. These are
included in our numbers which reflect the pet-friendly hotels. Especially
noteworthy were the Hawaii hotels that are becoming pet-friendly, as hardly
any hotel chain in that state allows dogs.
If you decide to stay at a Sheraton or W Hotel, please note
that if you call Starwood's central reservations phone line, many of the
agents do not seem to know that some of the hotels do not allow dogs.
This can become a problem if you make a reservation and then show up at
a hotel that does not allow dogs. We recommend that you always call the
hotel directly to verify their pet policy. This is true for many hotel
chains.
Summary of Pet Policies for United States
and Canada Sheraton and W Hotels
Note: It is possible that some
hotel policies will change as we did get different answers when calling
a few days later in some cases (either becoming pet-friendly or deciding
not to opt in to Starwood's new pet-friendly policy).
| Comments |
Number of Hotels
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| Total Sheratons and W Hotels in the U.S. and Canada
Called |
215
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| Dogs of at least 80 pounds allowed (some hotels have
no size limit) and allowed in non-smoking rooms |
89
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| No Dogs Allowed |
69
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| There is a weight limit of 50 pounds or less (the majority
were less than 25 pounds) |
45
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| Dogs are allowed in smoking rooms only |
7
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| There is a Daily Pet Fee of $100 or greater |
2
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| The hotel was unsure of its pet policy |
3
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*We focus on listing places that allow dogs of all sizes,
at least 75 pounds or greater, and places that allow dogs in non-smoking
rooms. The few exceptions to our guidelines are some advertisers on our
web site. While the majority of our advertisers on DogFriendly.com allow
dogs of all sizes, there are some which state small dogs only. But our
policy is to list the pet policy so you will know right away if there
is any size limit.
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