Hotel has Unique Adoption Program
Sometimes at work, my coworkers bring their dogs in to the office and I am telling you it’s a totally different vibe around here. It’s a mixture of happy, calm, relaxing and even at time exciting. Now imagine traveling and staying at a hotel that allows you to care for a dog, possibly build a bond and maybe even end up adopting the fur child.
There is a hotel that offers a program called “Fostering Hope,” this hotel takes one foster dog in at a time and allows the guests to walk, feed, and babysit the dog during their stay. This is such a creative idea to get people comfortable enough with the dog to see if it would be a good fit for their family.
Teresa Johnston, Director of Sales at Home2 Suites by Hilton in D'Iberville, Mississippi, noticed that despite all of the amenities available for long term guests something was missing to make guests truly feel at home. And that was pets.
That's when she got the idea to team up with the local humane society to turn the hotel into a foster home for homeless dogs. So if the guests or employees feel like they have a special bond with the dog they can adopt right from the hotel. Then the hotel will take in another.
"They were missing something, I could see it, '' Johnston told Insider about her guests. "They were missing home and they were missing animals. I thought, 'why can't we put the two together?'"
This hotel has helped 60 dogs find homes since this program launched in October 2018. Three of the hotel’s employees have adopted dogs they have fostered. I am guessing have the presence of a dog in the hotel creates a fun work environment.
"My hotel guests keep them overnight, babysit them," she said. "They even take them to go to the bathroom."
Johnson hopes that the program will extend to other properties. Home2Suites properties are pet-friendly which is good to know if you are traveling with your fur children.