The Complaints

There is no specific or consistent definition of this type of restaurants.

They allow pets but are not pet friendly.

Currently I'm staying in a Country Inn Suites and they are charging me $50 a night for a dog. I have two so it's going to be $300 for the weekend... total scam and a money grab.

Kicked me out in the middle of my stay from a Red Roof Inn in Durham, NC because my dog is a pit bull. Be sure to call ahead, some Red Roofs have secret breed bans!

Pet friendly is basically false advertising.

Upon our arrival, they demanded a non-refundable cash pet fee of $75 to $100 per night... which was not stated anywhere in their listings. This hardly qualifies as being Pet Friendly, let alone just Pet Tolerant.

As a former property manager, it's 100% a scam. They built these pet fees into the yearly budget as income.

I would not consider that pet-friendly at all!!!! Very misleading.

Such significant undisclosed fees are deceptive at best and fraudulent at worst.

We would get so many callbacks saying oh, by pet friendly, we just mean dogs. That we stopped trying with them.

I'm at a loss to know what any dog owners are meant to do with their dogs at meal times. Please be honest in your claims.

No pet fees listed anywhere on the listing... when I checked in I was told there was a $10 per dog per day fee. I don't mind paying fees when they are transparent, but I don't think hidden fees are okay even if I do have dogs.

Most hotels that are listed as pet friendly are really more like barely pet tolerant.

Hosts will write anything to get you to click on their property.

The Marriott does not permit guests to leave the hotel without their dogs, while the Mercure prohibits guests from leaving their rooms without their pets.

Why am I paying FOUR HUNDRED DOLLARS PER DOG plus 200 for my small dog??

All pet fees are non-refundable even if the reservation is cancelled or guests decide not to bring pets.

We booked you specifically because you are pet friendly and then we're left in the lurch without a room.

Most pet rooms smell in my experience.

I've also found that 75% of the time, pet friendly is actually pet tolerant.

When I think of house rules, I expect things like how to treat the property, not hidden fees.

A lot of them were saying they're pet friendly on the Google results but calling or checking websites said they're not actually pet friendly.

Was told that NO ROOMS are pet-free because people sneak pets in all the time.

Waiting until the day before is a bait and switch tactic to get you to pay the extra fee under duress.

Pet allowed but not Pet friendly. There is a difference.

Then when you call they tell you they mean dogs. Then just say that on the website and stop wasting everyone's time.

It's disingenuous to say pet friendly and later specify oh I didn't mean THAT one!

Reading pet friendly on TA is not reliable information.

After booking, I can now see more detailed house rules that say no animals allowed unless it's a service animal, and that there would be a $250 fee.

Unfortunately, we can not guarantee the room you reserve would be 100% free from allergens.

I asked and they said the pet fee was $100 per dog per night. Yikes! That is not dog friendly in my book.

The amount of times I have been mislead after paying 1k+ for a booking with extra pet fees or certain sizes not being allowed is astronomical.

It's virtually impossible to guarantee that a room has never housed a pet.

When we got to the hotel they gave me form and told me that there was a $75 non refundable fee... He then insisted I should have called ahead and confirmed. The app doesn't even say to do that.

The host is making it deliberately difficult for pet owners to stay and extorting guests.

They pretty much had us and felt they could charge us whatever they wanted... BY FAR the most I've ever been charged.

The listing says dog friendly but it usually means there are kennels outside that dogs can be kept in securely.

When I showed up they send me a link to go onto their companies website to pay a $150 (!) pet fee.

Hotel charged a pet fee when we didn't have a pet. The housekeeper found the hair, and they charged the card after we checked out, without a phone call.

The experience at Taj is property dependent... some of their other properties are very very restrictive.

Charged a $100 pet fee that was not mentioned on the listing. Felt blindsided upon check-in.

Essentially the pet fee is as much as the room. Exorbitant, hidden fees.

The pet fee was more than 90% of the room fee itself.

You can't take the pets with you to the restaurant. The entire town is so fake pet friendly.

The room smelled as bad as an unkept kennel.

No rooms are pet free.

First-floor pet rooms only, $300 if the dog is found on another floor, and no dogs in the lobby, restaurant, bar, meeting rooms or pool.

Check whether the fee is nightly or per stay, whether there are weight limits, and whether dogs are allowed in shared spaces or just inside the room.

We learnt our lesson. I always search for pet friendly accommodation but then I don't disclose our extremely well behaved service dog. What they don't know they can't charge us for.

It seems the common scam is people sneaking in dogs or claiming they are service dogs when staying at a no pet or pet fee required place.

The suite “stunk to high heaven”. The carpet was replaced, the drapes went to the dry cleaner, and management banned pets from the suites.

Even after I scrubbed top to bottom, I could not get the unit back to pre-cat condition.

Pet fees run $25 to $50 a night, capped at $100 to $150 a stay, and it varies hugely by property.

Vague fees may apply language, then a 24-euro pet charge demanded by bank transfer after checkout.

A host demanded $1,000 in cash on arrival, off-platform, for dog hair. The family refused and lost roughly $1,750 to the cancellation.

Ground-floor pet rooms; dogs welcome in the bar and lounge, but not in the restaurant.

The hotel's own website said no pets, TripAdvisor said pets allowed, and the manager refused the dog at the door and threatened charges.

RM 1,000 to bring a dog, revealed by telephone; the property in fact took cats only.

Not pet friendly, pet tolerant!

Not Pet Friendly, Just Pet Tolerant

Not really pet friendly!

Not Pet Friendly

Not really pet friendly!

Not really pet friendly

Absolutely NOT really pet friendly.

When hotels advertise as pet friendly, but only accept dogs.

I booked a pet friendly hotel on booking but they do not accept cat as a pet. The stay is not returnable.

Hotel tip 12: Pet friendly does NOT mean its free.

Hotels that say pet friendly and then refuse cats are, in the poster's words, “goddamn liars”.

Don't be fooled by a pet-friendly hotel, it'll almost always cost you. These spots may be friendly to your pet, but bringing them along will not be friendly to your wallet.

Sometimes pet-friendly just means pet-tolerant to a point, and only if you pay extra.

Pet friendly is often code for: we'll tolerate your pet, for a price.

Brunch with your bichon frise? Some dog owners say pet dining off to ruff start.

The pet-friendly label on a hotel listing has no standardized definition across the industry.

The pet-friendly label covers a wide range of experiences, from a signed waiver and a grass strip near the parking lot to a dedicated program with welcome amenities, flat per-stay fees, and no breed or weight restrictions.

Booking platform listings show availability and price. Species restrictions, breed policies, fee breakdowns, and unattended pet rules come from the front desk directly.

Over 300 complaints from consumers related to hidden hotel fees or unexpected holds, in a single year in one city.

Pet Friendly and Cat Friendly are NOT the same.

Hotel pet fees, getting very expensive at cheaper hotels!

Pet friendly hotels that don't gouge you with pet fees.

A host accused the guest of smuggling a dog in a bag, to extract $75 and leave a false review.