David Johnston, Montreal Gazette, 5th April 2009
When a luxury hotel for dogs and cats opened up last fall in Quebec, some people in the neighbourhood rolled their eyes at what they saw as entrepreneurial folly.
The thought of people paying up to $99 a night to have their dogs sleep in a room with a bed and a wall-mounted plasma TV seemed preposterous — especially with an economic recession on the horizon.
But Hotel Balto in Vaudreuil-Dorion, a suburb west of Montreal, came through the recent spring-break week boasting an impressive 80 per cent occupancy rate for its 36 rooms.
"The feedback has been really good," says hotel manager Melanie Harbec, who works behind the check-in desk in the chic lobby.
Hotel Balto is owned by Diane Levesque and there's nothing down-market about the place, as reflected in its faux Art Deco exterior architecture. The white Ford Flex pet limousine in the parking lot is another sign that this is not a standard kennel.
The limo isn't just a visual prop. People who want to have their pets picked up at home and whisked away in high style for a stay at the Balto can hire the vehicle for a flat $50 fee for a pickup within a 30-kilometre radius of the hotel. Longer excursions cost extra.
The Balto has 27 rooms and nine smaller "lofts," ranging in size from conventional residential bathrooms to standard shower stalls. Two of the rooms and all of the lofts are reserved for cats; prices range from $99 for the dog Royal Suite to $29 for the lofts; rooms start at $49. All of the rooms, but none of the lofts, come with wall-mounted plasma TVs.
The ambient TV sound helps the animals feel right at home, says Harbec.
Night supervisor Suzanne Theriault says that as she sits behind the front desk in the lobby, she can see into every room and loft via a video-surveillance TV screen in front of her. If an animal looks to be agitated, she says, she'll go up to the second floor or down into the basement — where the rooms and lofts are situated — and try to calm them with soothing words and petting.
There is no fear the rooms will be soiled. The dogs, who stay in the rooms alone, are walked six times a day.
When morning comes, groomer Melissa Boake arrives to provide services to guests as requested by their masters, including nail polishing.
The most popular nail colour, she says, is "hot pink — but with sparkles; the sparkles add a little texture."
All of this expensive fawning over domestic animals is certainly not the norm; ordinary kennels still dominate the market.
But people who work regularly with animals say they are not surprised to hear that Hotel Balto has found a measure of success in the luxury niche market — especially given the worsening economy.
"For a lot of people, pets are like children — and for older people who live alone, pets are sometimes their main form of companionship," says Annie Provencher, an administrator with the Ecole internationale de zootherapie.
The school, affiliated with the University of Montreal, trains people and pets to provide support services to physiotherapists and occupational therapists.
"You'd be surprised who our clients are — they're not all rich, like you might think," says Harbec. "They come from all walks of society. For sure, if you lose your job, you're not going to be placing your pet with us. But as long as you still have your job, you're probably going to continue to come to us, if we're what you want."
Room service, anyone?
Although pet owners provide the Balto with food for their own pets, the hotel does have a menu for pet owners to choose from. Among the selections:
• Filet mignon, 2 oz., roasted in butter, $6.95
• Fish of the day, 2 oz., poached with dill, $4.00
• Canned food, 1/4 cup, Fancy Feast, Caesar brands, $2.00
• Brown rice, 1/4 cup, $1.50
• Cheddar cheese 1 oz., $1.00
• Cookies, two, $0.75
Blog - Pet News 
