The TSA has a handy “Can I bring my … through the security checkpoint” tool on its website which makes it clear that ice hockey sticks, field hockey sticks and “sports equipment that can be used as a bludgeon (such as bats and clubs) is prohibited in the cabin of the plane and must be transported in your checked baggage.”
But what about the stick ponies I spotted being sold in at least three shops at Dallas Love Field?
During my three hours hanging out at DAL earlier this week I didn’t see any small children (or adults) throwing tantrums for being relieved of their ponies at the aircraft doors, so I assume traveling with stick ponies is just fine.
But I’m still scouring the TSA app and will ask for a formal ruling…
Love your pet but can’t take it along with you when you travel? Then consider staying at a hotel that will loan you a dog, a cat or a fish. Here’s a story I put together for CNBC Road Warrior:
Fluffy pillows might make hotel guests feel welcome, but sometimes face time with a floppy-eared mutt is what a road warrior might be craving.
That’s why the Red Mountain Resort in St. George, Utah, offers the Pound Puppy Hike, a complimentary amenity that matches guests with a puppy or dog from a local shelter for hikes on scenic trails in the area. “We know that busy executives are visiting the property to recharge and disconnect yet stay active and not sit around,” said resort general manager Tracey Welsh.
The Humane Society of the United States estimated in 2012 that there were pets in 62 percent of American households, so in Aspen, Colorado, guests missing their own pets are pointed to the Aspen Animal Shelter, which welcomes short-term volunteers and charges no fee to loan dogs for in-town walks or day-long hikes.
“The outings provide exercise and socialization for the dogs and often lead to successful adoptions,” said Aspen Animal Shelter director Seth Sachson.
Some pet-friendly Aspen hotels, such as The Little Nell and the Mountain House Lodge, waive pet fees that can reach $125 per stay for guests that invite lucky shelter dogs to spend the night. And both The Little Nell and the Hotel Jerome provide shuttle service to and from the shelter, said Sachson.
Friendly “canine ambassadors” greet guests at eight North American Fairmont hotels and many of those dogs can be booked for walks or runs around town. At the Fairmont Hotel Vancouver, it is Mavis and Beau, while at the Fairmont Copley Plaza in Boston, the concierge has a special appointment book for walks or runs with the very popular Catie and Carly.
In addition to being a bonus for younger guests (and their parents), “the program results in higher guest satisfaction and more personalized guest experiences, while positioning the hotels as unique and distinctive in their respective destinations,” said Hadley Schroll, a spokeswoman for FRHI Hotels & Resorts, which owns the Fairmont brand.
While offering loaner dogs, like loaner sports equipment, may give a hotel a leg up on its competition, “even programs with the best intentions are still objectifying animals” and putting some at risk, said Lisa Marcotte, business development manager for pet insurance provider Trupanion. “Those who have no commitment to an animal are less inclined to care for them properly or keep them from injuring people and damaging property,” she said.
There’s no need to worry about personal injury with Maya, Louie or George, the kitties that will sleep in a guest room for no charge at the Vintage Inn in Yountville, Calif., or with the free loaner goldfish offered through the “Guppy Love” program at Kimpton Hotels.
The program started in 1997 when the Hotel Monaco Seattle (part of the Kimpton collection) added a goldfish companion to the in-room dining menu. “It was an option at the bottom of the menu where guests could order it for $5 and we would often surprise VIP guests with a goldfish upon arrival as a fun amenity,” said hotel spokeswoman Melanie Blair.
Instead of cashing in on what became a very popular demand, the hotel decided to make the loaner fish amenity complimentary for all guests and, eventually, so did all 61 Kimpton hotels.
And while no fish rental fees are collected, the goldfish seem to be earning their keep.
“While we initially chose the Monaco for its location, and for the wine hour, we now choose it because of the goldfish,” said Liz Phillips, a middle school teacher from Portland, Ore. whose family stays at the Hotel Monaco Seattle each Thanksgiving.
“The first year, we walked into the hotel room to find two fish bowls housing two huge goldfish with a note saying that the fish were named “Bella” and “Gabbie,” the names of our own children. Our kids were thrilled and after that that experience there was no way we could ever stay anywhere else.
Cheryl Maduzia’s job for a sales and marketing company in Jacksonville, Fla., has her on the road to meet clients several times a month. And when she has to catch a flight, Maduzia’s 33-pound dog, Katie, goes along.
But before Maduzia checks in, she checks Katie into Pet Paradise, a 24-hour pet boarding “resort” on airport property.
“I like it because I can drop Katie off at any time and pick her up at any time,” Maduzia said via email from a flight to Seattle. “Today I dropped her off at 5 a.m., which I can’t do at a kennel that isn’t open 24 hours. … I’d have to either drop her off the night before or take a later flight.”
Founded in 2002 by Fred Goldsmith, the Pet Paradise network now includes branches at or very close to the airports in New Orleans; Charlotte, N.C.; Houston (both Hobby and Bush Intercontinental); and Hartsfield-Jackson in Atlanta. The Pet Paradise there is located with Park n’ Fly Plus, and offers valet service and luggage check-in.
Each Pet Paradise “resort” offers boarding as well as daycare. Amenities include climate-controlled accommodation and indoor-outdoor play areas. Grooming and training services are available, and some locations have swimming pools and offer discounts on airport parking.
“We’re running a hotel, but instead of people, we check in dogs, cats, the occasional pot-bellied pig and, once, some llamas,” Goldsmith said. “And we use the same kind of occupancy and revenue algorithms you use in the hotel business. We track everything the same way.”
Daily rates for the airport spas pencil out to a dollar or two more per night than a comparable kennel in town, he said.
For business travelers like Maduzia, the 24-hour convenience and optional extras are worth it. In addition to getting more playtime for Katie, Maduzia often has her bathed and, on special occasions, upgraded to a suite.
“I figure if I’m on vacation, staying at a nice hotel, then she deserves the same,” Maduzia said.
Pet Paradise isn’t the only company offering upscale boarding services at airports. Paradise4Paws has branches at Chicago O’Hare and Midway airports and at Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport (DFW), near one of the long-term parking lots on airport property.
“We think it’s a great amenity to provide to our passengers, especially business travelers,” said DFW spokesman David Magaña, “In addition to being there 24/7, they have some of ‘best in class’ services that we like our concessionaires to offer.”
Those include ‘pawdicures” and other grooming services, massage therapy and a bone-shaped splash pool. Busy travelers can even arrange to have a pet picked up or delivered curbside.
All for a fee, of course.
According to the American Pet Products Association, pet owners spent $4.16 billion on grooming and boarding last year. The trade organization expects that number to be $4.54 billion this year.
Pampering pets and their globe-hopping owners has turned out to be good business at Minneapolis/St. Paul International Airport as well.
In 2008, the airport found itself with an empty industrial building and no market-rate renters in sight, “so we put out an RFP for a higher-end pet boarding service,” said Eric Johnson, the airport’s director of commercial management and airline affairs.
The winning bid came from the Animal Humane Society, which proposed a revenue-generating operation called Now Boarding.
In addition to kennel services, the facility offers training classes, outdoor play areas and an indoor pool. For people, it has parking and shuttle service to and from the terminals.
“The prices are right in line with what you’d pay in town at the higher-end boarding facilities,” said Johnson, who occasionally leaves his own dog, a yellow lab named Bella, at Now Boarding. “And the parking is cheaper than right at the airport.”
Now Boarding did about 1.5 million in sales last year, which translated into $176,000 in rental income for the airport. “They’ll probably do well over that this year,” Johnson said.
Other airports are joining the pack.
The Denver City Council is close to signing a contract for a pet boarding facility for dogs and cats that will open on airport property late this year or early in 2014.
According to airport spokesman Heath Montgomery, in addition to being convenient for pet owners, the business will create about 10 jobs, and generate about $92,000 in annual rent for the airport and more than $31,000 in annual sales tax for the City and County of Denver.
(My story about pet boarding at airports first appeared on the CNBC Road Warrior)
When the new billion-dollar expanded terminal at San Diego International Airport opens to the public — it will have 10 new gates, $6 million of new art, a USO center, new concessions and an indoor pet-relief area that has been getting some national attention.
The airport has set aside about a 75-square-foot space and decorated it with a fake hydrant and fake turf, baggies for clean-up and a hand-washing station for pet owners.
It’s a great amenity for those traveling with their pets, but it is not the first indoor pet relief station in the country.
Here’s a list of just some of the other US airports that already offer indoor pet-relief stations:
No need to settle for the traditional barbecue or parade this July 4th holiday weekend.
Head instead to one of these towns showing off an offbeat and independent patriotic spirit.
World’s Largest Cherry Pie served in George, Washington. Courtesy Debby Kooy
In George, Washington, the celebration includes baking the world’s largest cherry pie. “They used to pick the cherries, pit the cherries, make the filling and bake the pie in a special 8 by 8 foot pan in a giant wood-fired stove over in the park,” said Debby Kooy, 58, part of a local service group called the Georgettes that bakes the treat annually. “That lasted until the year they served burnt cherry pie.”
Now they use ovens at a nearby high school, assembling what Kooy calls “more of a giant cherry crumble,” scooped out free on July 4th to about 2000 hungry fans.
Courtesy Nick Parvas, AVAM
Meanwhile, just off Federal Hill Park in Baltimore, Md., instead of baton twirlers and fire trucks, they celebrate with a pet parade and animal talent show. A regular favorite is Brutus the Tortoise, “who always carries some sort of wild, patriotic contraption on his shell,” said Nick Prevas, spokesman for the American Visionary Art Museum, which hosts the event.
Participants have also included the usual dogs and cats, but also cows, an alpaca, a cicada circus and “imaginary pets,” said Prevas.
“There’s always someone with one of those ‘ghost dog’ leashes and one year someone carried a can that made meowing sounds,” he said.
The prize for “first” 4th of July parade goes to Gatlinburg, Tenn, which begins at midnight. The early start doesn’t scare away attendees. The town says it expects 100,000 to attend, with some staking out their positions beside the route with lawn chairs as early as 7 a.m. on July 3rd. Later, the celebrations continue with an unmanned river raft regatta.
For other cities, Independence Day isn’t just about bringing 1776 back to life. Orlando’s Celebration Town Center, within the orbit of nearby Disney World, hosts a “Sci-Fi” 4th of July, with an appropriately themed costume contest. During the fireworks display, the rockets released into the air are synchronized to soundtracks from science fiction movies and television shows.
In a nod to modernity, “George Washington” sends word via email from his historic estate in Mount Vernon, Va, that he’s “awaiting many guests to my home on this festive day.” On the grounds of where the first President lived, tourists can watch as the re-enactor “inspects the troops,” played by a group of Revolutionary War re-enactors.
Then, the US Citizenship and Immigration Services will swear in 100 new U.S. citizens. Following the ceremony are daytime fireworks and birthday cake.
