Bed & Breakfast Pet Hotel

When people go on vacation or on a business trip, sometimes it is impractical to bring the family deary. Not long ago numerous would just ask a neighbor to keep an eye on the favourite while the family was g bingle. Others would leave the pet with enough food and piddle to survive during the trip, although this was impractical for long trips.These options each come with advantages and disadvantages, but they fail to ensure that the family pet is non just watched, but pampered. This concept of pampering the family has bourgeon a whole new industry of pet facilities.With much people seeing the pet as of a family member, the cargon of the pet is becoming more important. In 2006 families spent approximately $38 billion on their pets and around 63% of household own at least one pet (Koncius, 2006).This has brought near a rise in pet hotels / pet bed and breakfasts. PetsHotel, a division of PetSmart, is a leader in this rising industry. PetSmart obtaind a pet hotel in 2000 in the Tucson, AZ area and has expanded it to everyplace 50 stores since then. PetSmarts goal is to eventually chip in over 400 PetsHotel facilities nationwide and in Canada.However, PetSmart is not the only company getting into this rapidly expanding industry. This report is evaluating PetsHotel and its tail end in the industry. Specifically this report will demonstrate its position in the market by a Strength, Weakness, Opportunities, and Threats analysis, or SWOT analysis.This analysis will give a clearer picture of what PetsHotel is facing in regards to the competition, trends, and future expansion. It will demonstrate where PetsHotel has a epoch-making advantage over its competitors and where it has shortfalls. StrengthsThe most notable strength PetsHotel is the strong brand lay down and familiarity of its parent company, PetSmart. According to PetSmarts website, the company has almost one kB stores in the United States and Canada (PetSmart, 2007).PetSmart entered the pet hot el industry in 2000 when it recognized its huge potential and it fits perfectly into its strategy of providing the lifetime needs of pets and their parents (PetSmart, 2008). Customer loyalty and name recognition provides assurance for those customers who may not want to take a risk with a local, known pet zeal.With how important pets have become to the owner, more owners will not want to take the risk of a bad facility. Jim Krack, founder of American embarkation Kennels Association, or ABKA, stated that Pet owners expect the akin type of amenities from their pet care providers as they receive from their child day care providers (Shim, 2007).It is assumed that most people would not just place their children in any childcare facility without first ensuring a certain level or standards and safety. The name brand of PetSmart gives PetsHotel that instant recognition. In the fiscal category 2007, PetSmart posted $4.2 billion in sales and has $209 million in cash (Yahoo Finance, 2008) . This cash cow can aid in the design and construction of new facilities. This will allow PetsHotel to quickly expand into competitive areas and into new, untapped market areas. Other competitors will not have the cash available without going into meaty debt to expand as quickly as PetsHotel can.Economies of scale also provide PetsHotel with a significant strength. Since smaller pet facilities will be unable to purchase items in the bulk level that PetsHotel can, the per item cost will be much greater than PetsHotel.Overhead and other expenses can be spread out amongst the over 50 PetsHotels already built. In comparison, Wags Hotel only has three stores to spread its costs around. Weaknesses Although the size PetsHotel is an advantage, it also lends itself to outside threats.The perception by some is larger companies many another(prenominal) not provide as point and caring helper for the pets. Consequently, many will prefer smaller, local supporters over the big corporate servi ce of PetsHotel. Others will not want to go to the corporate establishment in upgrade of the local ma and pa pet facilities.The reasons for this could be the perception of intimate pet care with the smaller facility or it could just be hatred toward corporate America. Another weakness is a lack of accreditation. The American Boarding Kennels Associate, or ABKA, is a non-profit organization that seeks to assure high standards in pet care.ABKA provides pet owners with a set standard of quality of different hotels and kennels by dint of a Pet Owners Bill or Rights and certifying different pet hotels. Out of 93 accredited pet facilities, none of them are PetsHotel brand pet facilities.To obtain certification the facilities must be in compliance with the standards of the ABKA Voluntary Facilities Accreditation Program and have successfully completed an on-site evaluation by ABKA (ABKA, 2008). A lack of certification from a reputable firm such as ABKA is a strong weakness for PetsHotel. ABKAs website does list PetsHotel as a facility that can house a pet, but it also lists their lack of accreditation. This could sway a potential pet owner customer away from PetsHotel in favor of a pet facility that is accredited. OpportunitiesThe nearly 1000 PetSmart locations provide ample opportunity for quick expansion of the PetsHotels. By utilizing the PetSmart facilities, PetsHotels can quickly set up operations and provide services already at the PetSmart stores such as grooming, home platework, and Bansfield pet hospital. Some of these features have already been added to PetsHotels Add-On features.These features include narrow down clipping, bath time, and access to a Banfield clinic in an emergency (PetsHotel, 2008). By utilizing PetSmarts other services, PetsHotel could offer other services such as pet training and grooming beyond a simple bath.In 2006, PetsHotel announced that it wanted to reach a total of 435 hotels throughout the United States and Canada (PetSmart, 2 008). This is an achievable goal in expose because of the huge cash flow PetSmart can generate through its other business segments and because of the already established name brand in those areas. Companies such as Wags Hotels only recently added two more hotels.Those two new hotels are still within the general geographic area of central California (WagsHotel, 2008). However, PetsHotel is already in 26 states and plans three more openings in the next few months (PetsHotel, 2008).Threats PetsHotels website lists its hours of operations 700 AM to 900 PM Monday thru Saturday and 800 AM to 600 PM on Sundays. PetsHotel has a check-in and check-out time of 1200 PM (PetsHotel, 2008). The problem that PetsHotel can run into is a 24-hour service such as Wags Hotel. By offering 24-availability, Wags Hotel allows travelers who arrive late at night to excerption up their pet once they arrive. PetsHotels model would force the traveler to pick up their pet the next day and charge them for that extra night.Smaller pet facility companies are seeing the need for emergency veterinarian services. PetsHotel uses Banfield which is partnered with PetSmart. These smaller companies are starting to team up with the local veterinarians to provide the same quality service.Although the overhead for this service is spread out amongst the larger PetSmart Corporation, PetsHotel will further have to demonstrate that its corporate services are as good, caring and intimate as the local facilities and veterinarians. An example of this is Wagg hostelry Pet Hotel with the Animal Hospital of Ashwaubenon, WI.At home pet nannies are another source of threat to PetsHotels business. People have been turning to high-class pet hotels because of how much they care about their pets. However, many feel reservations about leaving their pet in a facility at all.The alternative is to leave the pet at home and hire a pet nanny. One patronage is whether the other guests at the pet hotel are current on their vaccinations. If the pet is left at home, there is no concern at all. Also, the pet will be comfortable in its pattern routine and happy places.This alleviates any concerns of trying to settle the pet back into normal routines, especially where to go to the bathroom. Conclusions and Recommendations PetsHotel is in a very good strategic position compared to its competition.Availability of cash in conjunction with the strong brand recognition of PetSmart path it can place a facility anywhere in the United States and Canada and have instant credibility as a company that will provide quality pet care. PetsHotel should continue to innovate in pet quality and care through better designs of its facilities and services.It needs to continue to emphasize its high pet care and quality of service of both PetsHotel and PetSmart. Because PetsHotel is a division of PetSmart, and damage to the brand reputation of PetSmart will instantly translate into damage to the PetsHotel reputation. If the q uality of service at the PetSmart stores declines, the perception will be that quality has also decreased in its pet hotels.Where PetsHotel needs to be concerned is in its accreditation and availability. Although AKBA is just one organization, PetsHotel can ill afford to ignore any organization devoted to pet facility quality and care.For people who want to ensure their pets are nearly taken care of, the lack of accreditation could mean a loss in customers. If the people are happy with both the service of AKBA and the local pet hotel, PetsHotel could sustain more potential customers through word of mouth. By gaining accreditation, PetsMart not only retains its corporate brand of quality, but it is substantiated through AKBA.PetsHotel must also find a way to address those who do not want to disrupt their pets routine. PetsHotel and other pet hotel websites do list how the pet will enter its routine once it goes home.However, more is needed than just a small blurb on the website. P etsHotel needs to reassure anyone who inquires about this and possible provide examples through customer satisfaction surveys and testimonials. References American Boarding Kennel Association. (2008). American Boarding Kennel Association.Retrieved on January 25, 2008 from http//www. abka. com/abka/. Koncius, Jura. (Apr. 2006). Pet Hotels Really Puttin on the Dog. The Washington Post. Retrieved on January 25, 2008 from http//www. projo. com/pets/ study/projo_20060430_petshotel.80bdaa6. html. Petsmart, Inc. (PETM). (2008). Yahoo Finance. Retrieved on January 26, 2008 from http//finance. yahoo. com/q? s=PETM. Shim, Joan. (Sept. 2007). Pampered pooches, fat cats living large in luxury pet hotels. CNN. Retrieved on January 25, 2008 from http//www. cnn. com/2007/LIVING/worklife/09/12/travel. pets/index. html. Wagg Inn Pet Hotel. (2008). Wagg Inn Pet Hotel, LLC.Retrieved on January 25, 2008 from http//www. wagginn. com/. Wags Hotel. (2008). Wags Hotel. Retrieved on January 25, 2008 from ht tp//www. waghotels. com/.