Dog owners often face a dilemma before travelling: leave your beloved pet with a sitter or at a kennel?
Both require quite a lot of planning and logistics, which can be stressful and time-consuming for owners.
Rome’s Fiumicino International Airport has sought to streamline the process by opening Dog Relais, one of the first on-site dog hotels at a major European airport, following a similar initiative in Frankfurt, Germany.
The hotel’s workers even retrieve dogs from the airport terminal so travellers can proceed straight to their flight.
“This project is fitting into a strategy to provide a very immersive experience to passengers,” said Marilena Blasi, chief commercial officer at Aeroporti di Roma, the company that manages the Italian capital’s two airports. “In this case, we provide services to dogs and the owners of the dogs.”
Basic rooms at the dog hotel cost about €40 (US$47) and feature temperature-controlled floors and private gardens.
