Do Hotels Allow Emotional Support Animals or Psychiatric Service Dogs?

You can live with your emotional support animal regardless of pet policies, and fly with your service dog, but what about hotels?  Hotels are a weird grey area on the spectrum of places you can and can’t take your ESA. Here are the details so you can plan your next trip and not have to worry about leaving your ESA behind.

Official Rules

Because hotels are considered temporary housing, they are not required to allow ESAs. However, they do have to accept service dogs. When bringing a registered service animal, you will not have to pay the pet fees a hotel would normally charge. Just make sure to have the proper certification for your SA with you when you go to the hotel.

Ask in Advance

If you have an ESA, you can call ahead and see if the hotel or AirBNB will be flexible and allow you to bring your ESA. Check a couple different places and see what options are available. At the very worst, you may have to pay a pet fee. Make sure to have your emotional support animal letter of registration ready when you speak with hotel representatives. This will help prove your request credible.

Train Your ESA

Make sure your ESA is well-behaved and trained appropriately so that when you stay at a hotel or AirBNB you don’t disturb other guests. When you speak with hotels and AirBNBs, make sure to mention that your ESA is well-trained and will not bother other visitors. This will increase your chances of being accepted and build trust between you and the hotel representatives.

In conclusion, hotels accept service animals but not emotional support animals. However, if you have a letter of certification and proper training for your ESA, you may be able to speak with the hotel and see if they are willing to work with you. For more information on registering your ESA or SA, check out United Support Animals today, and let one of our team members help you.