Has anyone tried having a hotel waive the pet cleaning fee? We may travel to Hershey PA tomorrow and would have to bring our dog. Several Marriott's have a $100 non refundable pet charge and if that's the case I just won't go or if I do will stay elsewhere. I have no issue paying a cleaning fee if my pet does something but just wont use the hotel if I have to pay a non refundable fee on the outside chance he has an accident.

I'm thinking of calling and seeing if they will waive it or take a refundable security deposit. Has anyone tried this?

Thanks,

sorry not an option - the room will be professionally cleaned after a pet has been in it....too many folks with allergies

The room will need a thorough cleaning even if the pet has no "accidents".Just the fact that a pet has stayed in the room is cause for a deeper cleaning than usual.

After a stay at the Residence Inn at Sandestin in Florida I really wonder about those pet cleaning fees. We travelled there with two Maltese dogs (smallish 8 pounders) and dutifully paid the fees to keep them with us for a 5 day trip. In my mind the fees were excessive but I didn't make a stink, thinking that at least they must REALLY clean the rooms after a pet has been in them.

Boy was I wrong!!! We were in the "pet wing" as you could hear a number of dogs barking from behind closed doors as you walked down our hallway. Upon entering our room we find the carpet to be a disgusting mess. It's green original color (seen here and there in out of the way spaces) is now nearly black with filth. Two step in any direction will have you stepping in an obvious urine spot.

While the room did not have a strong odor associated with it, we were still disgusted by the condition of the carpet. We definitely did NOT allow our then 5 month old son on the carpet at all.

We came awar from the experience wondering if we would have been better off not declaring our pets, saving the money and getting a room that was presumably paved with pet droppings. Hopefully our pet payment actually goes to steam cleaning (or, perhaps, just maybe replacing?) the carpet on a regular basis?

Regardless, the rest of the hotel and staff were very nice (perhaps highlighting the contrast of the carpet situation). In the future we will certainly reconsider our pet decision and the hotel that we stay at. We now know to ask the hotel how often they steam clean their carpets!

In hindsight I should have asked for a different room upon checkin, although after the long drive and with a tired baby I just wasn't up for debate with the night clerk.

For the record... our dogs never soiled the room and slept in their kennels.

Thanks for your replies. I understand the allergy comment but from what I know there are certain areas of the hotel that are for pets so if there are allergies they can stay in another wing.
$100 over an extended stay isn't the end of the world but for 1 night it's significant and almost doubles the cost.
One thing I did notice is the hotel web sites don't clearly disclose any fees associated. The Residence Inn I'm considering (and another Marriott nearby) advertises being pet friendly right on their home page with absolutely no reference to an added cost. I didn't notice anything in the booking process either. I looked further and it was buried in a hotel details page. One could just book the room and be in for a big surprise when the get to the hotel. There would be a good case to challenge a fee that wasn't disclosed.

We keep guinea pigs and always like to take about three with us when we go away. Most Marriott's have said this is not a problem and nothing like the problem dogs can cause (no offence to all you dog lovers, I would love a dog, but they are more of a tie). One hotel said no, we don't take pets, then asked what sort of dog it was. I replied it is a guinea pig and the duty manager said: "Oh, well that is absolutely fine. We say no to dogs mostly due to noise from barking and owners leaving poops all over the grounds".

We stay at West India Quay at Canary Wharf in London and when we went up to November they had said the GPs were "very welcome". Last November we went and the Front Office Manager kicked up a stink and said he would charge �75 for deep cleaning, despite me sending an e-mail welcoming GPs and stating that they didn't even touch the hotel fabric. In the end they refunded this after I pointed out that the room had no smell or hair residue as they stay in their own cages.

That has been our only problem and I like to think that Marriotts in the UK welcome the furry beasts as their human slaves keep them scrupulously clean (hutches washed twice a day) and are so loony about their charges that they aren't going to let them loose anyway!!! They even take towels to put down on bathroom floors so their hutches don't even touch the floor.

Personally I think all deep cleaning charges are just a way of making money and most allergy sufferers wouldn't have a problem if the bedding is clean and the carpets hoovered daily (I have a friend who had allergies to pets who has no problems with our pets and thinks it is because they are kept so clean).

I've stayed at a few RI's with a small dog and noticed the rooms to be ok and relatively, pet hair free. I know Starwood properties don't usually charge an additional fee when I have a pet (those that allow them), but their rooms aren't generally as clean as the RIs I've been at.

On a personal note, I don't mind a modest charge for extra cleaning because of people's allergies...as long as it's done. But I've wondered whether $75-100 is a bit excessive.

By the time you clean the curtains and all other fabrics the costs start to add up

Yes, the costs for a short one or two night stay are high.... however, on the other side, we stayed at a Residence Inn for 8 months with our two cats... and the charge was a total of $100.... and that included feeding the cats and changing the litter if we were out of town.... the best $100 we ever spent.

And, I know for a fact, that they came in and did a deep cleaning afterwards.

If the $100 fee is too high, I guess you have to decide whether having the animal for one night is worth it... I am guessing a kennel would be cheaper....

We don't travel overnight with our pet regularly so all of this is new to us...Good point regarding the cost of the kennel. As for our Labrador the kennel could be more as it would have to be 2 nights plus a grooming. It was an optional trip with a side goal to gain some Marriott points and another night towards a promotion so we just didn't go.

Thanks.

Both RIs near Harrisburg actually do clearly state that a $100 cleaning fee will be applied to any stay with a pet.

On the each hotel's main webpage is the link to the "printable hotel's fact sheet" which does state there is a fee and what that fee is.

Residence Inn Harrisburg Carlisle Fact Sheet
Residence Inn Harrisburg Hershey Fact Sheet

I have a really hard time believing they do that upon every checkout. And if they do, every non-pet customer should thank the pet customer for forcing the room to be cleaned that well.

SOP is exactly that - hotels can only charge the fee if the room is deep cleaned after every pet checkout

I do not see how that is true... the hotel can charge the fee regardless of whether they actually clean... the guest agrees to pay the fee in order to have an animal in the room. I sincerely doubt any guest says "I will only pay a pet fee and have my animal in the room if you promise to deep clean after I leave."...

Maybe it is a Marriott rule. And if a hotel gets caught charging the fee, yet not doing the deep cleaning, they will get a stern talking too.