NigCareers

A pet hotel is a place where pets such as dogs and cats are caged and cared for some time while their owners are away for personal, business, medical or other reasons. Pet hotel may also be called pet resort or luxury animal kennel.

Starting a pet hotel is cool, profitable but at the same time, you must be humble enough to serve animals. To be successful, as a pet hotel owner you must have passion for your business and the desire to serve. Besides, you must have the mindset of an entrepreneur; a burning desire to succeed in your business.

This is because the hospitality industry is known as the industry that understands customer service, and for your hotel to thrive, you need to be someone who enjoys serving others naturally.

The pleasure of serving others naturally is the trait every pet hotel owner must imbibe if success is going to be achieved.  But you may not directly attend to your guests personally; your attitude should bear out the way your top managers are seen by your guests and others as serving with humility, down to the shop floor workers.

If you think you are a lover of pets and the desire to go into this lucrative business, opportunities abound, if you also have the mindset of an entrepreneur, ride on, the sky is your limit. Come with me; in this article, I am going to outline in great detail how you are going to start a profitable pet hotel business; go ahead and be a successful pet hotel business owner.

To excel in this business, some external factors have to be considered, they include:

• Level of competition in the pet hotel industry
• Accurate future projection of the number of pets
• Complimentary services to keep the pets going, e.g. organizing sporting activities for them.
• Citing your location close to where pet owners live
• Employing dedicated and intelligent  personnel
• Keeping a clean environment around your pet hotel

Things to do if you have made up your mind to go into the pet hotel business.

Read Also: How to Start an Electronic Store Business

The feasibility study and report:

You can carry this out to assess the commercial viability of the pet hotel market and identify and highlight those factors that if taken will assure the success of the business or put it in high risk and probably lead to losses and ultimate failure. This done, you will be in a position to draw a comprehensive business plan.

Business plan for a pet hotel

The business plan outlines the way forward and should include the following:

• The  services you should be providing will consist of:

1. 1. Pet boarding services
   2. Pet day and health care services
   3. Pet bathing and walking services
   4. Sales of pet body wash and clothes
   5. Sales of pet snacks and other pet foods
   6. Sales of playing toys and gifts.
   7. Pet consulting services.

• The target market to serve: You should aim at pet owners of different class and categories.  The bulk of the market will consist of those who are away on a business trip, medical treatment, personal visits or on holidays but who decide to leave their pets behind. Out of these set of people include:  family members, corporate executives, distinguished sportspeople, celebrities and other tourists
• The management team:  You should plan to recruit some or all of the following executives at the appropriate time to bring your pet hotel to a reasonable standard so that the market can be attracted and feel satisfied.
• The pet hotel manager – The manager should be in charge of the day-to-day running of the hotel; supervise the smooth operation of the hotel, procure the necessary materials and pay wages and salaries.
• The marketing team: The team should be two or more personnel who will conduct market research continuously to discover the new market and bring in more customers to the pet hotel.
• Accountant/cashier – The Accountant/Cashier keeps the company’s financial record, prepares budget and cash flow statement. The accountant will also through the available records determine the profit or loss at the end of a particular period.
• Employ and train your team: Estimate the number of employees you will need when you are about to launch your pet hotel and train them beforehand. Instruct them to follow due processes and empower them to handle complaints according to the hotel rules and regulations. Provide them with the necessary equipment to do their work and satisfy the needs of the people who stay in the hotel.
• The production process and plan – This section highlights the service quality and range of services to be provided including processes, purchases, expenses etc. It may also include who will be responsible for their production.
• The marketing plan – The marketing plan will highlight the strategies to be adopted to achieve pet hotel goals. Specifically, the plan will outline how the marketing mix is going to be blended to provide the best service for the pets and their owners.
• Services to be offered: As has been said, the range of services will consist of the provision of boarding facilities and other ancillary services such as taking dogs for a walk and the sale of pet food.
• Pricing: Usually pet hotels charge clients on per day basis and the size of the pet and the amount of “playtime” is also considered in arriving at the price. Additional fees are charged if there are additional services such as taking a pet for a walk.However, taking a cue from what competitors in the same area charge for the services they provide, you will be able to arrive at the appropriate price. At the same time, you must apply a penetration pricing strategy for the first few months to gain a foothold in this business and begin to raise the price after you have garnered quite several customers.
• Promotion: Your pet hotel promotion should begin by organizing a seminar for pet owners in your local area in which you will inform them about very important information (you must research for such information) you want to pass on to them. You must provide fresh refreshments to make the attendees happy and relaxed. But what you are looking for from them is their names, addresses, phone numbers, email addresses and any other details. For this reason, you should assign the duty to someone who will do a proper registration of the guests as they arrive. In this first meeting with your prospective customers, you should share your flyers with them.

Secondly, you should plan for local newspaper and radio adverts of up to two to three insertions and slots respectively. Use target mail too to invite pet owners at the grand opening of your pet hotel. Do further research to identify pet owners who are not yet in your contact list. Wherever they are identified to be, visit those places such as clubs, churches and win them over. Social media is also another good avenue through which you can publicize your pet hotel. Indeed open a business account with Facebook and use relevant and engaging contents to drag visitors to your website. Also as a matter of necessity, you must set up your website and have on it quality photos of your pet hotel – both interior and exterior, including pets of different types playing within the surrounding area of the hotel. It will also make business sense to organise events that will attract pet owners where they can have fun while an experienced veterinary medicine practitioner will speak on a topic that will put smiles on their faces.

• Estimate the capital expenditure – The capital expenditure needed should encompass all the fixed assets at the start-up. It will include the cost of remodelling the hotel house, buy computers, motor vehicles, furniture and fittings etc. The cost of all these together with those not listed here should be calculated and sourced for before opening for business.
• Estimated working capital. –  The working capital is the amount of money needed for the daily operations of the business and includes the cost of buying pet food, paying salaries of staff and other bills and having sufficient cash in hand and at the bank to meet the daily expenses of the pet hotel business.
• Cash budget – To estimate the daily cash requirements of the pet hotel, cash budget is essential. It will help in planning how to meet the cash shortfall in the future, arrange for bank overdraft in advance of the shortfall and to invest any surplus as the case may be.
• Profitability analysis and evaluation of the project.  –  The accountant should analyse and evaluate the pet hotel business based on the projected income and expenditure and report whether the project is going to be profitable or not. Based on this report, you will be able to decide whether to go ahead with the business or change your mind. Certain guidelines will help you in taking this important decision such as the use of the pay-back period, return on investment and net present value.

Start-up costs of the pet hotel

There are areas of the pet hotel you need to spend money at the outset and therefore there must be a budget for each of them. The following list falls under initial expenditure for the pet hotel:

• The registration fee for the pet hotel as a limited liability company, LLC.
• Fees for zonal permits, licenses, financial and management accounting software and other preliminary expenses incurred to register the business.
• Consultancy services fees.
• The premium for General liability and property insurance including the application for Employers Liability Insurance to protect employees in case of an accident.
• Cost of leasing and remodelling the facility to house the pets for a maximum of one year.
• Running costs for at least six months
• Cost of purchase of equipment like leashes, cages, clickers, pet snacks, tubs, and retail products
• Marketing and promotion expenses for online, social media and other print and electronic media advertising as well as the expenses to be incurred during the launching ceremony.
• Cost of procuring office equipment such as computer systems, furniture, phone, stationery etc.
• Cost of acquiring official vehicles for the company

The above purchases are basic requirements, some others are yet to be included and all the costs can’t be estimated with certainty because they keep on swinging, it is necessary to carry out an online survey to determine their prices.

Read Also: Checklist for Starting a Company

Start-up  Funding for the pets hotel business.

Every business needs proper funding at the start-up stage, and this pet hotel will seek funding from within and outside to implement a proper take-off. The following has been earmarked as a source of the initial funding until the company is stable at generating its revenue.

• Personal savings of yours.
• Soft, short and medium-term loans from your friends and family members
• Overdraft and short term loan from your bank.
• Sale of your assets such as property.

The amount of money needed to take-off should be sufficient to cover the pet hotel basic needs and beyond if the business operations are not going to be hampered over time. Besides, access to future funding must be opened to guarantee that the pet hotel will not run out of cash in the immediate future. This means speaking with your bank for possible future overdraft and obtaining firm promises from friends and family members that they will provide funds when needed in the immediate future.

Pet Hotel strategy – current and future expansion.

Pet hotel should strive to keep customers always delighted and as a result, should have strategies in place to make this possible. Everything must be done to generate and keep customers coming back. To achieve generating quality customers and make them come back is to have quality products/services which can stand the test of time as well as competent employees who will sustain the quality for the foreseeable future. The pet hotel should mount a sustainable publicity in order to market its service effectively

The promotion campaign should be geared towards the launching of the pet hotel and will include the printing of flyers to be distributed before the launching and during the opening ceremony. There should also be sustainable publicity in the local newspaper and radio as well as online and social media adverts. The pet hotel should also engage in regular production of engaging write-ups both on their business account on the social media and website to continue to generate more enquiries and sales.

It is advisable for the pet hotel to recruit the right calibre of employees who will understand the corporate policies and values concerning the needs and satisfaction of customers since it is the customer that keeps the business going and opportunity for the employees to serve them. If this is not in place, the pet hotel is likely not to make progress and be losing money.

The price you charge should be competitive and must be commensurate with the services provided. Customers who join at launching of the pet hotel should enjoy generous incentives such as discounts and extra service. There will be sustainable discount for first time customers in order to build brand equity – acceptability and loyalty of pet hotel services. When customers accept the services in their numbers, it will be easy to relax promotion and even increase the price moderately. Always look for ways and means to generate more customers, by rewarding those who refers new customers to you and by treating customers’ enquiries and complaint with utmost respect and speed even when the customer is seen to be wrong.

The best business practice is to try retaining the existing customers since it is cheaper than seeking for new one. Besides, existing customers who are satisfied with the hotel services will work for you as advocates and publicize your pet hotel as unpaid salespersons.

Read Also: Developing A Marketing Strategy For Small Business

Pick a be-fitting name and register your pet  hotel

It is a good idea to research and select a smart name for your pet hotel and register it as soon as possible to prevent it from being available to others. In choosing the form of business that is right for a pet hotel, it is a limited liability company (LLC). This form of business protects your assets if your business is a subject of litigation since you are separated from your business and your liability is limited to the amount of capital you have invested.

Others forms of business enterprises include a sole proprietorship, partnership and a corporation. These forms are not suitable for your business and should not be selected.

Register for taxes and open a business bank account

You will have to register for both federal and state taxes before you will be allowed to operate as a business entity. Since you will be employing some staff, you will need to obtain the Employers Identification Number (EIN). It is entirely free of charge. If you choose, you can obtain the EIN online through the IRS website.

You must open a business bank account to separate your account from your business and prevent the confusion that will likely arise when trying to prepare accounts for the business. After the two accounts have been muddled up, separating the two will cause delays in preparing the accounts.

Set up your business accounting system

Proper keeping of accounting records is imperative if you want to understand the financial performance of your pet hotel business. To do this, the accounting system must be in line with the accounting standard and comply with the law. Setting up a good accounting system will also help when computing the business tax returns.

Obtain your necessary permits and licenses

Most states in the US  will not permit pet hotel owners to operate without first of all obtaining permits and licenses. These documents are pre-requisite in commencing your business and failure to obtain either of the two may lead to heavy fines and the possibility of your business being shut down by the State.

Obtain business insurance

Business insurance is mandatory for small businesses because it enables them to cover losses that are likely to arise in the course of business. There are two common insurance policies you can procure right away: the general liability insurance and the workers’ compensation insurance. The general liability insurance covers the business of any loss arising in the course of business such as fire or burglary while workers ‘ compensation compensates workers in the event of a worker accident while on duty.

Define your brand

Make your brand unique since it defines your values and differentiate your pet hotel services from your competitors. You can define your brand in your value selling proposition (VSP). Set your range of services apart from others and make them as attractive as possible so that customers who patronize your pet hotel will have something to recall and reasons to come back.

Set up your website

As part of your promotional campaign, your website is likely to bring in more customers to your hotel. If you can craft your site with the attractions of engaging and interactive content, quality photos of yours, the pet hotel building and some pets in their happy moment. Use your social media links to channel traffic to your site.

Read Also: 8 Reasons Why Small Business Need a Website for Your Business

Work to keep your customers coming back

In the pet hotel market, to keep on winning new customers, your reputation is crucial. You will realise that you are not serving the animal when you treat them with respect, but you are trying to make money by providing their needs. So work towards making more money. When a pet is happy or excited coming into your facility, the owner is likely to pass this information to other pet owners known to them. As has been mentioned elsewhere in this article, use penetrating pricing strategy to gain customers when you launch your pet hotel.

Conclusion

The pet hotel market is not yet saturated and can be profitable if you have the passion to take care of pet animals. You must be humble enough to be ready to serve animals and if you are truly devoted, you will always smile to the bank.

Real Estate

Tags: Business ideas, Real Estate Business Ideas