In all its beauty, staying at hotels and travelling can sometimes be lonely.
And, no TV and mini bar can help us feel less alone at some occasions. However, one hotel in Mississippi found the ideal way to help their guests feel more like home.
The Home2 Suites by Hilton Biloxi North/D’lberville has a program called Fostering Hope that’s been active since 2018.
Thanks to the program, dogs from shelters are brought into the hotel in collaboration with the Humane Society of South Mississippi.
In the lobby of the hotel, all of the guests can spend time with these pets and take them to their rooms while they’re staying in the hotel when they decide to adopt them.
Yes, you heard correct- if you really hit it off with some of the cute dogs, you can apply for their adoption!
Why Did this Hotel Decide to Implement this Unusual Program?
Teresa Johnston, the Director of Sales at the hotel, wanted to help make all guests feel like home and decided to bring in the furry friends.
The program has helped numerous of the shelter dogs- they got adopted by some of the guests and now they have their forever homes.
The guests of the hotel who like dogs can feel free to walk, feed, and cuddle with them.
A lot of the guests have checked in without any animals and checked out with a new addition to their homes.
Plus, the adoption process is very easy- it happens at the hotel’s front desk. How amazing?
What’s the Goal behind this Fostering Program?
Johnston is hopeful that this program will be very successful and inspire other Hilton hotels to try it out.
This is a unique opportunity to help find forever homes for shelter dogs.
She wanted to make their hotel stand out and this was the perfect move. She wanted her business to be part of the community and it’s definitely a unique way of helping animals.
For now, 33 guests have taken pets from these shelters in their homes.
To adopt a dog from the program, the guests are required to fill out an application and pay $50 adoption fee at the reception.
The adoption program is open and they’re aware that people are doing their best by trying to adopt, but they still reserve the right to deny.
If they don’t see a reason to turn down someone’s application, the dog can immediately move in with the new owners in their hotel room.
This consequently frees up the space in the shelter, which houses around 8000 dogs per year.
Each of the dogs has been spayed or neutered, micro chipped, vaccinated, and de-wormed.
The Program Is Going Strong
According to Bianca Janik, the relations manager of the shelter, the program is successful thanks to the cautious selection of the dogs- reactive ones aren’t good options for residing in the lobby of a hotel, as well as good judgement by the hotel’s staff.
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