Dogs, cats, and other animals are welcome at pet-friendly hotels in Guanacaste, enjoying your family companion on vacation is always an option with recent changes in Costa Rican tourism offerings.

Nearly 67 percent of households in Costa Rica enjoy the company of at least one companion animal. Members of the Canis lupus genus are the most common pets, followed by Felis domesticus. Over the last few years, pet ownership in Costa Rica has experienced a boom in terms of care, comfort and pampering, which has translated into demand for new services such as gourmet food, upscale grooming, portrait photography, psychology, and pet-friendly hotels.

A recent study by national newspaper La Nacion cited some interesting statistics with regard to pet ownership in Costa Rica. With 1.4 million dogs and nearly 360,000 cats living in Tico households, there is a sizable market for pet services and supplies in this country. Pet owners in Costa Rica are increasingly seeing their animals as being part of the family, and this means taking them along on vacation.

More hotels in Costa Rica are going the pet-friendly route for the purpose of catering to a new generation of pet owners who don’t want their companion animals to miss out on family travel experiences. In Playas del Coco Guanacaste, for example, Hotel Chantel welcomes guests who wish to bring their canine and feline companions along. Ground transportation for pets to Hotel Chantel from the Daniel Oduber Quiros International Airport (LIR) is not a complicated affair.

The key to providing a pleasant pet-friendly hotel experience is to provide exceptional service for both guests and their companion animals. This is what Hotel Chantel and others are doing in Costa Rica. Implementing a pet-friendly policy is easier when the hotel management is passionate about pets, which happens to be the case at Hotel Chantel.

Earlier this year, the Costa Rica Star reported on how the pet boom is creating a veritable industry in this country:

In 2006, there were 189 veterinary clinics in Costa Rica. That number had climbed to 629 by late 2012. Most graduates of veterinarian science curricula go into business on their own and open a private clinic […]

In Latin America, the pet boom is generating multi-billion dollar sales each year. Costa Rica is warming up to this market, which means that more hotels can be expected to welcome pets in the future.
Pet friendly hotel – Lands in Love, on the way to Arenal