Swifto has partnered with Hotel 48Lex to offer dog walking from your hotel room

Many hotels are now realizing that they need to provide accommodation not just for humans, but for their furry little friends too. 

Hotels have customized packages especially designed for dogs which include bottled water, treats, toys and sometimes even a dog bed. Some even have a solution for those unlucky pet owners who weren’t able to bring their pups along, and allow the guest to borrow a goldfish for the day. 

But one problem remains unsolved. If the hotel is pet friendly, and guests are bringing their dogs with them, who is caring for the dogs while their owner is gone? They can’t possibly bring them everywhere they go, especially in cities like New York where both the taxis and the Subway system don’t allow dogs. And they can’t possibly be with them all day if they’re on a business trip or have come to tour the city. Some dogs can’t even be left alone in a hotel room without tearing down the place.

However, providing dog walking is a huge problem too. Hotels don’t want just anyone to have access to their hotel rooms, and since in most cases the dog walker will be needing a key to the room, this makes the transaction even more risky. What makes it trickier is the fact that most dog walking companies are quite small, and so in order to accommodate their guests the hotel will have to provide access to several companies, thus adding even more risk to the problem. 

By partnering with Swifto, Hotel 48Lex is able to solve these issues and provide dog walking to their guests in a secure and safe manner. Swifto is by far the largest dog walking company in New York. And so, by granting access to one business that employs enough dog walkers, 48Lex is able to service all of their guests’ pups. 

In addition, Swifto vigorously screens and vets their dog walkers, making sure they each pass a background check as well as multiple interviews and training, which again reduces the risk factor. The dog walkers are each insured and bonded and have had as many as 10 years of experience walking or working with dogs. 

All the dog walks are GPS tracked which gives clients peace of mind that their dogs are being cared for, the walks are starting on time and the dogs are walked for the duration they have paid for. Clients get a photo in each walk, a notification when it starts and ends, and even poop notifications as the dog does his business.

The integration with the concierge is seamless, allowing clients to request a dog walk at the front desk and having the concierge insert it in the system for them.  

Hotel 48Lex provides the room key to the specific dog walker who will be walking the dog after they’ve confirmed their identity with their ID Card, and gets the room key back right after the dog walk has been completed. If the key isn’t returned right after the dog walk ended, 48Lex has the option to nullify the key from future use. 

“This partnership is the first among many” says Penina First, CEO and Founder of Swifto. “We believe in first focusing on the quality of the dog walkers, and only then adding a layer of technology enabling the best dog walkers to do an even better job. Solving this problem hotels have been facing is crucial, and will allow even more hotels to offer true accommodation to our furry friends.”