ASHEVILLE, NC—In an ideal world at the Aloft Asheville Downtown, for every two-legged guest who checks in, a four-legged “guest” would check out and, according to General Manager David McCartney, the hotel and staff are doing their best to come close to that vision.
The hotel, owned and managed by McKibbon Hotel Group, is ground zero for the company’s initiative to increase dog adoptions in the community, implemented via a partnership with local animal shelter Charlie’s Angels Animal Rescue (CAAR).
“Part of our mission at McKibbon is giving back to the community and, for the third-quarter of 2014, we intended and were able to be a foster family for dogs. That’s where it started,” said McCartney, noting it was a natural fit as Aloft is a dog-friendly brand. “When guests come with their dogs, we don’t charge an extra fee. We supply a big, old fluffy dog bed, dog bowls with ‘Aloft’ on them, a bag with dog treats—locally baked SnickerPoodles—and a squeaky tennis ball that’s dog-friendly.”
The initiative received strong encouragement from company chairman John McKibbon. “The close partnership that we created with Charlie’s Angels is a perfect example of our commitment to community and family,” he said. “Our guest response has been overwhelmingly positive, generating numerous successful adoptions and uniting families with a new best friend.”
Indeed, the third-quarter project turned into an extended project at the Aloft, which continues to support other charitable community efforts every quarter in addition to the dog-adoption efforts. “The agency came to us at the end of the three months, and we both sort of had the same feelings about wanting to continue it because dogs were getting adopted much faster than any of us imagined and, on our part, we were just having a blast,” said McCartney. “And, it’s helping save dogs’ lives.”
The GM said CAAR goes to county shelters in North and South Carolina and rescues dogs destined to be killed so that the shelters can maintain a set capacity. “Part of their rescue effort actually transports dogs into Ohio, Pennsylvania and other states north of here where there are [fewer]dogs available for adoption,” said McCartney, who noted CAAR also rescues cats.
After three days of observation, CAAR brings a dog to the hotel. The Aloft presents one dog at a time dressed in an “Adopt Me” vest, and the dog remains on property until an application filed for its adoption is approved. “We have a sleeping kennel for them in our sales office. We keep them there for the first 24 hours so we can observe the dog and make sure the dog is comfortable and acclimated to our hotel. In the daytime, we have a ‘doggie playpen’ area next to our front desk, and that’s where the dog spends the day,” said McCartney.
The GM said guests may take the dog out of the playpen area and sit with the animal in the Aloft’s lobby/lounge. ”It’s a very comfortable area to get to know the dog. It’s sort of a semi-homelike setting,” he said.
The dogs offered for adoption are small as opposed to mid- or large-size dogs, given the constraints of the hotel environment. Guests who are inspired to adopt but want a larger dog are encouraged to check CAAR’s website or visit the facility, which is about a 20-minute drive from the hotel.
The staff cares for the dog, and feeding and walking times are charted. The average length of stay is 10 days for the pups. “Some dogs get several applications; some get one or two,” said McCartney. “The first application that comes in gets vetted and, if it’s approved by Charlie’s Angels, then CAAR picks up the dog and delivers it to the folks who are adopting. In one case, the adopting family was in the local area, so they were able to pick up the dog directly from here. We’re just a foster family, so we can’t actually hand the dog over to the family.”
Most of the adopting families are regional and arrive at the Aloft by car, although the GM stressed no one actually leaves with a dog at the end of their stay. There is a $125 fee to adopt a dog and CAAR does a home visit and a veterinarian-reference check. “We found most folks who’ve adopted a dog either have a dog or had a dog, and have a relationship with a veterinarian,” said McCartney.
About 40% of the 21 dogs adopted thus far have gone to local homes. The GM said some dogs were adopted out of state, one to Massachusetts and one to Pennsylvania. In those cases, CAAR reached out to local rescue groups in those states who visited the homes and performed the checks. To get such dogs to their new “forever homes,” McCartney noted there is a volunteer network of dog transportation services and some who charge mileage. In another case, one family flew down from Connecticut, picked up the dog, rented a car and drove back home.
The Aloft’s staff members also have succumbed to the canines’ charms, with the front-desk manager as well as the assistant general manager adopting new pals to join the dogs they already have at home. And, although he’s in the process of moving his family, McCartney himself has been eyeing a pair of dogs (sisters) who are on-premises right now. “We’re not ready to take a dog, but they would be the ones for me,” he said.
“We hope to save more than 100 dogs in 2015 with our partnership with the McKibbon Hotel Group,” added Kim Smith, president of CAAR. “The dogs are set in a natural environment which gives guests one-on-one interaction versus a rescue facility, where only one out of 10 dogs have a chance of being adopted. A single dog receives much more exposure [at the hotel]while increasing its chances.”
McKibbon added the company is “looking forward to expanding this initiative and teaming up with local pet shelters at all of our new lifestyle hotels being developed throughout the country.”
Toward this, additional McKibbon Hotel Group properties have taken action to support local pet shelters. Aloft Greenville Downtown in South Carolina has chosen to partner with local rescue and rehabilitation facility Pet Tender Angels; and, in Florida, Aloft Tallahassee will partner with Last Hope, and Homewood Suites Tampa Westshore will partner with Paws of Hillsborough Country, Inc.
—Stefani C. O’Connor