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November 15, 2017

Planet Dog embarks on pet-friendly hotel partnership

Photo / Jim Neuger Colleen McCracken, Planet Dog's CEO and partner, with Tasker, her Yorkshire terrier, a regular at the Westbrook headquarters. The company told Mainebiz this week that it is partnering with Canopy by Hilton, the hotel company's new pet-friendly lifestyle brand.

Planet Dog, the Westbrook-based maker of durable dog toys sold by independent retailers worldwide and at its store in Portland, is partnering with Canopy by Hilton, Hilton’s (NYSE: HLT) new pet-friendly lifestyle brand.

Paws in the Neighborhood, as the partnership is being called, will debut at Canopy by Hilton in Washington, D.C., the hotel brand’s first property in the Americas, to ensure a “just-right” local experience, for pet parents and their pooches. It will be extended across North America as more hotels open.

Upon check-in, human guests will receive a gift from the neighborhood, while their pets will receive a Paws in the Neighborhood Cinch Pack containing a custom-made Planet Dog goodie.

“It’ll be either a ball or a bone depending on the size of the dog,” Planet Dog’s CEO, Colleen McCracken told Mainebiz on Tuesday.

She said the pack will also include a poop-bag dispenser and information about dog-friendly local restaurants, and that Planet Dog will supply rooms with items such as doggie beds, collars, mats and bowls.

There will also be a Planet Dog ‘retail wall’ at each hotel. McCracken said a portion of sale proceeds will go to the nonprofit Planet Dog Foundation, which funds organizations that raise, train and place service dogs. She also spoke of plans for events at the hotels from ‘yappy hours’ to Halloween pet costume contests.

Canopy by Hilton guests will also get a promo code to receive 20% off Planet Dog products.

“This is where the industry is going,” McCracken said. “I think we will see more of this, having pets be more of everything that we do, and our ability to travel with pets.” On that front she said Hilton was ahead of the curve in reaching out to Planet Dog.

Gary Steffen, global head of Canopy by Hilton, said in a statement that Planet Dog “seemed like the natural fit when looking for a like-minded partner.”

And would McCracken take her beloved Yorkshire terrier, Tasker, to the new Canopy by Hilton in Washington? “Absolutely,” she said.

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