Hotel for animals business plan. Your own pet business: a hotel for animals
Hotels, hair salons and pet clothing stores are considered high-end. Such services are provided to wealthy consumers who can afford significant expenses. Drawing up for animals will help you decide where to start and calculate all the costs and risks.
[Hide]
Services
Hotel services are in the table below.
If the client uses a luxury room, then all other services are provided to him free of charge.
List of animals served:
- small dogs - Yorkshire terrier, bichon, chihuahua, pug, dachshund, etc.;
- medium and large dogs - all varieties of shepherd dogs, huskies, greyhounds, as well as bull terriers, setters, etc.;
- cats - Siamese, Redgall, Siberian, Scottish and others;
- birds - parrots, lovebirds, canaries, canaries and rosellas;
- rodents - Guinea pigs, rats, chinchillas and degus.
The cost of services in a pet hotel does not depend on the type of pet. Everyone has the same conditions.
Ordinary number Room for two Luxury room
Relevance
Business is relevant for a number of reasons:
- most pet owners do not know where to leave their animals during vacation, departure or long-term absence;
- 60% of people going abroad must leave their animals either with friends or give them to a pet store;
- In summer, hotels gain momentum several times, which allows them to increase profits;
- the entrepreneur creates comfortable living conditions for animals.
Market description and analysis
The first registered hotel for animals in Russia appeared in 1997. It was a cozy shelter for all dogs. In 2020, an idea appeared - to create an elite business with long-term accommodation for animals.
In total, about 200 hotels are registered in 15 large cities of Russia. Of these, 45% are in the capital region.
The main guests of pet hotels are cats, dogs and birds.
Market analysis:
- Of the Moscow pet hotels, 98% of the owners open as a separate point. The rest are chain hotels scattered around the city.
- According to GfK research, 55% of entrepreneurs rent premises to open a hotel. However, working in the hotel business is easier when you have your own property as it reduces the initial investment.
- As a rule, all profitable hotels have an average area of 250-300 square meters. m. The room consists of several zones to distribute animals depending on the type and size. Chain hotels have about 40-50 rooms, while individual businesses can provide up to 35 beds.
- Location of modern pet hotels by marketing research: houses with adjacent territory, squares or public parks.
The target audience
Potential client profiles:
- women aged 30-35 years;
- families with above average income.
Competitive advantages
The distinctive features of this hotel enterprise from its competitors may be the following:
- A themed image of nature where animals will feel at home. You can decorate areas with certain colors and add music from nature.
- For regular customers, half of the services will be free, and the cost of living will be reduced to 50%.
- Installation of a spa area and a separate park with a river for walking dogs.
- Installation of video cameras so that owners can monitor their pets.
Advertising campaign
- distribution of leaflets and business cards;
- take advantage of the help of bloggers who will talk about the pet hotel;
- advertising through social networks;
- contacting famous trainers;
- cooperation with kennel clubs;
- advertising through hairdressing salons for animals;
- Place banner ads on popular websites.
Step-by-step opening instructions
You can draw up a business plan for a hotel for animals in a competent business organization yourself or buy a ready-made one.
You can open pet hotels much faster if you follow the instructions:
- Collect the necessary documents.
- Find a room and make repairs in it.
- Purchase the necessary equipment.
- Select staff.
Documentation
The hotel business does not require certification, so you can register as an individual entrepreneur. However, it is recommended because in this type of activity contracts are often concluded with cooperating companies.
To open a partnership, you need to contact the tax office at your place of residence.
The requirements for opening an LLC are presented below.
You also need to select OKVED codes.
As a result, you should get:
- application form P11001;
- a documented decision to create an LLC (if there is only one founder);
- company charter in 2 copies;
- receipt of payment of state duty;
- registration documents legal address companies.
Video material instructions for opening an LLC from the author of “Contour. Accounting."
Room and design
The main guideline when choosing a premises depends on the target audience and the animals being served.
Main characteristics of the room:
- recommended area - 300 sq. m;
- separate building;
- dormitory area;
- the size of a regular room is 1.7x1.5x2.3 m;
- luxury room size - 2x3x2.3 m;
- telephone communications;
- total number of rooms - 50;
- installed water supply, sewerage and electricity;
- division into zones for various types animals;
- separate kitchen and spa area;
- V mandatory fenced surrounding area.
Design requirements:
- tile floor;
- the walls of the rooms are made of durable glass.
The average cost of renting premises for a hotel for animals is 350,000 rubles/month.
Approximate view of the hotel lobby Hotel kitchen for animals Adjacent territory
Equipment and inventory
Kitchen components:
- cabinets for storing feed;
- kitchen sink and stove;
- fridge;
- set of cooking tools.
Bathroom equipment:
- shower cabins;
- towel racks;
- a set of gels and oils;
- grooming tools.
Equipment for rooms.
Hall equipment:
- reception desk;
- sofas;
- coffee tables;
- shelves.
Staff
The working hours of the pet hotel staff are 24 hours a day.
Staff.
| Job title | Responsibilities | Requirements | Salary (in rub./month) | Number of persons) |
| Dog handler |
|
| 30,000 | 1 |
| Vet |
|
| 50,000 | 2 |
| Administrator |
|
| 50,000 | 1 |
| Cook |
|
| 45,000 | 1 |
| Cleaning woman |
|
| 15,000 | 1 |
| Security guard |
|
| 25,000 | 1 |
The position of director of the animal hotel remains with the head of this business project.
Financial plan
Initial data:
- taxation system - OSNO (basic);
- submitted calculations for a period of 2 years;
- income tax - 20%;
- VAT - 17%.
Starting investments
Estimate of basic expenses for the first year.
| Article title | Value (in rubles) |
| Renting premises | 4,200,000 |
| Payroll fund | 3,180,000 |
| Housing and communal services | 300,000 |
| Repair and redevelopment | 2,000,000 |
| Ventilation, fire systems and air conditioning | 150,000 |
| Kitchen installation | 95,000 |
| SPA area installation | 150,000 |
| Hall equipment | 39,112 |
| Bathroom equipment | 85,200 |
| Kitchen equipment | 59,070 |
| Animal Toolkit | 65,000 |
| Medicines | 15,000 |
| Stern | 11,200 |
| Buying a PC | 22,000 |
| Advertising and promotion | 100,000 |
| Expenses to cover risks | 300,000 |
| Total | 10,771,582 |
Regular expenses
Monthly costs.
Income
Revenue items in the first year at 55% occupancy.
Revenues for the second year with hotel occupancy of 85%.
Risks and payback
Possible risks.
The approximate payback period for a pet hotel business project is 2.5 years.
In large cities, the demand for hotels for animals is growing. This is due to the fact that more than 70% of Russians have favorite pets (according to VTsIOM), which sometimes need to be adopted. That is why the business idea of a pet hotel is relevant and quite profitable. How to draw up a high-quality business plan for a hotel for animals, what it consists of and what estimated investments are needed, we will tell you in this article.
Project Summary
The opening of a hotel for animals is planned in a large city with a million population, where the target audience is as active as possible, its volume is extensive, and its income is higher. Accordingly, people more often have to travel and at the same time place their pets somewhere.
There are very few direct competitors, since this area in Russia is at the starting stage. For this reason free niches enough, all that remains is to develop the right strategy in accordance with the requests, requirements and criteria of potential clients and taking into account the existing legislation. We will give an example of such a hotel in this article.
Marketing analysis
To understand the potential return on investment and possible business profits, you need to draw up a business plan for a pet hotel with calculations, and it will be based on an analysis of the niche and target audience.
According to statistics from VTsIOM, the most popular pets in the Russian Federation are cats and dogs. More details can be seen in the figure:
It is the owners of dogs and cats who are frequent clients of pet clinics, pet boutiques and, accordingly, pet hotels. The volume of animal establishments in the largest cities of Russia can be seen in the figure:
Consider opening a pet hotel in St. Petersburg.
To form pricing policy You should familiarize yourself with the data of the NAFI Analytical Center, which says that Russians spent 1 trillion rubles on their pets in 2015, often saving on themselves rather than on their pets. The figure shows the average monthly cost of keeping a pet (RUB):
Based on these data, you can see that pet hotels are quite a popular business, especially in large cities of Russia.
Business registration
Before searching for premises and purchasing equipment and materials for the hotel, you must go through legal registration. To open a pet hotel, it is enough to register as an individual entrepreneur. Next, you can choose a room for the hotel, prepare it for inspection checks, since without the permission of the SES, fire inspection and Rospotrebnadzor, officially conduct veterinary activities forbidden. This can lead to hefty fines. On average, you will have to spend about 30 thousand rubles on registration and obtaining permission from authorities.
Deciding on the hotel format
There are no clear legal requirements for hotels for animals, so they are shaped by business strategy. The most popular formats are:
- Mini-hotel in a private apartment.
- Vacation home.
- Rent of a separate building in a residential or central area of the city.
Our hotel will be located outside the city in the form of a small house with separate rooms for pets. In addition, there will be enclosures for street dogs on the territory of the zoo hotel with space for walking and playing.
Hotel activities
It is important to make the right offer to your potential clients. The pet hotel will provide temporary housing and care services for animals. First of all, we decide on the types of animals for which we will provide a comfortable stay.
- Dogs.
- Cats.
- Guinea pigs.
- Chinchillas.
Main services:
- Keeping and walking animals.
- Veterinary examination daily.
- Feed on a schedule and change water as needed.
- Bathing the animal.
- Cleaning the nose, ears, teeth, eyes.
- Daily cleaning of the premises.
- Walk the dog 3 times a day.
Animal training:
- On a site with barriers and obstacles.
- At the site for conducting OKD.
- At the site for the ZKS.
VIP rooms for cats and dogs.
Selection of premises
We choose premises for the hotel in the form of renting a small house in the suburbs of St. Petersburg with a living area of 200 sq. m. m with a small adjacent territory, with a rent of 200 thousand rubles per month. Communal payments will amount to 20 thousand rubles per month.
The premises need to be redecorated and have separate small rooms for pets (500,000). In addition, it is necessary to improve the water supply and install plumbing for bathing animals (at least 10 baths). The hotel will have 5 VIP rooms for dogs and cats, 5 rooms for enclosures for dogs and cats and 2 rooms for rodents, 1 medical room, hairdresser, 5 bathrooms (2 baths in each). In addition, to obtain permission from authorities, the ventilation system in the room should be improved. It is necessary to treat the walls with non-toxic materials.
In the area adjacent to the building, it is necessary to build both summer and winter enclosures with reliable fencing. After all, for the escape of an animal owner of a pet hotel, clients have every right"to sue"
Technical support
To create an appropriate environment and operate a hotel, you will need equipment, furniture, living quarters for pets, as well as plumbing, electronics and much more. Equipment costs in the table:
| Name | Price | Qty | Amount (rub.) |
| Indoor dog enclosures | 5000 | 5 | 25 000 |
| Outdoor dog enclosures | 7 000 | 5 | 35 000 |
| Rodent cages | 1 000 | 20 | 20 000 |
| Houses for cats | 2 000 | 20 | 40 000 |
| Tables | 2000 | 5 | 20 000 |
| Tools | 30 000 | 30 000 | |
| Furniture for VIP rooms (small sofa, cabinet with things, pet house) | 20 000 | 10 | 200 000 |
| Medicines for the veterinary hospital | 50 000 | 50 000 | |
| Play equipment for animals | 30 000 | 30 000 | |
| Detergents | 10 000 | 10 000 | |
| Disinfectants | 5 000 | 5 000 | |
| Dishes for animals | 5 000 | 5 000 | |
| Indoor flowers | 10 000 | 10 000 | |
| Strong fence | 50 000 | 50 000 | |
| Additional expenses | 100 000 | 100 000 | |
| Kitchen appliances | 100 000 | ||
| Furniture for workers and administration | 200 000 | ||
| Video equipment and electronics | 50 000 | 50 000 | |
| Total | 980 000 |
Staff
Appropriate specialists will be needed to ensure the care and comfort of animals. The number of employees depends on the number and size of pets. Minimum staff:
| Employee | Salary (rub.) | Number of units | Sum |
| Administrator | 25 000 | 2 | 50 000 |
| Vet | 30 000 | 2 | 60 000 |
| Trainer | 30 000 | 2 | 60 000 |
| Hotel worker (watches pets) | 20 000 | 4 | 80 000 |
| Cleaner | 15 000 | 2 | 30 000 |
| Client acquisition manager | 30 000 | 1 | 30 000 |
| Hairdresser | 30 000 | 1 | 30 000 |
| Total | 340 000 |
This is the minimum number of animal hotel employees that will allow the institution to function. The business owner himself can perform the duties of an accountant and supplier.
Risks and opportunities
Before investing in a project, it is necessary to assess all possible risks when creating and developing a hotel for animals. The most common risks:
- High competition.
- Error in calculating audience size.
- A decrease in the solvent population due to the difficult economic situation in the country.
- Incorrect formation of pricing policy.
- Unqualified personnel.
- Inappropriate investment in Additional services and VIP specialists.
- Emergence viral diseases pets
- Escape or infection of a healthy animal in a hotel.
- Injury to the animal.
- Conflict situations between dogs.
- Long payback period.
Possibilities:
- Make a pet hotel one of the most popular in the region.
- Expand the surrounding area and increase the number of clients.
- Enter the federal level by selling franchises.
- Increase the number of VIP clients thanks to high service.
Promotion and advertising
To attract the first customers, as well as for the dynamic development of the business, additional investments will be needed in the promotion and advertising of the hotel. First of all, it is necessary to create an Internet resource that will work for the entire region, launch radio advertising and printing. In addition, do not forget about lucrative offers for regular customers (free additional training services or video surveillance for your pet as a gift).
Main promotion tools:
To maintain brand development monthly, you need to spend at least 30,000 rubles on printing and radio advertising.
Prices for services
| Name of service | Animal | price, rub. per day |
| Keeping and walking animals | Dog (puppy up to 4 months) | 600 |
| Medium sized dog | 700 | |
| Large size dog | 800 | |
| Decorative dog breeds | 800 | |
| Giant dogs | 1000 | |
| Cats | 400 | |
| Rodents | 300 | |
| Animal training | Dogs | From 600/1 |
| Delivery of an animal out of town | Small dogs/cats/rodents | 500/1 side |
| Medium and large dogs | 800/1 side | |
| Giant dogs | 1000/1 side | |
| VIP rooms | Rooms for dogs with online video surveillance and apartment interior | Additional 1500 |
| Separate room for cats with European layout | Additional 1000 | |
| Beauty services | For dogs | 1000 |
| For cats | 800 | |
| For rodents | 400 |
Profitability calculation
Start-up costs
It is planned to allocate 2,060,000 rubles to start the business.
Monthly expenses
The general table of monthly expenses from the 3rd month looks like this:
Income
Since it will take some time to increase the number of hotel clients, profitability for the first year will be calculated based on 30-40 pets per month in the first 3-5 months. You should take into account seasonality and start launching the project in the spring, before the hot holiday and travel seasons. The hotel for animals is expected to be fully equipped by mid-summer. There are plans to increase attendance in the future. When fully equipped, approximately pets will be: 10 large dogs, 10 small ornamental dogs and puppies, 20 cats and 20 rodents and chinchillas. Based on the prices, the average potential income can be calculated as follows:
| Pet | Amount per day | Number of seats | Amount per month |
| Dog (puppy up to 4 months) | 600 | 5 | 90 000 |
| Medium sized dog | 700 | 5 | 105 000 |
| Large size dog | 800 | 5 | 120 000 |
| Decorative dog breeds | 800 | 15 | 360 000 |
| Giant dogs | 1000 | 5 | 150 000 |
| Cats | 400 | 20 | 240 000 |
| Rodents | 300 | 20 | 180 000 |
| Dog training | 600 | 10 | 180 000 |
| Pet delivery (500 rub.) | 2500 | 5 | 75 000 |
| VIP rooms for dogs with online video surveillance and apartment interior | 7500 | 5 | 225 000 |
| For cats, a separate room with a European layout (5 cats) | Additional 1000 | 5 000 | 150 000 |
| Cosmetic (2 dogs, 4 cats, 5 rodents) | 7200 | 216 000 | |
| Additional income from the sale of goods (clothing for animals, toys, food) | 800 000 | ||
| Total per month | 2 888 000 |
The relationship between profit and costs: 2,088,000 – 2,060,000 = 828,000 – 15% tax = 703,800 (net profit).
If, in addition to standard daily care, training and hairdressing services, you add veterinary services and additional services to the price, the amount of the final profit will increase by at least 50%, which will cover the investment during the year the project is launched.
Experts say that a pet hotel can pay for itself within one season. To open a business you will need a relatively small amount: up to 30 thousand dollars. A huge advantage of a business is the ability to attract regular customers. By providing services at a decent level, you will quickly turn your hotel into a “lifesaver” for hundreds of dog and cat owners. If your animal likes it, the owners will be happy to bring their pet to you for foster care for the second, third, and tenth time.
Market research
Research the market before opening a pet hotel. Start by researching similar offers in your area. Simply put, travel to local pet hotels. Of course, you shouldn’t reveal your goals to hotel owners. Tell them that you want to leave your pet for the duration of your vacation and would like to choose a suitable hotel in advance. Hotel staff will be happy to show you rooms for animals and tell you about the living conditions. This way you will study the business and get to know your future competitors closely.
Explore Foreign experience. Practice shows that many domestic hotels have too small rooms. Animals do not live in cramped cages, but serve their sentences while waiting for their owners. The rooms should be spacious, comfortable and very clean. Go to an English-language resource and see how everything works in London, Toronto or Dubai. Please note that there is a tendency in the service market to improve quality. By opening a good hotel with decent living conditions, you will be one step ahead of your competitors.
Legal issue
Decide on the form of ownership: open or. IP opens easier and faster. An individual entrepreneur holds both the money and the reins of the company in his own hands. He does not need an accountant, since individual entrepreneur reports are submitted in a simplified form. But this “coin” also has a second side: personal responsibility. If something goes wrong, the individual entrepreneur will be liable to creditors for personal property.
To open an LLC you will need authorized capital, articles of association and many other documents. Without special education, you are unlikely to be able to keep records, so you will have to hire an accountant. LLC means more hassle at the input and less hassle at the exit. You will only risk authorized capital company, personal property will remain intact.
What does it take to open a hotel for animals, from the government’s point of view? Yes, practically nothing, with the exception of ordinary procedures. This activity is not licensed, so you will not need to obtain special permits. The usual documents confirming the compliance of the premises with the standards established by the SES and the Ministry of Emergency Situations are enough.
Room
Choose a room depending on which clients you will care for. It is clear that rooms for cats will be much smaller in size than enclosures for dogs. But even small animals cannot be accommodated in a city apartment. According to veterinarians, keeping more than three adult animals at the same time leads to a violation of sanitary standards. The consequences are easy to calculate: a specific smell, damaged relationships with neighbors and SES fines.
The best place for a hotel is non-residential premises in the suburbs. Fresh air is beneficial not only to people, but also to animals. Ideally, each room should have a small fenced plot of land adjacent to it. The suburb has several other advantages:
- no traffic jams,
- inexpensive land,
- minimum neighbors.
Recently, many city hotels for small animals have appeared. These establishments are located in rented premises of business centers. City hotels are chosen by clients who want to foster an animal for a short period of time.
Numbers
Draw up a business plan for a pet hotel. Place your bet on room furnishings. A good owner will first pay attention to the condition of the room, and only then - to the surroundings, additional services and other delights. The rooms should be spacious, comfortable and hygienic.
The minimum area of a hotel with 10–12 rooms is 40 square meters. Optimal sizes one room for cats or small dogs – 1.5 by 2 meters. Shelves and ladders should be installed in the enclosure for cats so that pets can stretch their legs and lead a more or less active lifestyle. The best material for enclosures is natural wood coated with hypoallergenic antiseptic varnish. For the floor, it is better to choose ordinary ceramic tiles.
The dog enclosure should be spacious. The best option– an enclosure consisting of two parts: internal (room) and external (fenced area). The dog will decide for itself when to walk outside and when to rest on a warm bedding. Required condition: reliable and durable walls between enclosures. Rooms for cats and dogs should be in separate buildings.
The dogs still need to be walked. This can be done in a nearby park or on the territory (if the area allows). Dogs should be walked one at a time to prevent physical contact between animals. Fights and uncontrolled mating are not included in your plans, and especially not in the plans of the owners, are they? An exception can be made for the youngest animals. Puppies can play with each other under the supervision of staff and with prior agreement with the owners.
Equipment
According to preliminary estimates, you will need 120–150 thousand rubles to furnish the premises. This price includes equipment for hotel maintenance:
- enclosures,
- freezer for storing food,
- cleaning equipment,
- heaters,
- ventilation system.
Inventory in the rooms:
- houses for cats and small dogs,
- scratching posts,
- horizontal bars,
- mats (including disposable ones),
- bowls,
- toys.
In addition, you will have to take care of the availability the required minimum medicines and animal care products. This list includes vitamins, anthelmintics, shampoos, anti-flea drops, and combs.
When it comes to food, there are several options. You can hire a “cook” and cook your own food, including “allowance” in the cost of living, or feed the animals with food brought by the owner. The choice can be left to the pet owners.
Staff
At first, you can do almost all the work yourself. Cleaning, feeding and administrative functions can be easily handled by two or three people (you and your family members). When the business gets even a little stronger, you can think about hiring outside nannies. When choosing staff, rely on a love of animals, as well as experience or special education.
Having a veterinarian on staff will be a big plus. If you cannot hire a certified specialist, enter into an agreement with a nearby veterinary clinic. Have a doctor come daily and examine your residents. As for treatment, the following scheme has proven itself well: the cost of emergency medical care The hotel owner pays, and the pet owner then reimburses the costs. Be sure to include the appropriate clause in the contract.
Prices for mandatory and additional services
The price of a stay for one guest depends on the level of the hotel and the region. On average, in a mid-range hotel the cost of living a cat is 300–450 rubles per day. Keeping a dog costs more – about 500 rubles. This price includes check-in, cleaning, care, feeding, daily medical checkup, walking 2 times a day (for dogs). If the owner wants to place two animals in one room, charge a boarding fee of 40–50% of the base price.
A hotel is not only a place to stay. This is a place where guests spend time with pleasure and benefit. Earning money from a paid service can become a significant source of income. Sample list and cost of additional services:
- transfer to passenger car in the city - about 300 rubles,
- check-in and check-out at odd hours - about 250 rubles,
- grooming (haircut, manicure) – 400–1000 rubles.
Advertising and customer service
How to open a pet hotel and achieve success? Remember that you must work not only and not so much with animals, but with their owners. People who are not poor come to the animal hotel. Caring for pets is, of course, good, but their owners will pay for this care, right? Develop marketing strategy. Don't skimp on the surroundings. Make video and photo reports and send them daily to your clients by email.
Take care of advertising. Since media ads are expensive, bet on the Internet. Create a website (at least the simplest one) and place it on a paid platform. Post notices on well-known virtual boards. Advertising on zoological and tourism sites has a good effect. Why tourist? Because travel agency clients are also your clients: they also need somewhere to put their pets during the trip. Well, word of mouth, of course, has not been canceled.
Conclusion
Hotel for animals – seasonal business. People adopt pets during the holidays, that is, in the summer, on the May holidays, and on New Year's Eve. Entrepreneurs claim that the hotel generates 50–60% of its total income during the summer season. But recently the situation is changing: growing income allows people to go to southern countries at any time of the year, so hotel business gradually acquires an off-season character.
So, let's summarize. Approximate expenses for the first three months will be about 220 thousand rubles, including:
- hotel equipment – 120–150 thousand rubles,
- advertising – 18–24 thousand rubles,
- payment for veterinarian services – 45 thousand rubles.
In three summer months you can earn about 405 thousand rubles. If your hotel has 10 rooms, then at full occupancy the situation will be as follows: multiply the number of rooms 10 by the price of a daily stay of 450 and get 4,500 rubles of income per day. Now we multiply 4,500 rubles by the number of days in the 90 season and get 405,000. It follows that in one season the hotel will not only pay for itself, but will bring a profit of about 200,000 rubles.
Margarita Nikitina shared the history of creating a network of pet hotels, in which all processes are automated, and told what options for keeping pets exist on the market, highlighting their main advantages and disadvantages.
Cat business: how I managed to create an automated pet hotel with affordable prices
Margarita NikitinaWhy I decided to open a hotel for animals
I had the idea of opening a pet hotel according to European standards a long time ago, back when I was studying at the veterinary faculty. While doing internships in various veterinary clinics, I saw the conditions in which animals are kept after operations. How cramped they are in small cages, how they want to move and jump. Animal owners had to call administrators for several hours to get at least some information about the condition of their pet.
What can we say about the service? No contracts, obligations or the slightest. Going on vacation when you have a cat or dog was no easy task. Who can you ask to babysit your pet, who can you trust with the keys to the apartment?
It was out of the question to give your cat to acquaintances or friends, because they tear up wallpaper, furniture, and after such overexposure, friends cease to be friends.
It was back in 2007, then I realized that the market needed changes. But as a veterinary student, I had neither the funds nor the experience. Over the course of 10 years, I gained experience and rose to a position in large company. And in 2017, a turning point came when I decided to start realizing my old dream.
I started a business without anyone's help
I decided to open a business on my own, without anyone’s help or partnership, I had enough experience, and I had saved up money. And in the spring of 2017, she began implementing her project. When you launch any business, first of all you need to analyze the market, see how competitors work. What is the demand and for what services?
I was very lucky: over these 10 years the market has not changed much. Hotels for animals have appeared, but the level of service has remained the same. Many hotel owners, wanting to save their money, equipped them from scrap materials (plywood, plastic). Therefore, I decided that the animal rooms in my hotels would be made entirely of glass.
In my opinion, competitors on the market also paid minimal attention to cleaning and disinfection, limiting themselves to simple sweeping and cleaning of trays. I have compiled a list of business processes that radically change the approach to cleaning and disinfection.
At the pet hotel
The next stage is choosing a room. This is a separate process that is significant in business. Here I encountered landlords for whom the service I provided was new. They did not perceive the pet hotel as a modern and full-fledged service to the population. For them, a hotel for animals primarily meant dirt, noise and an unpleasant smell.
We opened our first hotel in June 2017. To convince the landlord, we had to show photographs of European and American hotels, and talk in detail about the ventilation, disinfection and cleaning systems. Today we already have 10 hotels throughout the country and, with each new hotel opening, problems with landlords become less and less.
How I looked for hotel staff
When I approached the issue of recruiting staff for my hotel, I clearly understood that these should be employees with higher veterinary education. Working with animals involves not only feeding and playing with them, but also a high-quality examination before admission to foster care. Staff need to understand what to do if the animal suddenly becomes ill. A simple cat sitter will not cope with these tasks.
I posted an ad on popular personnel resources. There were many responses, but not every employee was ready to clean the premises and wash the floors. As a result, I selected several people, and they still work in the company. One of the first employees has already been promoted and holds the position of administrator of the entire BookingCat hotel chain.
Work only with professionals
One of the tasks was to maximize automation of the hotel’s operating process. This required serious “intervention”. I planned that I would have a large network in different regions of Russia. I started with the website, but not everything went smoothly. To develop it, I turned to a programmer friend. He took quite a lot of money (about 300 thousand rubles) and treated the work carelessly. When we began to actively expand, I had to hire truly professional programmers and completely redo the site. And my “friend” now doesn’t get in touch.
My advice to you is to be sure to work under a contract: subsequently there will be much fewer problems if you need to defend your rights.
Now everything is set up and working great. The booking service is fully automated. We have integrated the latest advanced technologies of the IT market, several multi-channel phones, and a single all-Russian number 8-800. In my opinion, we have one of best CRM systems, we do not miss a single client.
What have I come to after a year of work?
When the main work was completed, the contractors installed all the equipment and video surveillance was set up, I opened the doors to my hotel. Thanks to aggressive advertising campaign online, we got our first guests the day after opening.
After 2 days, 5 more cats came to us. We closed July with more than 80% hotel occupancy. We had 50 rooms, so this is a good indicator from a financial point of view. Provided that the average check per season is more than 10 thousand rubles, the monthly revenue was more than 1,200,000 rubles.
A year has passed, and the hotel has long since recouped its investment. We have now built up a permanent loyal following client base. And there are never days when the hotel is empty; even in the low season we have 10 or more cats. I made the right decision, leaving a comfortable office and a high position, devoting my time to myself and my development. Just like my partners, who are actively opening their hotels in different cities of Russia.
At the pet hotel
In the regions, we open hotels with fewer rooms, on average from 15 to 30. Revenue there is much more modest, from 300 to 600 thousand rubles, but due to low maintenance costs, the business is quite effective and attractive. We currently have 10 hotels, and by the end of the year I plan that we will open 20 more in all cities with a population of over a million.
I developed an effective business model for building a network. My initial expenses for creating a website and writing business processes have already paid off, and thanks to the royalties paid by partners, we can conduct effective and aggressive business. We invest more than 100 thousand rubles in direct advertising alone to attract new pets to our hotels. In addition to foster care advertising, we are also actively developing a franchise network, and, of course, this also requires considerable investment.
About 80% of pedigree cats are brought to our hotels, the average cost of which is about a thousand dollars, but the service is affordable for most city residents, and among our guests there are also domestic mongrel cats. After all, regardless of the breed, cats are first and foremost family members, and choosing a hotel for them is comparable to choosing kindergarten for a child.
What's happening in the market?
Many pet owners are faced with the problem of temporary pet care from one to several times a year. The reason to leave the “tailed one” could be a vacation, a business trip, repairs, moving, the arrival of relatives, illness of a second pet or owner. According to a survey of pet owners, 1/3 are afraid to trust their “fluffies” to anyone and are even ready to refuse the trip. This is a real problem for some and a reason to give up getting a pet altogether.
What foster care options does the pet services market offer in Russia?
First option
The first and most common way of temporary keeping is to leave it with friends or ask friends to come home to care for the pet. There are pros, cons and underwater rocks, which owners do not think about. If an animal stays at home alone, then, on the one hand, it experiences less stress, since its habitat has not changed, but on the other hand, it gets very bored when alone and can become offended.
Out of resentment, pets begin to “revenge” and damage walls and furniture. Acquaintances, as a rule, cannot always come every day, more often every other day or once every few days. The pet often lacks food and water, not to mention attention, and with a dog this option is completely unacceptable.
I know of cases where our clients left their pets with friends, and the animals, as a sign of protest, damaged their wallpaper, furniture, showed aggression towards people and children, and as a result, friendly relations were threatened.
As a rule, someone else's animal becomes a burden for relatives and friends, even for a short period. I can give you another story as an example: a guy asked a friend to come feed his cat, and he ended up doing it on the first and last day before his arrival, which he accidentally found out about from mutual friends. After this incident, the cat needed to see a veterinarian.
Second option
This is a paid home foster care. There are people who place advertisements for foster care at home on various Internet resources. The cost of such a service is comparable to the cost of living in a pet hotel. Let's consider the pros and cons of such a stay.
- Firstly, you are unlikely to be able to find real reviews about this person on the Internet. Does he really love animals and will follow all recommendations for care and maintenance?
- Secondly, he most likely will not sign any liability agreement for keeping a pet, therefore, the person will not owe you anything in the event of force majeure. Responsibility between you will not be recorded.
- Thirdly, you can never be sure how your pet is treated and cared for. IN similar cases Usually video surveillance is not provided.
- Fourthly, you cannot be sure that during this period people will not adopt other pets at home and they will get along with each other.
- The fifth aspect you should consider is disinfection. No apartment can be 100% disinfected after yours and other animals. If people accept pets for foster care, then you are not the only guests, not the first and not the last. There is also no guarantee that the animal will not accidentally run out of an open door or jump out of a window. We know such cases.
All these risks must be taken into account during private home foster care. But there are undoubtedly advantages: a large space, if the pet is not locked in a separate room, proximity to your home, the cost is 10-20% lower than that of officially registered organizations.
If you decide to use private services, then it is better to choose a trusted person who does not have his own pets, or has the possibility of keeping them in isolation. The average cost of private foster care in apartments is as follows: a cat from 400 rubles per day, a dog from 500 rubles per day, rodents from 200 rubles.
Third option
These are pet hotels. There are now a lot of offers on the market for all types of pets: these are open outdoor enclosures, and closed enclosures with heated floors, cages, wooden rooms, glass rooms, structures made of plastic/sandwich panels and other various materials.
How to choose a hotel and get quality service?
- First, make a guest visit to the hotel and look at the real living conditions of other pets. If you are denied this, this should alert you; it is better to choose another place of stay for your pet.
- Secondly, you can check the hotel by simply calling and asking whether the hotel will accept a guest with an infectious disease. If the answer is yes, then we recommend not to settle on this accommodation option.
- Thirdly, on the Internet or in social networks look for real reviews about the establishment, contact people who have used their service.
- Fourth, request a contract. If they don't give it to you, then this should also give you pause.
Now some hotels provide video surveillance services, this is a definite plus and indicates that the hotel has nothing to hide, it complies with all norms. For peace of mind of the owner, we recommend using this option. Hotels that do not show animal conditions will not install video surveillance for obvious reasons.
Another point is disinfection and cleaning. It’s definitely worth clarifying how this is done; during a guest visit, it’s better to make sure for yourself that there are actually cleaning products and that the staff knows how to use them. If these simple questions are not answered, then perhaps they are simply not disinfecting properly.
At the pet hotel
Also important is the health of the pet. At the hotel you should be asked for your pet's veterinary passport with vaccination records and have the animal examined before check-in.
What are the advantages of pet hotels?
- Official responsibility under the contract for the temporary keeping of a pet.
- Compliance with veterinary and sanitary rules and disinfection by professional detergents. Much more attention is paid to the maintenance of fluffies than private foster care.
- Most often it works more professional staff having qualifications or education.
- Convenient locations, it is possible to pay a guest visit before moving in and look at the real conditions of detention.
- Some pet hotels offer video surveillance of their pet in each room 24/7 from the owner’s smartphone. This is the safest and most reliable option for foster care. You can always control what is happening and be confident in its safety.
- Comfortable living conditions, care, attention, games, care. It is possible to use additional grooming or training options, which is very convenient.
- A transfer or pet taxi makes delivery problems easier for the owner.
- Various payment options, including cashless payment or payment via the Internet.
- Possibility of guest visit and search real reviews on the Internet about the organization.
Fourth option
There is another accommodation option - a hospital at a veterinary clinic. Pros: professional staff, compliance with disinfection rules, convenient location.
Disadvantages - pets are usually placed in cages and do not receive enough attention, games, or care. It is more advisable to leave pets there after surgery, in case of other diseases, for a short period. It is better to place animals that do not require special care in pet hotels. The cost of such placement is usually about 600 rubles.
* The calculations use average data for Russia
Quite a large number of people have their own pets, which they take care of and pay a lot of attention to. However, there are situations when owners are forced to leave and therefore are not able to care for their pet. This can happen for absolutely any reason: a business trip, a long-awaited vacation, an illness requiring hospital treatment, a trip to visit relatives, and the like. In this case, the animal must be constantly supervised and receive appropriate care. In this case, the owners sometimes turn to neighbors or relatives living nearby, but this is not always possible. In this regard, it may be relevant to open your own hotel for animals. This type of business appeared relatively recently in this country, but the number of players is constantly growing, which indicates good prospects and great opportunities such an undertaking.
Not in all even relatively large cities you can find hotel services for animals today. At the same time, quite often such a hotel business is combined with an animal shelter and a veterinary clinic, which allows the owners to offer a wider range of services by placing their entire enterprise on one territory. A novice entrepreneur must assess the market situation in order to know about competitors’ offers and their weak and strengths, this will allow you to offer potential clients something new, and in this direction there are many opportunities for additional services. Thus, the level of competition in most cases cannot be called critical, and players already operating in the market can easily lose their positions only if they do not offer their clients the services of a truly large hotel.
However, some competition for entrepreneurs who decide to open a full-fledged business based on sheltering animals for a while can come from private individuals who, for a much lower fee, are willing to care for someone else’s animal, guaranteeing the abandoned pet virtually the same conditions as at home. The main disadvantage of private individuals is the conclusion of an informal agreement, which means, from a legal point of view, a complete evasion of responsibility in the event of illness or even death of an animal left in their care. In rare cases, private individuals can also provide veterinary care and proper nutrition; Moreover, such a person cannot always find the right approach to the animal, which is always only possible for a professional dog handler. However, such individuals who have been engaged in foster care for a long time (this is what temporary care for someone else’s animal is called, and this term is used by both professionals and amateurs themselves) can open their own hotel because they already have some reputation and a certain client base, which will allow It’s much faster for them to start a business and grow it. In this case competitive advantage It will be a professional approach and the conclusion of official contracts, which, of course, entails full responsibility for the entrusted animal, but allows you to attract more and more consumers.
Earn up to
200,000 rub. per month while having fun!
Trend 2020. Intellectual business in the field of entertainment. Minimum investment. No additional deductions or payments. Turnkey training.
To start your work, you need to register as a subject entrepreneurial activity. The easiest way is to register as individual entrepreneur, because it will not require large financial costs, it will take a little time and effort. If there is a need for registration legal entity, then the preferred form is a society with limited liability, because in this case, as in the case of individual entrepreneurship, a simplified taxation system will be available, allowing you to transfer no more than 6 percent of income or 15 percent of operating profit to the state. The situation is somewhat more complicated if a veterinary hospital is opened on the basis of a hotel, because in this case it will be necessary to obtain many permits and comply with certain working conditions, including placing your shelter at a certain distance from residential buildings. Even though most pet hotels are located on the outskirts or even outside of cities, sometimes this can be inconvenient. More detailed information about opening a veterinary clinic is provided in the corresponding article. To open just the hotel itself, you do not need to obtain any special permits or licenses, and therefore most entrepreneurs provide outsourcing services to their clients veterinary services. The activity itself falls under the definition of (OKPD 2) 75.0 Veterinary services and (OKPD 2) 96.09 Other personal services not included in other groups.
An important point in organizing your business is finding a territory to locate a hotel. As already noted, often hotels for animals are located on the outskirts of the city, where there is fresh air and a lot of open space for animals to walk.
Other factors that determine the location of a hotel away from residential buildings include banal sanitary and environmental requirements. You just need to take into account that the site must be really large, because the work will require several rooms, an area with enclosures and a walking area. Often one animal hotel occupies a site of several hectares, although it can be located on several acres of land if you do not plan to take care of a large number of animals. The size of the plot is ultimately determined by the entrepreneur himself, depending on his requirements and the planned volume of work, as well as the presence or absence of additional services, because the shelter and veterinary clinic require their own buildings and adjacent territory.
If there are opportunities and financial resources, then it is better to buy the territory into ownership, while its location does not imply so much high price, such as in the central areas of the city. It is optimal to find the abandoned territory of a kindergarten or camp, because such organizations are initially built with the expectation of a large plot of land and the construction of several buildings with their subsequent improvement.
In this way, you can get a good territory with an established infrastructure, and you will only have to invest funds for the repair of premises and buildings. If there is no opportunity to buy such real estate, then you can consider options for renting premises and territory, but in this case you will have to include a fairly large amount of funds in your monthly expenses.
If suitable real estate is not available, then it is necessary to find a good plot of land, large in size, and construct the necessary buildings. The minimum required is an administrative block, in which all organizational issues are resolved, has its own warehouse and kitchen, as well as premises for housing small animals (primarily rodents), birds and reptiles. In addition, buildings are being built to organize your own animal shelter and veterinary clinic, if this is provided for in the business plan. The cost of constructing the necessary buildings will cost several million rubles, and, incidentally, the purchase of a ready-made territory with infrastructure will also cost a lot.
The next stage of planning is equipping your territory and premises. Here you will also have to invest a lot of money; however, the amount may vary depending on the work format chosen. The simplest hotel is one that accepts only cats and dogs (or only cats or only dogs) for foster care, but does not have the capacity to accommodate a large number of animals. In this case, it is necessary to equip insulated enclosures outdoors and cages indoors, and often, if there are few animals, small ones are allowed into the premises without being kept in a pen. However, often hotels are still focused on a fairly large number of pets at the same time, while accepting for a time not only the main animal partners, but also all others. These are rodents: mice, rats, hamsters, guinea pigs; birds, reptiles and even arachnids. Each of these types of animals requires its own conditions of keeping and care, and there must be a specialist who monitors them and provides them with everything they need.
Of course, the most difficult thing is to allocate and arrange places for cats and dogs (the likelihood that someone will bring in another difficult-to-keep animal, for example, a crocodile or a hippopotamus of some kind, is critically small); all other small animals are placed in special racks, chamber by chamber. The main thing here is to monitor the condition of the animal and give it food as soon as possible. certain time, reptiles in general, for the most part, lie quietly all day long, if only they fed them, arachnids feel great even within a terrarium, the main thing is to make sure that a huge spider does not crawl out, because then there is not only a risk that it will be crushed, but also that a couple of people will faint.
With all small animals there are much fewer problems, but they are also not brought to the hotel so often, but it is still necessary to have a place for them. To do this, you will have to allocate a rather large room; one stand for about 20 small animals is half a meter wide, two meters long and two and a half meters high; more passages are needed between them, and their proper placement is important. The cost can vary greatly depending on the characteristics (additional lighting, microclimate control, heating, automatic feeders), but one stand is unlikely to cost more than 100 thousand rubles.
Next, enclosures are equipped, and they differ not only in size, but also in internal equipment. It is advisable to immediately order the installation of heating devices, because otherwise it will be impossible to keep animals there in winter. The cost of one enclosure for a small dog is 25-40 thousand rubles, but for large animals more expensive devices are needed. They cost approximately 60 thousand rubles. In general, you can find cheaper enclosures, and many hotels even offer their clients different levels of service and comfort for animals. If you want your pet to live in royal apartments, pay extra money. If you buy enclosures and order their installation in bulk, it will be slightly cheaper per unit of production. Cats can be kept in relatively small cages, providing the animal with relatively a lot of space and everything necessary for living.
Some particularly advanced clinics even install video surveillance systems in each cage and enclosure so that the owner can monitor his pet in real time. Installing such a system requires additional expenses and maintenance costs, but clients appreciate it very much and are willing to shell out extra money.
In addition, you need to count on the equipment of a shelter and a veterinary clinic (if the decision was made to build them, of course), while the shelter is equipped approximately on the same principle as a hotel, only the level of comfort here is an order of magnitude lower, but a veterinary clinic is very complex undertaking. It will be very useful for hotels and shelters, but not all entrepreneurs can afford this line of activity. More details - again in the corresponding article.
Ready ideas for your business
An important issue is personnel selection. The first are administrative and service personnel; their direct boss will be the entrepreneur, only if he is not a veterinarian, for example. There will be few people here, but the exact number of employees is calculated depending on the size of the hotel. Can't do without help veterinarian, who, ideally, should be constantly on the territory or at least be able to arrive immediately upon request. Some hire final year veterinary students to give the newbie more experience (and require less wages). The veterinarian examines incoming animals, examines residents, and carries out treatment, including preventive treatment, if necessary. His services are initially included in the cost of the foster care service. If there is a veterinary clinic, all the necessary personnel are hired, from the chief veterinarian to cleaners and assistants.
By the way, it is worth noting that most hotels do not accept animals without a veterinary book or at least a health certificate. If a sick animal gets into the hotel, the infection can spread to other animals and even people - I don’t think it’s worth talking about the consequences. At best, this is a loss of some amount of money, and often also of reputation. Therefore, an incoming animal is examined at a veterinary clinic on the territory, if there is a clinic and if the owner has not taken care of this in advance.
Next, you need to make sure that animal specialists work at the facility. These are, first of all, dog handlers who can interact with other people’s animals and calm them down. To help them, people are hired to walk dogs, monitor free-roaming animals, ensure order, and monitor the condition of food and enclosures. The next staffing positions are the kitchen staff who prepare the food. In this case, the owner is offered a choice - to buy food himself and leave it or pay for the kitchen services.
The hotel, as one could understand, offers a sufficient number of services. In addition to the accommodation itself, this includes food, games and walking, even training, additional mating services are also offered (which has nothing to do with the hotel at all), and veterinary services. The shelter can hardly be called a commercial activity; it is usually opened as a charity, accepting and giving away animals for free. In this type of business, such charity looks very organic. The cost of overexposure depends mainly on the size of the animal, as well as on the conditions of its keeping. The most difficult thing, perhaps, is with dogs, because they need a walk, dogs can fight with each other, sometimes even attack a person, they are always the most difficult. It is easier to foster cats; they can pose a serious danger only to each other or to small animals such as birds and rodents, but they are usually kept in closed cages. In general, a hotel usually excludes as much contact between animals as possible, but, for example, dog walking is rarely carried out individually; usually several animals gather and go for a walk. Only an experienced dog handler can cope with this, because the dogs have crossed paths with each other before, and their reaction is difficult to predict.
A small dog is accepted into the hotel for 300-500 rubles per day, the cost per day for large breeds can reach up to 1000 rubles. Fostering a cat is a little cheaper or the same as for a small dog. Rodents, reptiles and other spiders are taken for even less money, only if it is not a dangerous animal, although who keeps such animals at home... All additional services are discussed with the client additionally, and it is advisable to immediately inform the person by phone about the conditions of check-in and accommodation.
Such a business can operate in different formats. This article largely described a fairly large hotel with a shelter and a veterinary clinic, designed for a large number and a wide variety of animals. However, many companies operate in a different format, having no more than 10 places for animals, and only take dogs. You can start a business with this, so that you know in which direction it is better to move later.
4044 people are studying this business today.
In 30 days, this business was viewed 309,844 times.
Calculator for calculating the profitability of this business
