Roch Dog Friendly Standard (RDFS-02)

0. Purpose and Principle

This is the constitutional document for dog friendly accommodation, the flagship of the Roch Dog standards. It governs where a dog stays as a guest: hotels, resorts, and similar short-term lodging. Its siblings govern where a dog lives as a resident (the Roch Dog Residence Standard, RDRS) and where a dog joins its owner at work (the Roch Dog Workplace Standard, RDWS).

"Dog friendly" has become one of the most abused phrases in hospitality. It can mean a dog is genuinely welcomed as part of the family, or it can mean a hotel grudgingly tolerates a small dog for a steep surcharge while barring it from every shared space. A traveller booking with a dog has had no reliable way to tell the two apart. This standard exists to close that gap.

The standard rests on one principle: a dog friendly hotel welcomes dogs, it does not merely permit them. Being allowed to stay is the floor a hotel must clear, not the measure of a dog friendly one. A hotel that tolerates dogs through grudging exceptions, hides its terms and costs until check in, or bars dogs from every shared space is not dog friendly under this standard, however it describes itself.

Unlike its sibling standards, which are assessed pass or fail, hospitality is graded. A hotel is awarded a grade from A+ to F that reflects how fully it welcomes a dog across the whole of a guest's stay. The grade lets a traveller see at a glance not merely whether a hotel accepts dogs, but how seriously it takes hosting them.

This standard is published openly to read. Anyone may read it, understand it, and cite it, free of charge, and we encourage that: a hotel should know exactly what is asked of it, and a traveller should know exactly what a grade means. But reading the standard is not adopting it, and confers no right to claim any association with it. A hotel is placed in relation to this standard only by a Roch Dog assessment and the grade it produces. Assessment, the grade, and use of the Roch Dog certification mark are controlled by Roch Dog and are never self-declared. Certification and the mark are set out at sections 7 and 8; the relationship to law at section 9.

1. Definition

Under this standard, a dog friendly hotel is an accommodation provider that:

publishes its dog policy openly, before a guest books and within reach of its homepage, consistent with any claims it makes on third party platforms;
provides real food and water bowls, stable and of a size appropriate to the dog, in the rooms dogs use;
allows dogs to accompany guests in at least one indoor shared guest area used for more than transit, such as a lounge, bar, restaurant, or cafe;
discloses any dog fee in that policy, with its amount and structure, before the guest books;
states in that policy whether a damage deposit applies and, where it does, how much; and
states the maximum number of dogs permitted per room.

"Dog friendly" under this standard means predictable access, transparent terms and costs, and provision for the dog's welfare, all set out in a published policy a guest can read before booking. Temporary allowances, informal permissions, and terms disclosed only at check in do not meet this definition.

2. Mandatory Requirements

Six requirements are mandatory. They are the floor: a hotel must clear all six. A hotel that fails any one of them fails the standard and is graded F, however well it performs across the other areas. A hotel that will not let a dog sleep in the room, or bars dogs from every shared space, is not dog friendly whatever else it offers. They are stated here as outcomes; the conditions by which each is assessed are held in the supporting Certification and Assessment Framework, not in this standard.

R1. Published Pet Policy. The dog policy must be publicly available before booking, within two clicks of the homepage, and consistent with any claims made on third party platforms.
R2. In Room Welfare Provision. Real food and water bowls must be provided in rooms used by dogs. Bowls must be stable, non disposable, and of appropriate size.
R3. Shared Indoor Guest Area Access. Dogs must be allowed in at least one indoor shared guest area used for purposes other than transit, such as a lounge, bar, restaurant, or cafe.
R4. Fee Transparency. Any dog fee must be disclosed in the published policy before booking, with the amount and structure stated, even where the answer is that dogs stay free.
R5. Deposit Transparency. The published policy must state whether a damage deposit applies to dog stays and, where one does, the amount, so guests know the full cost before booking.
R6. Dog Capacity Limit. The maximum number of dogs permitted per room must be stated in the published policy, so guests know before booking how many dogs they can bring.

3. Assessment and Grading

A hotel is assessed across 75+ criteria and data points, grouped into plain-English areas that follow the whole arc of a guest's stay with a dog: arrival and check in, the guest room, outdoor access and relief, shared spaces and on-site facilities, dining, staff and service, safety and emergency preparedness, and the clarity with which the hotel communicates its policy.

Dog friendliness is a property-wide commitment, not a single gesture. A fine dog bed in the room counts for little if dogs are barred from every shared space; a welcome in the lobby bar counts for little if the room offers nothing. The standard weighs the complete picture.

Each hotel is awarded a single grade from A+ to F:

A+: exceptional. The dog is welcomed thoughtfully across every area of the stay.
A: excellent. Strong provision throughout, with no material gaps.
B: good. A genuinely dog friendly hotel, with room to improve.
C: fair. Real provision, but uneven or limited.
D: basic. Dogs are accepted and the mandatory floor is met, but the experience is poor.
F: fail. The hotel does not meet the standard, including any hotel that misses one of the six mandatory requirements.

A hotel that fails any mandatory requirement is graded F, regardless of how it performs across the other areas: the mandatory requirements are a floor to clear, not points to trade off against the rest. The specific criteria, the weight given to each, and the scoring method are held in the supporting framework and are not part of this published standard, so that the standard stays stable while the framework evolves.

4. Disqualifications

A claim to be dog friendly under this standard is disqualified where a hotel fails any of the six mandatory requirements, that is, where it:

has no dog policy a guest can find before booking, or publishes one contradicted by the claims it makes on third party platforms (R1);
does not provide real food and water bowls in the rooms dogs use (R2);
bars dogs from every indoor shared guest area where the law would permit access (R3);
charges a dog fee it does not disclose, with amount and structure, before the guest books (R4);
does not state whether a damage deposit applies to dog stays, or its amount where one does (R5); or
does not state the maximum number of dogs permitted per room (R6).

5. Responsibility and Limitations

Roch Dog defines and publishes this standard and assesses hotels against it on the basis of published terms, operator-provided information, and observable practice at the time of assessment. Roch Dog does not control day-to-day operations, individual staff decisions, or the conduct, health, or welfare of any dog or guest. A grade, certification, or ranking is not a guarantee of access, experience, or suitability for any individual dog. Hotels remain responsible for legal compliance and animal welfare; guests remain responsible for the care and supervision of their dogs. Where ambiguity arises, Roch Dog's interpretation of this standard prevails, informed by the intent of the definition and the welcomed-not-permitted principle.

6. Scope

This standard applies to hotels, resorts, serviced apartments, and similar providers offering short-term paid lodging to the public, where they permit dogs to stay overnight as part of their offering. It does not apply to private residences, long-term tenancies, peer-to-peer home sharing, campsites, airlines, restaurants, or other non-accommodation services. The dividing line is the dog's relationship to the property: a guest passing through is assessed under this standard; a dog living in its home is assessed under the Roch Dog Residence Standard.

7. Meaning of Certification

Certification confirms that Roch Dog assessed a hotel against this standard and awarded it a grade, from A+ to F, reflecting how fully the hotel meets the standard at the time of assessment. It records an assessment at a point in time. It is not a quality guarantee beyond the matters this standard measures, nor a guarantee of access, experience, or suitability for every dog. A grade may be time-limited, and may be revised or withdrawn on reassessment. A certified hotel is listed in the public Roch Dog directory, where dog owners find and compare certified hotels by grade.

Certification and the grade are acts performed by Roch Dog, not a status a hotel may claim for itself. They are granted only by Roch Dog, or by an assessor Roch Dog has licensed, following an assessment, and are never self-declared. No hotel may describe itself as certified, state a grade, or display the certification mark without having been assessed and certified by Roch Dog.

8. The Standard and the Mark

The standard is open to read, closed to claim. The document is published free of charge so that anyone may read, understand, cite, and teach it: a traveller can see what a grade means, and a hotel can see what the standard asks. Roch Dog remains the author and steward; the canonical text is maintained by Roch Dog and may not be altered and re-published as the standard.

Reading or understanding the standard is not adoption. A hotel does not become "built to", "designed to", "aligned with", "following", or "operating to" the standard by reading it, and may not describe itself that way. There is no self-declared tier. A hotel is placed in relation to the standard only by a Roch Dog assessment, and either holds a current Roch Dog certification, or makes no claim about the standard, its grades, or its marks, beyond stating facts about its own dog policy.

The right to describe a hotel as Roch Dog Certified, to state a grade, and to display the certification mark, seal, or badge arises only from an assessment carried out by Roch Dog, or by an assessor it has licensed, and only while the certification is current. Use of the mark, or any claim of certified status or of a grade, without a current Roch Dog certification is a misuse of the Roch Dog marks and is enforced. The full set of permitted and prohibited claims is set out in the Roch Dog certification terms.

9. Relationship to Applicable Law

This standard is a definitional benchmark that works alongside, and independently of, the law of any jurisdiction.

Law as a floor. Where applicable law requires more of a hotel than this standard, the hotel must meet the law. Meeting the law alone does not earn a grade; the requirements of this standard must also be met.
Exceeding a weak floor. Where applicable law permits less than this standard, a hotel meets this standard only by exceeding that local minimum.
Comply and disclose. A restriction a hotel applies because the law requires it, such as a breed restriction under breed-specific legislation, meets this standard only where it is complied with and openly disclosed, with the legal basis identified.
Assistance and service animals. The rights of assistance and service animals are governed by applicable law and sit outside and above this standard. Nothing here limits those rights.

Because the standard states outcomes rather than legal rules, it does not require revision when a law changes.

10. Versioning and Governance

This document constitutes RDFS-02, the second version of the Roch Dog Friendly Standard. It supersedes RDFS-01, which assessed hotels on a pass or fail basis; this version grades them from A+ to F. Revisions are issued as new version numbers and are not applied retroactively. Roch Dog maintains stewardship, interpretation, and periodic review. The supporting documents, including the Certification and Assessment Framework and the defined terms, may evolve without altering this standard.

Technical detail, the specific criteria and the weight given to each, the scoring method, and jurisdiction-specific legal mapping, is deliberately held in the supporting documents and not in this constitutional standard, so that the standard stays stable while specifications and law evolve.