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, deterrent pricing, blanket breed or size bans, or rules that change with whoever is on the desk 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:

permits dogs to stay overnight in guest rooms as a matter of published policy, not individual discretion;
applies its dog related terms clearly and consistently, without ad hoc exception;
provides the basic in-room conditions a dog needs for its safety and welfare, including clean food and water bowls of a size appropriate to small, medium, and large dogs;
allows dogs to accompany guests in at least one indoor shared guest area, where permitted by applicable law and where food is not prepared;
does not exclude ordinary family dogs through blanket breed, size, or weight restrictions; and
sets any dog related charge fairly and transparently, disclosed before the guest books.

"Dog friendly" under this standard means predictable access, transparent terms, consistent and criteria-based treatment, and provision for the dog's welfare. Temporary allowances, informal permissions, charges that exceed genuine cost, and arbitrary or discretionary exceptions do not meet this definition.

2. Mandatory Requirements

Seven requirements are mandatory. They are the floor: a hotel must clear all seven. 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. Overnight stay as policy. Dogs are permitted to stay overnight in guest rooms as a matter of published policy, not case-by-case discretion.
R2. Published pre-booking policy. A clear dog policy is publicly accessible before a guest books, stating the terms on which dogs are accepted.
R3. In-room welfare provision. The basic conditions a dog needs in the room are provided, including clean food and water bowls of a size appropriate to the dog.
R4. Access to a shared indoor area. Dogs may accompany their guests in at least one indoor shared guest area, where permitted by applicable law and where food is not prepared.
R5. No blanket breed or size exclusion. Ordinary family dogs are not excluded by blanket breed, size, or weight rules. A restriction required by applicable law meets this requirement only where it is disclosed and its legal basis identified.
R6. Consistent, non-discretionary treatment. Dog related terms are applied consistently to comparable guests, not at the discretion of whoever is on duty.
R7. Safe relief and exercise. A dog has safe, practical access to a suitable place to relieve itself and take exercise, whether on site or in reasonable proximity to it.

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 seven mandatory requirements.

A hotel that fails any mandatory requirement (R1 to R7) 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:

permits dogs only by exception, prior request, or individual discretion rather than as published policy;
imposes blanket breed, size, or weight restrictions that exclude ordinary family dogs, other than a restriction required and disclosed under applicable law;
restricts dogs to guest rooms and outdoor spaces alone, with no access to any indoor shared guest area where the law would permit it;
fails to publish a clear, accessible, and current dog policy;
fails to provide the basic in-room welfare conditions;
applies deterrent or undisclosed charges that penalise rather than recover genuine cost;
makes dog friendly claims in marketing that are contradicted by its published terms or its actual practice; or
applies its dog related terms inconsistently, selectively, or at staff discretion.

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 operates above, 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.