A Myrtle Beach hotel has gone to the dogs – and gotten a nod for it.
Ocean Park Resort, 1905 S. Ocean Boulevard, landed on TripAdvisor's list of Top 10 Properties for Jet-Set Pets, based on its ranking and guests' pet-friendly comments about the place on the customer-driven, travel review website. One reviewer said the hotel made her and her two dogs feel welcome.
Pets get special attention at the 125-room hotel, including treats at check-in. There's also a "pet potty area" next to the parking deck with synthetic grass where the dogs can do their business and bags for the owners to use to pick it up, as well as events such as the "Yappy Hour" social with treats for dogs and their owners during the fall and a pet costume contest for Halloween.
"We cater to the dogs," general manager Michael Deaton said.
The oceanfront hotel started taking pets 20 pounds or less in 2008 after officials noticed more vacationers traveling with their dogs, said Michelle Cantey, marketing director for Oceana Resorts, which owns Ocean Park and 10 other lodging properties along the Grand Strand. Two other Oceana hotels have some pet-friendly rooms, including the Patricia Grand in Myrtle Beach and Bay Watch Resort & Conference Center in North Myrtle Beach, which allows pets in some rooms from October through March, she said.
In the early 2000s, about 10 properties had already begun allowing pets, including the Mariner Motel in Myrtle Beach.
"It's been a fantastic decision," Cantey said. "It's a new niche in the market that is underserved."
About a third of Ocean Park's business comes from guests traveling with their pooches, Deaton said. While the majority of lodging properties along the Grand Strand don't allow pets, about 20 hotels are listed as pet-friendly on the Myrtle Beach Area Chamber of Commerce website. Guests at Ocean Park with pets must pay a $15 per pet, per night fee.
"They are bringing their babies. They are not bringing Spike," Deaton said. "It's good business."
About half of 1,100 animal owners surveyed by TripAdvisor travel with their pets, with 44 percent taking them on a trip in the past year and 47 percent planning to travel with their pets in the next 12 months. Nearly all who are planning a trip in the next year, 96 percent, plan to travel by car, and 58 percent will stay in a pet-friendly hotel, while others will crash at a relative's or friend's place or sleep in a vacation rental, according to the TripAdvisor survey.
Ocean Park is the only Carolinas hotel to make TripAdvisor's pet list. Others were in New York, California, Texas, Georgia and Washington, D.C., among others.
Ads tout Grand Strand as vacation ideal
TV ads in 16 cities started airing last week aiming to lure vacationers to the Grand Strand during the fall.
The spots tell viewers that Myrtle Beach has deals for fall travel while touting the beaches, boardwalk, attractions such as the SkyWheel and live theaters. The ads, paid for by the Myrtle Beach Area Chamber of Commerce, started Monday and run through Oct. 23 in 16 cities in 10 states, including the Carolinas, Georgia, New York, Pennsylvania and West Virginia.
Other ads are airing in Toronto and tout Porter Airlines' new fall flights to Myrtle Beach International Airport. The ads cost about $400,000, chamber spokeswoman Nora Hembree said.
