Mexico: Some Airbnb-like startups are keeping pets in mind

This article was written and published in Spanish and has been translated into English via Google Translate. Click here to read the original article.

Summer vacations, Easter Week and holidays in general drive the demand for lodging services for family dogs, a need for those commissioned by companies operating under modalities similar to Airbnb, hotels and day care centers.

It is estimated that about 70.5 percent of families in Mexico have a dog, with an estimated population of 28 million in the country, so hosting them represents a business opportunity for firms such as DogHero and Dogpark.

"You begin to see this opportunity and a real need in the country to find a personal accommodation, with specialized care. After Brazil, Mexico is the second country with more dogs and more dogs per capita, so it is a relevant market for DogHero," explained Ricardo Plaschinski Avila, Country Manager of DogHero in Mexico.

According to data from Statista, in Mexico the market value for pet care services increased 60.2 percent, between 2012 and 2017, from 24 billion pesos (approximately $1.2 billion) to 38 thousand 870 million pesos (approximately $45 million).

In addition, the consultant explained that the Aztec nation ranks fifth in Latin America in allocating resources to the care of their furry, as Mexicans disburse monthly an average of one thousand 407 pesos (approximately $21) for their pet, of which almost a third is for food and the rest for veterinary, hygiene, travel, nurseries, among other things.

DogHero, the canine Airbnb

The digital platform born in 2014 in São Paulo, Brazil, hosts dogs under an Airbnb model, because through its mobile application users contact any of its 450 hosts that have spaces in CDMX, Monterrey, Guadalajara, Puebla, Querétaro , Tijuana, Cancun, León, to house their pet in their homes, while the owners go on a trip.

Plaschinski Avila, Country Manager of DogHero in Mexico, explained that once users send a request to a host, they contact the person interested in the service to arrange a meeting prior to the lodging so that the pet knows it, to ensure compatibility between the two.

He added that the hosts set the price to house the 'perrhijos' in their homes, as some of them also take care of them, so one night can cost from 100 pesos (approximately $5) to 500 pesos (approximately $26).

He explained that his hosts have on average an age ranging from 45 to 60 years, while users are between 20 and 40 years.

DogHero offers its users a veterinary guarantee, which does not have any cost, to cover medical expenses for up to 15 thousand pesos (approximately $709) in case the guest gets sick or injured.

Dogpark, hotel for pets

This hotel and daycare for dogs, located in the Nueva Santa María La Ribera, north of the CDMX, cares for dogs while their owners work or travel.

"We play with him (the dog), we give him the attention he deserves, we give him breakfast, dinner, lunch and we take them out for a walk, we bathe him, by the time you return to your home, your dog returns home calm and balanced," explained Diana Llamas, Director of Dogpark.

He added that the daycare service includes transportation, as well as care and food from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m., which cost 220 pesos (approximately $11).

"There are two transport routes from 5:30 in the morning until 9 in the morning and this time is because the dogs can not be in a transport for so long, and the nursery service only includes the perimeter Azcapotzalco, Anzures, La Granada and Clavería, La Nueva Santa María and the Countess," detailed Llamas.

While the hotel service, the night costs 260 pesos (approximately $13), which includes care, bed, food, as well as bath and games.

Like DogHero, Dogpark has health insurance for its guests in case they get sick or hurt.

Llamas said that in the first 6 months of this year his hospitality and dog care service for dogs has been affected by unemployment, since the lodging of pets has decreased up to 30 percent.

"This year the service has dropped between 20 and 30 percent, what has happened to us is that many customers have moved to places where our route does not reach or have lost their job," she said.

This article was written and published in Spanish and has been translated into English via Google Translate. Click here to read the original article.

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