Canine ambassadors a posh hotel trend
High-end hotels, residential communities turn to cuddly four-legged ambassadors
A consummate professional, Sir Griffin walks into work each morning with his head held high.
He’s dapper, all in black, save the peekaboo of white at his chest and designer lapels. The look is perfect for the JW Marriott Houston Downtown.
But his dignified presence on the staff of one of Houston’s poshest hotels begs an undignified question: Who’s a good boy?
Sir Griffin is, of course. That’s why he was chosen as the hotel’s dog ambassador — an increasingly frequent, if not common, position at high-end hotels and residential communities.
“I didn’t know what to expect from having him,” says Magen Pastor, the hotel’s marketing manager, who came up with the idea to adopt and hire the black-and-white rescue dog.
“I knew internally, it would bring different teams together and bring up the morale in the office, and I
think it put positive vibes out,” she says as she scratches Sir Griffin behind the ears in the hotel lobby on a Thursday morning in late January.
“We really didn’t have any idea of what it would do marketing-wise. But now when we walk on the street, people come up to us and start conversations with him. And now he’s known around town as Sir Griffin, pet director at the JW Marriott.”
Sir Griffin — a mixed breed, who likely has some pug and perhaps beagle somewhere in his lineage — has worked at the hotel for a little more than a year. His presence is an extension of the dog-friendliness that people have come to demand in their daily lives.
“People’s perspectives on dogs and hotels and other business has widened by a lot,” Pastor says, before pausing to whisper “Good boy” to Sir Griffin. “I don’t think this would have taken off as much five years ago. I think more people are feeling more comfortable traveling with their pets and going places, and it’s kind of even assumed that if you are a restaurant, you’re pet-friendly.”
The growing dog love isn’t just at restaurants and hotels. Apartment communities throughout Houston are regularly stepping up their dog amenities. Many newer properties include small dog parks on their property, offer dog treats in the leasing offices and even include on-site dogwashing stations.
Still, dog ambassadors are considered cuttingedge.
“We have member properties with ambassador dogs around the country, like Emmy the English bulldog at 2M in Washington, D.C., but we haven’t seen a large ambassador dog trend,” says Robert Pinnegar, president and CEO of the National Apartment Association. That said, he notes that “ambassador dogs could potentially be a trend this year.”
Currently, none of the new luxury apartment complexes in Houston has a dog on staff.
But two new planned communities in the area employ dog ambassadors: Cane Island in Katy; and Meridiana, south of the Medical Center. The two sister communities each employ a golden retriever trained as a therapy dog. The retrievers’ job: to help make the neighborhoods feel homey.
At Cane Island, the golden retriever, Hub, has become the community’s most popular resident — even though he’s just one of many dogs who call the neighborhood home.
“There are plenty of other dogs,” says Dan Naef, president of Cane Island’s parent company, Rise Communities. “A lot of people don’t put a pool in their backyard because we have multiple pools in the amenities village. But I don’t know that the same thing is true for having a family dog. I bet you there are some parents who say, ‘We don’t need a dog, we have Hub.’ But that’s never the primary reason.”
The main purpose Rise employs Hub is just to make people feel at home.
“It really goes back to how do you create community? And when we have perspective buyers come in, and they see the residents out there with their young kids, throwing the ball for Hub, that shows a lot about us,” says Naef.
Hub will play ball until he passes out. As a therapy dog, he’s highly trained, but he has a mischievous side, too.
“There’s no dogs allowed in our swimming pools, but if Hub can squeeze in past a resident, he runs right in and jumps in,” Naef laughs. “So we’re constantly pulling Hub out of the pool. But the residents love it, and it’s those kinds of things that create community.”
Sir Griffin is more buttoned up in his community outreach, but he’s a sucker for a scratch behind the ears, and that appeals to a wide variety of the hotel’s guests.
“So often, our business travelers want to see him,” Pastor says of Sir Griffin.
She expected Sir Griffin’s biggest fans to be the children who visit the hotel. “But the business travelers are the ones who really want to see Griffin and pet him for a second,” she says.
“They say they’re traveling, and their dog is at home, and they love their dog and miss their dog. It’s men in business suits.”