Perthshire resort prepares for puppy holiday boom
A Perthshire resort has launched dog-friendly accommodation in anticipation of an influx of “puppy holidays”.
Moness Resort, in Aberfeldy, already attracts a huge number of dog lovers each year and has invested in even more accommodation suitable for pets after noticing a rise in the number of people getting a puppy during the pandemic.
Its newly-launched accommodation offers holiday cottages sleeping between four to six people which have been designed with open-plan space and wooden floors so dogs have room to roam around.
The cottages also include outdoor rinse stations, special towels and dog bowls, as well as doggie treats which are supplied in each property.
Each cottage can take up to two dogs.
“We’re thrilled with these new cottages,” said Stuart Lee, marketing manager at Moness Resort.
“Aberfeldy is a massively dog-friendly town, which has been commended for the quality of welcome it gives to dog owners. Numerous shops, cafés, restaurants and visitor attractions in the area all welcome dogs into their premises, so it makes complete sense to have as much accommodation available locally that is fully dog-friendly.
“If one good thing has come out of the Covid crisis, it’s been that many families have had time to enjoy the great outdoors with their dogs, so we want to keep that special time going for them.”
Father-and-son owners of Moness Resort, John and Steven McKenzie, echoed Lee’s sentiments, adding that they believe the resort is now at the forefront of dog-friendly accommodation providers in Scotland, if not the UK.
“We acquired Moness based on its huge potential, together with recognising that it enjoys a fantastic, premium location – one of the best in Highland Perthshire,” said John McKenzie.
“As new owners we want to make a difference and are delighted to invest in the business to improve the overall offering, ahead of what we hope will be a very vibrant season as the sector gets going again after this long layoff for our team.”
Steven McKenzie added that a lot of thought went into the design and amenities of the cottages.
“We believe we have included many little touches that will be welcomed in the dog-friendly cottages,” he said. “We actually thought about what would make life easier on a self-catering break when you have dogs, and spoke to some owners for research purposes.
“Features such as wooden floors that are easy to wipe down scored highly, as did having somewhere where you could wash the dogs down after a day of sniffing, splashing and exploring.”
Moness has also introduced a number of larger threebedroom cottages for family groups, and now has properties which have hot tubs. Other properties have been fully refurbished to ensure quality and value for money across the board.
Caroline Warburton, VisitScotland’s regional leadership director, said dog-friendly accommodation is on the rise.
She added: “Pet-friendly tourism is an important and growing market, particularly with the boom in dog ownership over the past year. The sector is currently worth over £4 billion in the UK as a whole, and it’s important that businesses and attractions are mindful of this, and the huge opportunity pet-friendly tourism offers.”