Christina Jelski
What ruins furniture, drains bank accounts, needs potty training and is absolutely adored despite it all?
If you guessed kids, you’d be correct. And if you said dogs, you’d also be correct. But when it comes to which of the two is becoming a bigger part of American households, it’s the latter.
A Pew Research Center analysis of government data showed that Americans in their 20s and 30s were planning to have an average of just 1.8 children in 2023, down from 2.3 in 2012. At the same time, pet ownership is booming, according to the American Pet Products Association’s (APPA) 2025 State of the Industry Report. It found that 94 million U.S. households own at least one pet, up from 82 million in 2023.
Gen Z is driving much of this growth, with that generation comprising 20% of U.S. pet-owning households in 2024, marking a 43.5% increase from 2023, according to the APPA. Additionally, 70% of Gen Z pet owners report having two or more pets.
Based on this data, it appears that pets are replacing kids at the center of American family life. And this shift is fueling a fast-growing industry, with total U.S. pet industry expenditures hitting $152 billion in 2024, according to the APPA.
It’s also changing the travel landscape, with a 2024 APPA report indicating that 88% of dog owners and 90% of cat owners have traveled with their pets in the car in the past year, while 68% of dog owners and 80% of cat owners have flown with their pets.
For the hospitality sector, it’s clear that properties catering to four-legged guests are getting ahead of a massive demographic shift. But simply declaring your property “pet-friendly” and offering a dog bed and treats at check-in doesn’t do much to differentiate a hotel these days. Pet parents are becoming increasingly discerning, and properties looking to capture the most lucrative segment of this market will need to get creative to stand out.
Some hotels and resorts are well on their way.
In California’s Sonoma County, for instance, Dawn Ranch has launched The Rover’s Recharge, which the property is billing as the first sleep program for dogs. The package includes not only a Pendleton dog bed but also a calming scent mist, a weighted blanket, calming dog chews and a Spotify sleep playlist curated exclusively for pups.
At the Walker Hotels in New York’s Greenwich Village and Tribeca neighborhoods, guests can book an Inner Pup Package, featuring readings with the hotel’s Pup Psychic in Residence and gourmet meals from pet food brand Ollie. The offer also includes a day at Happy Tails, a members-only doggy social club that was described by the New York Post last year as the “Soho House for dogs.”
And at the Mountain View Grand Resort & Spa in Whitefield, N.H., guests with dogs are greeted not only with homemade treats, a pet bed and other accoutrements but also a Tractive GPS and health tracker, enabling owners to monitor their pet’s location, sleep patterns and activity levels throughout their stay.
If these offerings are any indication of where the market is heading, expect pet-friendly amenities to evolve even further in the coming years. Think pet-friendly pool hours, wellness consultations with veterinary nutritionists or evening treat trolleys making their rounds before bedtime.
Today, the term “family travel” conjures images of multigenerational trips and kid-focused facilities. But in the not-too-distant future, that category might include a traveler or two, their four-legged companions and a hotel that’s smart enough to treat them all like VIPs.
