Roch Dog Friendly Standard

RDFS-02 · Roch Dog Standards

A graded standard defining what “dog friendly” means for a hotel, in a field where the phrase had no shared definition.

01 What It Is

The Roch Dog Friendly Standard, published as RDFS-02, defines what it means for a hotel or similar short-term accommodation to be dog friendly, a phrase the hospitality industry had long used without any shared definition. Its governing principle is that a dog friendly hotel welcomes dogs rather than merely permitting them: being allowed to stay is the floor, not the measure. The text is published openly to read in several languages.

02 What It Covers

Seven mandatory requirements set the floor a hotel must clear, among them that dogs may stay overnight as published policy rather than discretion, that the policy is published before booking, that basic in-room welfare provision is made, that dogs may use at least one indoor shared area, that there is no blanket breed or size ban, and that fees are fair and disclosed. Beyond that floor the hotel is assessed across many further criteria spanning the whole arc of a stay, from arrival to dining to safety.

03 How It Is Checked

Rather than a simple pass or fail, a hotel is graded from A+ to F for how fully it welcomes a dog across the stay; missing any one of the seven mandatory requirements caps the result at F regardless of the rest. Assessment is carried out by Roch Dog, the standard’s body, or an assessor it has licensed, against the published standard, and a grade can be revised on reassessment. The standard is open to read but cannot be self-declared: a hotel holds a grade only through assessment.

04 Why It Matters

Neither law nor any national accreditation defines what a dog friendly hotel must actually do, so the phrase has covered everything from a genuine welcome to a grudging, costly exception. A published, graded definition gives a traveler a way to tell those apart, and a hotel a clear account of what is asked of it, in a corner of hospitality that had no agreed standard at all.

Common Questions

Is it law?

No. It is a published, open standard, RDFS-02, that defines what “dog friendly” means for a hotel or short-term accommodation, a phrase the industry long used without a shared definition. It is free to read in several languages.

Who runs it?

Roch Dog, the standard’s body, which assesses against it directly or through assessors it has licensed.

What are the mandatory requirements?

Seven form a floor: that dogs may stay overnight as published policy, that the policy is published before booking, basic in-room welfare provision, access to at least one indoor shared area, no blanket breed or size ban, and fair, disclosed fees.

How is a hotel graded?

Rather than a simple pass or fail, a hotel is graded from A+ to F across the whole arc of a stay. Missing any one of the seven mandatory requirements caps the result at F regardless of the rest.

Can a hotel self-declare it?

No. The standard is open to read but cannot be self-declared; a hotel holds a grade only through assessment, and a grade can be revised on reassessment.

Why does it matter?

Neither law nor any national accreditation defines what a dog friendly hotel must do, so the phrase has covered everything from a genuine welcome to a grudging, costly exception. A graded definition lets a traveler tell those apart.

Primary sources

Roch Dog Friendly Standard (RDFS-02)rochstandard.com