A business set up by two sisters-in-law to help find dog friendly places for pet lovers to holiday is booming.
Dog Friendly Destinations was set up in Flintshire in September 2020 by Lauren Jones and sister-in-law Rachel Southern.
It came about after Lauren spent years researching places to stay with their collie Milo after rescuing him when he was eight-months-old.
They look for places where dogs are not just permitted but thoroughly welcomed.
It has proved an inspired business idea with a surge in enquiries in recent months as more and more people look to holiday in Wales and other parts of the UK.
Their recommendations now help thousands of dog owners each month to book and plan future holidays and days out.
It has seen the business shortlisted for the Digital Star Award at this year’s Small Awards. The Small Awards celebrates the smallest and greatest firms in the UK, across all sectors. It is organised annually by Small Business Britain.
Talking about setting up, Lauren said: “Milo is such an important part of our family. Ever since my husband and I adopted him at 8-months-old, he has accompanied us everywhere. We’ve taken him on days out, weekends away, on holiday, where we go, Milo goes. He even came to our wedding!
“The idea for the website came to me after filling yet another notebook with ideas for places to stay, eat and go with Milo. I love to plan new adventures and I’m always researching holiday properties, hotels and coffee shops to see if they welcome dogs.
“The natural next step was to transfer that knowledge to a website. That’s how Dog Friendly Destinations was born and I’m so proud of how many dog owners it’s helped already.
“We’ve now reached a point of having more holiday queries than available properties so we’re looking forward to continuing with our search for even more dog friendly destinations.”
She added: “It’s a complete shock and a huge honour to reach the finals of The Small Awards. Rachel and I are both delighted to be amongst such great company and be recognised as a thriving digital business. Win or lose, we’re thrilled. It’s great to be recognised for our efforts over the past 18 months.
“It’s been a tough two years for the travel industry but since restrictions eased, we’ve seen a surge in people looking for dog friendly getaways. We’re continually hunting down more and more holiday properties for the website and creating content for our ever-growing community on social media. It’s keeping us very busy and we couldn’t be happier.”
Michelle Ovens, founder of Small Business Britain, said: “Dog Friendly Destinations should be extremely proud of being shortlisted for this award. The Small Awards is all about championing and spotlighting the nation’s small firms,”
