Pet boarding can be a hot and cold business depending on what time of year it is. You know the days I’m talking about; where your facility is so booked during the winter holidays that you have to start taking reservations mid-June for boarding. However, during other times of the year it may be so deserted you can hear crickets chirping. Dealing with these slow times can allow you to get really creative with getting pets through the doors for services other than boarding. Here are some ideas you can use to keep customers coming in all year long.

Off Season Fun
Celebrate the small holidays. Organize fun pet activities that revolve around the quieter celebrated national holidays like St. Patrick’s Day, Presidents Day, Earth Day, Valentine’s Day, Father’s Day, Mother’s Day and more. It can be as simple as a themed puppy party or an all-out extravaganza but there is nothing more fun for a customer than having an event where their pet friend is welcome.

Create your own holiday. The big holidays will already keep you busy so create events for the smaller pet-related holidays that are becoming more and more popular. January is “National Train Your Dog Month,” February 20th is “Love Your Pet Day,” February 23rd is “National Dog Biscuit Day,” April 26th is “National Kids & Pets Day,” August 26th is “National Dog Day” and the list goes on and on. You control how many “holidays” your business promotes each month.

Monthly Themed Parties
Get artistic with your pet parties. Invite pet owners to create pet art by getting giant sheets or rolled paper and non-toxic food safe coloring for the pets to walk, run or wag all over the paper. You will really be surprised at how attractive some of this art turns out. In fact, frame your favorite pieces to display with the “artist’s” name and picture in your lobby.

Have a Dress Up Night
Ok, anyone that says they have never dressed up their pet, even on Halloween, is not being truthful. At some point in time we have all put a cute hat, bow or even clothes on our pets and now you can celebrate this by having a dress-up and photography event. Get creative and have the owners dress up too and pick the “Best Dressed,” “Cutest,” or “Look-A-Like” and give out prizes. Post the pictures to your social media pages.

Host Social Pet and People Mixers
This works great when you offer daycare and have pets that are properly socialized with others. Other mixers can include birthday parties, breed specific clubs, puppy parties and/or any dynamic pet group you can think up.

Try out food & treat tasting events. Invite owners to bring pets to new treat and food tasting events. This also works great for businesses that sell retail pet foods too.

Grooming and Spa Services
Offer pet grooming services that keep customers coming through your doors every 6-8 weeks. If you can’t offer full service grooming, you can still charge to bathe pets. Offering bathing services can obviously be a great way to send a dog home clean from boarding but it can also keep them coming back in between boarding visits if you offer owners a deal. Offer yearly bathing club cards for buy-5 get-the-6th-bath-free to increase visits up to 6 times more a year!

Even if you don’t offer grooming services you can still offer spa services to pamper pets. If you are unable to offer these services on a daily basis, have spa parties providing personalized Reiki or massage therapies once a month.

For Sporting or Competitive Pets
Build a pet playground. Have a membership only pet playground where members can utilize a nice outdoor play area year round. Set up agility courses and tunnels to make it an interactive experience.

Have water nearby? Go all out and get a water dock and charge membership for dogs to have access during the warm months to dive, jump and play in the water. To help pay for the dock, offer sponsorships from local businesses to have a banner displayed on the side of the pool or dock promoting their business.

Start Frisbee or ball catching leagues for pets. Once these teams are up and running you can have spectator events, challenges and championships. Of course, each pet will need a T-shirt with your name and logo on it for the entire world to see!

Who says you have to go to Westminster to show off your dog? Create your own private dog show with interactive judging and an awards ceremony. This is great for the wannabes that don’t make it to the big rings or the little guys that know they have an awesome pooch and just want to show them off.

One of my favorite events that I hosted was our spoof on “America’s Got Talent” called “Pet’s Got Talent.” You would be surprised at some of the tricks and talents owners teach their pets. Dogs praying, singing, jumping through hoops and riding scooters, to name a few. One pet owner even brought in a flock of ducks and showed her dog’s ability to calmly herd them into their crate in front of an audience. When promoted well, talent shows are also a great way to get to know new customers since it draws many outsiders from the community and not just your current customer base.

For all our competitive events we like to order inexpensive ribbons, trophies and Olympic style medals to give out at the events. My favorite online store for this is Jonesawards.com

Utilize the Internet
If you don’t have a website, get one. Make sure your website lists who you are, what you do, why they should choose you, social links, blog and the ability to make a reservation from the site.

Join an online pet boarding reservation service. Move over Expedia and Travelocity and sign up for furlocity.com, petbookings.com and mypetboarding.com.

Make sure your business is listed on all the major search engines. Also, claim all your listings! Did you know that if your business is listed in at least one printed or one online digital phone book it probably will appear on websites you’ve never even heard of? It is up to you to claim your business online. The best way to find out where your business is listed online is to search it by name on Google, Bing, Yahoo and other major search engines.

Why should you be using social
media? Simple; because your customers are. Create a buzz. Every event, holiday or party you plan should be promoted through social media. And remember, it is a MUST to post pictures and videos after each event on your social media platforms.

Offer More Than Just On-Site Pet Care Services
Start offering at home services such as dog walking and pet sitting. Also provide ancillary services when checking in on pets such as pet food delivery, plant watering, mail pick-up and more. Taking care of a pet while their parent is on vacation doesn’t have be under your roof only.

Be Sure to Make a Profit
While there are expenses for these events, the goal is to increase monthly profits by charging participation or membership fees. Carefully plan what the cost of your events will be for the month or year and offer pay per event tickets or yearly club passes. I like the yearly passes because you can make the money up front to cover costs and it helps create a commitment between you and the customer for return visits. By offering pet events and entertainment that goes beyond the typical boarding services your business can become the community’s “Go-To Pet Fun Center.”

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