With clients ranging from directors of insurance companies to people working in the tourism industry, Dog Hotel Aruba N.V. has become the go-to place for locals’ four-legged friends. It started as a dream of Armando Lugo and his girlfriend Roselyne Figaroa back in the summer of 2016, and has gone further and faster than either one of them could have ever imagined.
A five Star Concept is born
Personal financing was the base of the initial set-up of the business that is now a concept synonymous with high-end dog care and facilities. Looking at their Instagram, it is clear that the dogs are treated like stars and that a client needs to look very hard nowadays to find their own dog among the large pack.
With their small start capital they purchased the first couple of dog kennels in September of 2016 and created a Facebook page. Before they were even fully operational, people were already messaging them, hoping to place their dog at the hotel over the Christmas and New Year period. December was fully booked before they even opened. This was just the first sign that they had found a hole in the market – in less than a year’s time they would find out exactly how high a demand there was for a home away from home for beloved pets.
The three Prongs – Demand Driven
It’s a demand-driven endeavor – with highs and lows. After the initial boom in December, they encountered a bit of a slump with sometimes only two dogs staying at the Hotel and a steady 25 by June. But then this all changed. After listening closely to the needs of their clients, they added services such as a day care for dogs to their initial business model. The idea came forth after a satisfied hotel customer asked about the possibility of bringing their dog during the day while they were at work. This move and the exposure in a local newspaper led to more and more people making use of the dog hotel services.
By keeping the business agile and flexible, Armando and Roselyne have been able to take their business model to the next level. From day care services to adding a refurbished 40-ft container hotel with air-conditioning that holds a maximum of twenty dogs on any given day. While they are expanding their business and the services they offer, they always keep their customers in mind and their prices friendly. They offer different day care packages, depending on the need of the client and, for an additional fee, sometimes even arrange for a pick-up service if time allows it. Besides the hotel and day care, which are the main sources of income, Armando also offers dog training sessions at favorable hours for his clients.
“We want to create a hotel for dogs where even people would want to stay”
The couple draws their inspiration from North American dog hotels. They want to bring high quality at a reasonable price for both locals and tourists and they make sure that none of the additions to the business model puts their high quality on the line. ‘We want to create a hotel for dogs where even people would want to stay’, they explain. To ensure that they maintain their high service quality, keep the dogs safe, and their customers happy, new potential clients get a tour around the dog hotel and will have to leave their dog for a test day before he is being accepted. The hotel owners have to see that the dog is not aggressive towards humans or other dogs and that they don’t bark excessively as to be a nuisance to their neighbors.
A five-Year Plan, completed in two Years
Few new businesses break even in their first year; even fewer survive the first three years of existence. Armando and Roselyne’s story has been one of choices well made, continuous growth and change and, well, business stability. Their five-year plan has been achieved in less than two years. What does the future hold for a business where success came – seemingly –easily? In August they will add a reception area because of the long lines that queue up every morning. A fourth field will be added, increasing their current maximum capacity of fifty dogs in day care, and they will be installing a pool. All new plans they had to come up with after achieving their initial goals.
Instead of expanding to other locations, their current growth plans is to add more services to keep up with the high demand. Together with a team of two full-time employees, a second dog trainer who will also be manning the reception once that is up and running and, lastly a part-time accountant who’s responsible for the books, they strive to further enhance the customer experience.
Additional markets are also opening up. The owners are talking with several hotels regarding potential collaborations. There are tourists coming to Aruba who want to bring their dogs, but most hotels don’t allow for them. That’s where the Dog Hotel Aruba comes in. Tourists have already directly contacted the Dog Hotel to make reservations for when they come to visit Aruba. It is another idea that was not in their original five-year plan.
Unique selling Points
What sets them apart from the other dog hotels on the island are the multiple fields where the dogs may stay all day, the test day to guarantee the safety of current clients’ dogs, the high level of quality, and the fact that they are always looking at how to improve and take their customers’ feedback to heart. The human touch and close contact with their customers is what keeps them coming back. ‘There is always place for our loyal clients’, Armando says. Though Armando and Roselyne are busy with their enterprise 24/7, Armando smiles when he’s asked if it ever feels like work, ‘No, not at all. Do what you love and you never have to work’.