Are you missing out on sales because your restaurant isn’t dog-friendly?

Hospitality businesses are paying more for ingredients and energy than they were this time last year and contending with a cost-of-living crisis that is hampering consumer spending.

But could pooch-friendly policies attract a new customer base and help restaurants and coffee shops stand out from the crowd?

An estimated 13 million dogs were kept in the UK as pets in 2020/21 – up from 7.6 million a decade earlier - according to Statista, and searches for ‘dog-friendly businesses near me’ increased by 350% worldwide over the last year, a recent global study, which analysed more than 52,000 TripAdvisor listings, found.

The research by payment provider Dojo revealed the average dog-friendly restaurant received 8.7% more five-star reviews compared to those that were not accommodating, while every industry - restaurants, cafes, bars and pubs and hotels - scored higher when they allowed canines into their venues with scores 9.97% more likely to be excellent.

Nadia Leguel is not surprised. The Italian, who has a background in online reservations and previously worked at OpenTable, has a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel called Lola whose ears would drop every time she entered an establishment where staff were not accommodating.

“When Lola came into my life, I was surprised at how difficult it was to book places online,” she tells MCA.

But Leguel found that even restaurants that claimed to be dog-friendly would “seat you at the worst table when you turned up with a dog or tell you to sit outside even if it was cold, and the information online was poor.”

So in 2020, she launched WagIt, an online booking platform which lists ‘the best’ dog-friendly food and drink spots in the UK.

At the time of writing, 107 restaurants and 83 pubs/bars were listed on the site, with Gaucho, Brewdog, the Alchemist and Pizza Pilgrims among the well-known names.

Over the last six months, as the cost-of-living crisis deepened, Leguel, has seen a surge in sign-ups to the website, rising from five a month to 12-15.

“The ones that get it really get it,” Leguel, who has appeared on Dragon’s Den, says, enticing customers with tailored doggy menus and themed events.

“The others just don’t see the value, which is a real shame,” she adds.

“I compare it to having children. My brother has three kids and tends to go where he knows they’ll have a kid’s menu and crayons. It’s the same with dogs. We like going where we know they’ll be welcome. The added benefit of dogs is that they’re longer-term customers, and your habits don’t change as the dogs get older, whilst with children, they do.”

Earlier this year, a survey conducted on behalf of Money Supermarket found that Britons spent an average of almost £500 on luxury items each year for their dogs – with dog ice cream ranking third in pet owners’ most sought-after products.

But are restaurants really catering for furry sidekicks beyond dog bowls of water? It would appear so.

Steak chain Gaucho has operated a pooch-friendly policy since 2012 “when hardly any restaurants were dog friendly, and it was an untapped market”.

“The demand was there, however it was rare that restaurants were welcoming dogs, so we trialled it with Doggy Wednesday at Gaucho in Richmond on the terrace,” Martin Williams, CEO of Rare Restaurants, which owns Gaucho, explains.

“It was incredibly well received, so it has just grown and grown from there, and now we have Doggy Sundays at Gaucho in Hampstead, where we allow dogs into the restaurant.”

While pooch parents tuck into the likes of burrata salad with toasted sourdough and ribeye steak with chips and mac and cheese, the four-legged members of their family are given a Barkino’s ‘pizza slice’, a Gourmet Doggy Bowl, and a dessert or Peony ‘Pupcake’. During the heatwave this summer, some Gaucho sites even showcased “doggie paddling pools and sunscreen”.

The steak house promotes its dog-friendly policy through events, on its social media channels, as well as its website, which lays out strict rules: mutts must be clean, on leads, well behaved, and are banned from the furniture.

During the pandemic, it also listed itself on WagIt.

“I thought it was a great concept that there was a real gap in the market for,” Williams tells MCA.

“They promote our dog-friendly events to their database, and we see a lot of bookings come through off the back of this, which is great. We also sometimes offer initiatives for those who book through WagIt, such as a complimentary glass of fizz, and this is always well picked up too.”

Megan’s is another restaurant concept that proudly touts itself as a dog-friendly space, providing dog beds, bowls and treats, while the clue is in the name at independent coffee shop business Coffi Lab, which operates venues in Whitchurch, Llandaff, Monmouth, Marlborough, Abergavenny, and Rhiwbina. Mowgli Street Food is also dog-friendly across its estate.

But are there any drawbacks to being pup-friendly?

Gaucho only permits dogs inside and outside up until 6pm.

“Our restaurants get very busy after 6 pm, which makes it harder for us to accommodate dogs [after this time] for a number of reasons,” explains Williams.

“We would never want to be in a position where a dog could be a tripping hazard either for our staff members or customers, and when the restaurant is busy, this is something we are particularly mindful of,” Williams continues.

“Also, when it is busy, it would be difficult to ensure those people who don’t like dogs or who are maybe allergic aren’t sat next to one.”

Despite the benefits of dog-friendly policies, Peach 20/20 founder and MCA contributing editor Peter Martin agrees these policies can bring complications.

“Pubs have been letting dogs in for years, especially out in the country,” he says. “If there are people looking into it now, it’s about how much marginal extra business you’re going to get from it.

“You’ve got to be clear about your policies – where it is appropriate and where it is not appropriate.”

Martin points out that while a segment of the customer base might gravitate towards dog-friendly venues, the rest of the customer base should be taken into consideration.

“You’ve got a lot of different customers, not just pet owners,” he continues. “Even pet owners don’t always like other people’s pets.

“It’s about time and place.”

While there are pros and cons to accepting dogs in your venue, Williams believes a lot of competitors are “missing a business trick” by excluding them.

“The restaurant market, especially in London, is a crowded space,” he says. “Allowing dogs helps to give us that distinction and USP compared to other businesses. Plus, we have found there is a real desire for what we do, so why wouldn’t we cater to it?”