Rover.com, the world’s largest network of pet sitters and dog walkers, is launching the annual Dog-friendly Pub Awards for the fourth year.
The Rover Dog-friendly Pub Awards aims to find the UK’s most dog-friendly pub and encourages pubs across the country to welcome four legs as well as two. Not only do the awards show appreciation of existing dog-friendly establishments, it also aims to promote dog-friendly values across all pubs nationwide – inspiring dog owners in the UK to discover and visit their local pubs.
This year, Rover is tapping into the younger generation of pub-goer, and their love for dogs, to encourage more landlords across the UK to innovate and become dog-friendly.
New research by Rover shows that 16% of dog owners are millennials and 40% wish they could spend more time with their dog. But 65% of millennials are still struggling to find a dog-friendly establishment to hang out in – meaning they need to leave their dog at home or sacrifice the night out to spend time with their precious pooches.
The new research shows that being dog-friendly is increasingly important for the pub trade and especially important for attracting this new generation of pub-goer.
Eilir and Charles Rogers, landlords at the 2018 Dog-friendly Pub Award winner ‘The Dog’ at Grundisburgh in Suffolk, say: “We know that being dog-friendly is not just the right thing to do, it’s good business too. Many of our regular younger customers come in with their dogs and we’ve even seen a rise in numbers of canine companions in the past year or so.
“Being able to bring your dog to the pub with you is really important,” Rogers continues. “We’ve had customers in the past who say they’d have to get a dog-sitter or choose somewhere else. In the current climate, businesses need to do all they can to attract loyal customers and for pubs, one solution can be to become dog-friendly.”
27% of millennials surveyed said that if they knew of more dog-friendly pubs in their area they’d take their dog with them, and given that a third (32%) said they preferred their dog to some family and friends, there is a clear opportunity for pubs to open their doors to four-legged friends to encourage more returning custom.
Simon Le Grice, Marketing Director at Rover comments, “It is a great shame that pubs still ban dogs, and a missed opportunity for publicans. In an ideal world, we’d love for every pub in the UK to be dog-friendly! The Rover Dog-friendly Pub Awards celebrate pubs across the UK that welcome man’s best friends and give them a happy and safe environment to hang out in. We know that 40% of people say they wish they could spend more time with their dogs but struggle, so we’d love to see that change.”
Nominations for the 2019 Rover Dog-friendly Pub Awards are now open. Pub owners and landlords can add their dog-friendly pub by visiting https://pubs.rover.com/add-a-pub/ and completing a short nomination form.
Voting opens on Wednesday 25th September and closes on Wednesday 6th November 2019. Winners will be announced Wednesday 20th November 2019. The public can vote for his or her favourite dog-friendly pub by visiting pubs.rover.com