Emotional Support Animals (ESAs) in Hotels - A Complete Guide

Traveling, whether for work or pleasure, can be both enjoyable and stressful — especially when you have a beloved animal companion along with you. It’s even more gratifying when your pet is also an emotional support animal (ESA) that provides you with essential, love, affection, and company. However, if you plan on staying at a hotel, you might run into issues bringing your ESA. With so much to consider before traveling with your ESA, it’s important to know everything possible about including your assistance animal in your lodging arrangements. But are ESAs allowed in hotels?

Are Hotels Required to Allow Emotional Support Animals?

Across the United States, you’ll find hotels of all shapes, sizes, and styles, from five-star luxury resorts to well-worn motels off the highway, all with their own rules for their guests. Although there are federal protections for service dogs that include lodging, hotels are not required to accommodate emotional support animals. Since ESAs aren’t considered working animals, they are treated as pets and are subject to each hotel’s policies. However, depending on the species, some chains or independent locations may make some exceptions for ESAs, but you should always check ahead of time to avoid being left out in the cold.

Go Deeper

How to Get an ESA Letter for Housing in 2024

For those who qualify, getting an ESA letter requires just a consultation from a licensed mental health professional. This will ensure that you will be legally protected when it comes to living with your pet in all permanent housing situations – regardless of landlord policies.

Hotels Must Legally Allow Psychiatric Service Dogs

However, there is one classification of domesticated animals that hotels are required to accommodate — psychiatric service dogs (PSDs). This type of assistance animal is trained to perform specific tasks directly related to their owner’s mental health disorder, giving them special rights not afforded to everyday pets or ESAs. Thanks to the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), PSDs are allowed in most public spaces and accommodations, including hotels, hospitals, restaurants, shopping centers, and more. Not only do hotels have to allow PSDs, but they are also unable to ask for any documentation or details about your mental health disorder.

Can Hotels Charge for Emotional Support Animals?

Independent hotels and lodging chains all have their own rules regarding pets, and since ESAs are not considered working animals, they fall into that category. This means they are subject to any fees or upcharges by hotels and resorts related to having a domesticated animal in their room. Not only can they charge you for an ESA, but they can also deny it based on its species or breed. Simply put, if you want to travel with an assistance animal, you should always check hotel policies about pets before booking a room and expect to add pet fees to your budget.

Hotels that Allow Emotional Support Animals

Although they are not required to accommodate emotional support animals, some hotels and chains are friendlier to domesticated animals and ESAs. However, many of these lodging companies are friendlier to dogs than to other species. Some of the most pet or ESA-friendly hotel chains include:

• Best Western: Founded in 1946, this popular chain boasts over 1,200 pet-friendly properties in North America. While dogs are always welcome, some Best Western hotels also allow cats, birds, and other small animals — including ESAs. 
• Kimpton: This leader in boutique hotels has one of the most liberal pet policies of any chain, allowing you to bring any pet — furry, scaly, or feathered — with no extra charges or size and breed restrictions.
• Loews: One of the most illustrious chains of luxury hotels, Loews allows dogs and cats at all 26 locations across America. However, they can only accommodate two pets per room, but they welcome furry friends of any size.
• Marriott: With a host of hotel and resort chains under its umbrella, Marriott is a safe space for many ESA, as it allows domesticated dogs, cats, birds, and fish at most locations.

Tips for Finding ESA-Friendly Hotels

When searching for ESA-friendly hotels, it’s important to recognize that emotional support animals are not recognized as service animals, so lodging providers are not required to allow them. Once you’ve found some hotels to consider, visit their websites to find their official pet policies. Even if they don’t typically allow pets, some hotels will make exceptions for ESAs, so it doesn’t hurt to contact the location, just in case. If you want to bypass a hotel’s no-pet policies, you can train your pet dog to be a psychiatric service dog (PSD). The ADA allows service dogs to bypass no-pet policies and exempts them from any fees.

Where Are Emotional Support Animals Legally Protected?

Although ESAs don’t have the same array of federal protections as service dogs, they do have some legal protections for your domestic life. Thanks to the Fair Housing Act (FHA), landlords are prohibited from discriminating against disabled individuals, whether their disability is apparent or not. So while they may not be able to accompany you to restaurants or shopping centers, ESAs can provide you with their affection and companionship in your home.

The Fair Housing Act (FHA)

The Fair Housing Act (FHA) is a federal law that bolsters the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), guaranteeing the rights of disabled individuals and their emotional support animals in rental housing. Under the FHA, landlords and housing companies must accommodate ESAs whether they typically allow pets or not. They are also not allowed to charge any extra fees or rent increases for these assistance animals. Your ESA can be almost any domesticated animal, as long as it doesn’t pose a threat to other tenants or property. 

How to Get an ESA Letter

If you want to make your beloved pet into an emotional support animal, getting an ESA letter is easier than you might think. First, complete the Pettable ESA evaluation, which will determine your eligibility and enable us to pair you with the right licensed mental health professional (LMHP). Next, you’ll have a virtual consultation with your LMHP, who will be actively licensed in your state. They will interview you, diagnose your mental health disorder, and verify your need for an ESA. Finally, the LMHP will write your official ESA letter, which you will receive within 24-48 hours. Contact Pettable to get started today!