Animal loving Brits set to spend over £100m* on holiday pet care as they venture off on their Summer break

New research** from GoCompare Pet Insurance carried out amongst over 2000 UK holidaymakers found that 29% had pets which needed looking after whilst they were on holiday and although more than half (54%) manage to persuade their friends and family to pet sit for free, the remaining 46% pay on average £131 per holiday for pet care.

• 70% of holidaying pet owners leave their pets with friends and family
• 54% don’t pay anything extra towards holiday pet care
• 19% use kennels or a cattery during holidays
• 6% now opt for home boarding
• 5% have house sitters
• Average holiday pet care cost is £131
• Nearly 1 in 10 (9%) spend more than £200

How much does holiday pet care cost?

The cost of pet holiday care can vary depending on the type of pet, type of accommodation owners choose as well as the location. Typically, prices in and around cities tend to be more expensive. Most costs are quoted per day and discounts are usually available if more than one dog or cat from the same home needs looking after and share the kennel or cattery. Owners usually supply enough food to last the stay.

Dogs

The average cost of placing a dog in kennels for your holiday is approximately £15 per dog per day. Here the dog stays in purpose built secure kennels and is exercised during the day.

Home boarding has grown in popularity in recent years with the dogs living in the boarders’ homes rather than in purpose-built kennels. Costs are slightly more for this ‘home away from home’ option with owners spending around £25.00 per dog per day.

Cats

Catteries are slightly cheaper than kennels and owners can expect to pay around £10 per cat per day for their cat to be looked after in purpose-built accommodation away from home.

As cats are generally more independent and need less human supervision than dogs, some owners opt to leave their cat or cats at home and have someone check on them a few times a day to top up food and water and check that all is well. Cat sitters tend to charge between £8-£10 per day.

House sitters

If you have several pets which need looking after a house sitter may work out to be more cost effective. You can expect to pay £45-£60 per day for someone to spend most of their time at your home with your pets although some may make small extra charges for dog walking. As well as your pets being able to stay in familiar surroundings you also have the added benefit of your house being occupied and hopefully more secure while you are away on holiday.

Georgie Frost, Consumer Advocate at GoCompare, commented: “Although part of the family, often it just isn’t practical or affordable to take our pets abroad with us on holiday. If you aren’t fortunate enough to be able to find a friend or neighbour who can care for your furry companions, the alternatives can be very expensive.

“These days owners have more choice than just putting their cat into a cattery or dog into kennels, which even then can set you back over £100 a week. Upgrade your pooch to home boarding and you’re unlikely to get much lower than £175 a week, which certainly adds a hefty amount on to the cost average package holiday.

“However you decide to have your pet looked after, do your homework long before you leave. Pet care providers tend to have the school holiday periods booked up quickly and when you do make a booking they will want proof that you have adequate pet insurance in place in case your pet needs emergency treatment while you’re away.”

-Ends-

For further information please contact:

Anders Nilsson/Martyn John/Louisa Marsden at GoCompare on 01633 654 054 / 01633 654 725 / 01633 655132

Gordon, Jason or Liz at MAW Communications on 01603 505 845

Keep up-to-date with GoCompare on Twitter; @GoCompare

Notes to editors

*According to ABTA approximately 14 million British holidaymakers will go abroad between July and September. The average UK household consists of 2.4 people (ONS). 14m/2.4 = 5,833,333 households. 29% of those polled said they had pets which needed looking after when they go on holiday. 29% of 5,833,333 = 1,691,666. 46% of pet owners said they had to pay for holiday pet care = 778,166. 778,166 x £131 (average cost) = £101,939,746.

**On the 05 June 2018, Bilendi conducted an online survey among 1,461 randomly selected British adults who are Maximiles UK panellists and have been on holiday abroad in the last five years. The margin of error-which measures sampling variability-is +/- 2.2%. The results have been statistically weighted according to the most current education, age, gender and regional data to ensure samples representative of the entire adult population of United Kingdom. Discrepancies in or between totals are due to rounding.

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For more information visit www.gocompare.com and www.gocomparegroup.com