| When Jerry Hatfield launched his small business in 1999,
his target market was travel agencies. A former owner of two agencies,
Hatfield knew agents needed help finding pet-friendly accommodations
for their clients.
He planned to charge them $3.50 or $4 a month for access to his Web
site. But that year airlines cut commissions on tickets from 8 percent
to 5 percent. "Travel agents weren't in the mood to pay $3.50 a month
for anything," Hatfield said.
So he revamped PetTravel.com to appeal to pet owners instead. Site
visitors can sift through 14,000 pet-friendly accommodations worldwide
and book a room at more than 9,000. The "Pet Passport" section lists
rules and regulations for bringing your pet to 97 countries.
"It took us months and months to compile that," Hatfield said.
The four-person company includes a Web designer in Fort Lauderdale,
a programmer in Cancun, Mexico, and a part-time content editor in Idaho.
Each works from home. A monthly e-mail newsletter goes out to 7,000 subscribers.
"Everything we do is online. We're a company of cell phones, laptop
computers and DSL lines," Hatfield said.
That helps keep ad prices affordable for scores of accommodations that
advertise for between $75 and $250 a year on the site.
Hatfield said hotels that accept pets do it for several reasons. Pet
owners with their animals tend to stay longer because they're not as
worried about getting back home. Some hotels earn fees for care, grooming
and special foods.
And, claims Hatfield, "Pet owners are a little bit better class of
customer."
The growing number of hotels that accept pets is fueling revenue growth
at PetTravel.com, although Hatfield wouldn't disclose specifics. In addition
to ads, Hatfield earns commissions when browsers use the site to book
a room listed there.
Bookings for larger hotels go through a system developed by Sabre Holdings,
the travel reservations giant, which pays a 6 percent commission.
For small inns and bed and breakfasts, Hatfield developed PetRes, an
in-house system. He gets a 10 percent cut from those bookings.
Jerry Santos, partner in the 53-room Ocean Villa Inn in San Diego,
advertises on PetTravel.com. He said he trusts the information on Hatfield's
site. "He checks on the accommodations and asks for comments from people
who have stayed at the accommodations," Santos said.
Hatfield, 67, said his strong suits are his travel background and his
marketing skills, while his weakness is technology. "I was totally unprepared
for the intricacies of trying to run a Web site," he said.
While much of the digital heavy lifting falls to co-workers, Hatfield
said he would like to be able to do certain things, such as manipulate
the site's database, on his own.
The next frontier for PetTravel.com is overseas. Hatfield is working
with companies in Italy and France to localize the tone and content to
those countries. For example, in France dogs are allowed on trains; in
the United States generally not.
Canada and Mexico are next on the list. "We're slowly working our way
through the bigger countries," Hatfield said.
Tom Stieghorst can be reached at tstieghorst@sun-sentinel.com or 305-810-5008.
© 2003 Sun Sentinel Co. & South Florida Interactive, Inc |
