It’s no wonder Teresa Johnston came up with a plan for the hotel where she works to foster dogs in the hope that guests would adopt them. “I’m a dog person,” says Ms. Johnston, director of sales at the Home2Suites in D’Iberville, Mississippi, just across a narrow bay from Biloxi. “Animals are near and dear, and I’ve always thought that if I could ever do something wonderful it would be to unite people and dogs.” Her plan, called Fostering Hope, works.
Partnering with the Humane Society of South Mississippi (hssm.org) in nearby Gulfport, the hotel has adopted out an average of more than two dogs a month since the program started in October of 2018. Says the South Mississippi humane society’s shelter relations manager, Bianca Janik, “the success rate for adoption was a wonderful surprise. We certainly didn’t expect an increase in adoptions through a hotel lobby. Fostering Hope is one of the most innovative programs that our shelter has ever participated in. And the employees at the hotel have been an absolute joy to work with.”
The hotel guests who adopt
Because Home2Suites is an extended stay property, a lot of guests are there for anywhere from 1 month to as many as 9, often for additional military training at nearby Keesler Air Force Base. “I could see that they looked happy, but they looked sad, too,” Johnston says. “I wanted to give them some warm fuzzies.” A guest may start by petting a dog, then walking it, then falling in love from there. Often, when long-term hotel guests adopt, they have a family member come and take the animal home since they are out all day and want to integrate the pet into its new life as soon as possible.
But not all adopters are extended-stay guests. Some are there just for a night or two, as was the hotel’s first family to take home a dog. They booked a room for a baseball tournament and fell for Chavo, a Chihuahua mix with an injured ear.
Other Home2Suites locations — there are 389 across the country, all owned by Hilton — are also considering programs to foster dogs with the goal of adopting them out to guests. It makes sense, hotel sales director Johnston says. “We’re open 24/7.” There’s always someone there to take care of a dog’s needs.
Does Johnston herself have a rescue dog? Yes, she says. “I went into PetSmart a couple of years ago to get dog food, and I left with an Australian shepherd.”
