This is an update that we haven't been looking forward to sharing with you all but is something that we need to do.
Over the past few months we have been working hard to help prepare our business for some of the changes that are happening across the industry and we want to make sure that these don't impact the level of service you expect from us here at Pawprints.
We have made the following changes to our business that will take effect from stays that commence from the 1st of January 2019.
Price increase
We have had minimal price increases since we opened our standard kennels over 9 years ago. We added our suites last year and had a promotional price which was only supposed to run until the end of 2017 which we extended into 2018.
To continue to offer the level of care and attention to each animal that stays with us, this price increase is something that we must do. Our prices for 2019 are:
We would like to share with you the reasons behind our decision for this increase.
VAT registration
Last year our business became VAT registered and we have stood the cost ourselves over the past 12 months. This is not something that we can continue to do moving forward and this must be reflected in our new prices.
The Animal Welfare (Licensing of Activities involving animals) Regulations 2018
Defra introduced this new legislation in October this year to take effect from the end of our current licence (December 2018). In this new legislation our facilities exceed the requirements outlined for dog boarding kennels. However there are multiple new administration requirements for all animal establishments to plan and document all daily activities that take place. To continue to provide the dogs in our care with the same amount of time and attention, we've had to extend our staff working hours to complete these administrative tasks. The local councils have also more than tripled the license fees for animal boarding due to the amount of extra work they must complete to provide a license to a business.
In recent weeks we have spoken to many other local businesses within the pet industry (Kennels, Home Boarders, Doggy Day Care Centres) and all agree that this will force an industry wide price increase for animal services due to the extra hours required to complete these tasks and in many other businesses case, money to bring their facilities up to the new standards. As we mentioned in our previous blog there is also an expectation that the number of businesses in our industry will reduce as many people will not be able to afford the amount needed to bring their business up to the standards. We fully expect to see other kennels in the area raise their prices in the coming months.
Investment in our facilities
We have invested heavily in our facilities over the past 2 years, investing over a quarter of a million pounds in our new Pethouse Suites and building our Secure Dog Paddock. We would like to continue improving and growing our facilities moving forward to provide an unrivalled level of care in our industry. We are in the process of building a second paddock for our boarding guests. This will enable us to offer two different areas for them so they can have more time to go out and play individually & participate in our recently introduced "Yappy Hour" sessions. This will allow your dog to be able to mix with other dogs whilst they stay with us and is included in the cost of your dogs stay.
Change in opening hours
From the beginning of January 2019 we will be changing our opening hours to the following:
7 Days a week - 10:00-12:00 & 13:00-16:00
Any collection that is made before 10:30 will have have their last day taken off the price of their stay. One of the reasons for this is because only 5% of customers drop off or collect their dog between the hours of 16:00 - 18:00. There will still be staff on site before and after our opening hours and this means we will have more time to spend with your dogs and does not disrupt any feed times.
Bank Holidays
From next year we will also be closing the kennels for drop off and collection on all bank holidays. Your dog will still be able to stay with us during these days. However, if you would like to drop off or collect them this must be done the day before or the day after the bank holiday.
Reasons to stay with us.
Voted best kennels in the UK 2018
We've recently been voted the best kennels in the UK by DogFriendly UK. This is a prestigious award and we are really proud of our achievement especially because it was decided by public vote. With over 1900 businesses nominated from across the country for these awards we believe it is a true testament to our business that our customers voted us number one!
Level of care for each and every dog
We pride ourselves on the level of care we provide to all of our guests that come and stay with us. As you can see by the amount of reviews/recommendations we receive, we really do care about each and every dog that stays with us.
Constant improvement in facilities
We are one of the few kennels in the area that have invested in improvements to their facilities in the last few years and we will continue to invest in improvements over the next few years. By sticking with us you can ensure that the place your dog stays, will be at the forefront of the kennel industry for years to come.
If you already have a booking for 2019 we will shortly be contacting you to discuss the price change to your booking.
We hope you understand the reasons why we have had to take these decisions and look forward to seeing you all again in 2019.
Anjuli & Gareth
Pawprints Kennels