It is late September, the mornings finally feel like fall, and at both of our front desks the same conversation has started: “We’re flying out for Thanksgiving. Do you have room for Charlie?” Right now the answer is yes. By early November, for the peak nights, it will start becoming no, and every year a handful of wonderful families who waited end up scrambling.
So consider this your friendly, slightly early nudge. Here is how holiday boarding works at Hobnob, when to book, what to pack, and how to make a first-ever boarding stay easy on a dog who has never slept away from home.
Book earlier than feels necessary
Holiday weeks are the busiest nights of our year at both locations, and we do not oversell them. Play groups stay matched by size and temperament, and our supervision ratios do not change just because it is December. That means the calendar genuinely fills, and when it is full, it is full.
If your travel dates are even penciled in, call your location now: Lakewood at 303-233-8990 or the Denver Tech Center at 303-945-4449. Reservations and any changes are handled by phone, person to person, so nothing about your dog’s stay gets lost in an inbox.
Booking early costs you nothing, and our cancellation policy is built to make early booking safe. Cancel seven or more days before the first night of the stay and you get a full refund, every time. Inside seven days, one night’s stay is kept and the rest is refunded. That is the whole policy, and it is the same one printed in our terms and conditions. Plans wobble around the holidays; we know. Grab the dates, and if Thanksgiving moves to your sister’s house after all, one phone call a week out costs you nothing.
What a hotel stay at Hobnob actually includes
Boarding kennels earned their reputation: rows of runs, a potty break, a lot of waiting. That is not what happens here, and the difference matters most during a long holiday stay.
Every night at the Hobnob dog hotel includes a half day of daycare. Your dog spends real hours playing and lounging with a group matched to their size and temperament, takes a midday siesta, and then winds down for the night in a private room with an elevated bed. No cages, no cramped quarters. Dog siblings can share adjoining rooms, and classical music plays during rest periods, which sounds fancy until you watch a room full of dogs actually settle to it.
Meals come from the food you pack, served on your schedule. Medications you supply are given per your directions at no extra charge, injectables excepted. And the webcams run whenever your dog is in the play areas, so you can check on them from a relative’s couch two time zones away, which, based on our webcam traffic every December 25th, is exactly what people do.
Want your dog coming home better than you left them? Add a bath or a nail trim from our grooming services when you book. We schedule it during the stay, so you pick up a clean dog instead of adding an errand to your first day back.
Packing list, from people who unpack it
After years of holiday check-ins, here is what actually belongs in the bag:
- Food for the whole stay, in a resealable container or bag, portioned is even better. Holiday stays are the wrong time to switch foods, and a sudden diet change is the most common cause of an upset stomach away from home.
- A comfort item that smells like home. A blanket, a flat mat bed, or frankly a t-shirt you have worn. Familiar smell does more for a first-time boarder than any toy would.
- Medications in their original prescription bottle, with instructions. We follow your directions exactly.
- Collar or harness and a leash for drop-off and pick-up.
- Leave the toys at home. We do not allow them in the building, ours or yours, because torn-off squeaker parts and toy disputes are two problems we can simply choose not to have.
If this is your dog’s first time boarding
One requirement, and it is the good kind: every new dog completes a first-time registration and a FREE trial day of daycare before their first overnight stay. The trial day is how we learn which play group fits your dog, and it means that when boarding night comes, your dog is not walking into a strange building. They are coming back to a place they already know, with dogs they have already met.
Around the holidays this matters double, because the trial day needs to happen before the boarding dates. If you are eyeing Thanksgiving week for a first stay, do the registration and trial day in October. Your dog gets a fun day, you get the webcams, and the actual goodbye at the holiday drop-off becomes a non-event. Vaccination records need to reach us at least 48 hours before that first visit: DPP, Bordetella and Rabies, from a licensed vet. The full requirements live on our FAQ page.
The holiday questions we hear every year
What happens on the holiday itself? Dogs play, eat and rest on their normal rhythm, and we are happy to treat your dog to a holiday feast. Our staff leaves around 7pm and returns around 6am; overnight, our webcam and security and fire alarm systems are there to keep our guests safe.
Can my mother-in-law pick up the dog? Yes, as long as you tell us ahead of time so we can add her to your dog’s pick-up list or your emergency contacts.
Both locations, same standard? Same trial-day rule, same play group standards, same hotel setup at both Hobnobs. Book whichever is closest to home or the airport run.
The short version: the dates you are thinking about are the dates everyone is thinking about. Call this week, pack a worn t-shirt, and spend your holiday watching a very happy dog on a webcam.