CORONA, Calif. -- Aromatherapy, flat-screen televisions, oil massages, blueberry facial masks and all-natural, organic cuisine -- they're all the marks of a luxury hotel, and they're for the dogs.Literally.The latest in the growing $2.9 billion luxury pet hotel business recently opened in Corona, complete with $45-a-day doggy penthouses that feature Parisian-themed rooms and leather-textured couches from which pooches can watch "Puppy Plays" on their own flat-screen televisions.That same $1,350 a month price tag fetches a two-bedroom apartment in Corona.Though the housing market may have gone to the dogs, the doggy housing market is doing well, industry groups say."We hear the news about the downturn in the economy and the U.S. facing a recession, and yet the pet-care industry continues to grow," said Nicole Singleton, spokeswoman for Pet Care Services Association, a boarding facility industry group. "In fact, it's booming."At $2.9 billion, the industry has nearly doubled in the last five years, she said."More and more, pet owners view their pets as part of the family, and they've come to expect the same amenities," Singleton said.At a recent grand opening, owners of Pet Chalet showed off the latest in luxury pet boarding.The latest trend is green, said Judy Ettinger, Pet Chalet spokeswoman. That means organic food, flushable waste treatment systems and separate air conditioning units for cats and dogs, she said."What we've found is that the cats get very stressed out if they can smell the dogs," Ettinger said.The doggy penthouses also have cameras so owners can log on any time of the day to see how their pets are doing.Even when times are tight, people are willing to pay extra to take care of their pets, said Ettinger. The owners of Pet Chalet also own a construction company, she said."The construction company is being affected by the housing crisis and job losses. We're seeing a definite slowdown in construction," she said. "But the pet industry is booming. People love their pets."Ettinger is advertising heavily at apartment complexes where many families have had to move from single-family homes with their multiple pets. Instead of leaving them cooped up all day, people are enrolling them in doggy day care, she said.Elsewhere around the region, luxury pet hotels are doing as well during the housing slump as they did during boom times, said Don Robinson, who opened the Renaissance Pet Resort and Spa in Banning in 2002.The company recently remodeled to expand its facility and is already at full occupancy, he said. Clients include families and pets that lost their homes to foreclosure."We have one man who is living in a tent, and he brings his dog in every day for day spa," Robinson said.Dog-lover Ruth Conley has no qualms about splurging for her three dogs and one cat. She recently checked her animals into Pet Chalet when her Corona home was tented for termites."We don't go on trips very often because we have a problem with kennels," she said. "But I looked into it, and I think the pets had a more luxurious hotel than we did."(E-mail Paige Austin at paustin(at)PE.com)(Distributed by Scripps Howard News Service, www.scrippsnews.com.)
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