A young woman is seen crouching down, her hand gently rubbing the back of a large Golden Retriever breed dog that seems nervous about the crowd. The dog, breathing heavily, begins to calm down and rests its head on the woman's knee, portraying the comfort and interaction of two souls coming together like a human interacting with her child.
In the cat lovers' area, there was a Maine Coon with a moaning voice like a miniature lion, lying peacefully on his master's lap. Its front legs stretched out and it asked for a high-five every time it talked to its owner.
The excitement of a standing ovation broke the silence as the SUAR team witnessed how a Beagle therapy dog could respond to the non-verbal hand signals of a deaf child. It illustrated that human love is a language that all other living beings understand.
Such views were common in the hallways of ICE BSD during the International Pet Festival (IIPE) held on the weekend of last month. IIPE is a large-scale international exhibition for pet lovers, providing a platform for communities, businesses and visitors to interact, do business and learn about the world of pets.
Not only did the event feature products and innovations from various countries, it also featured competitions, education and animal adoption programs. For some people, pets have gone from being just pets to intimate family members or what is often called 'urban pet parenting'.
This phenomenon has triggered a surge in demand for premium services for pets, especially when their owners have to travel long distances for business travel or long vacations.
One of the most sought-after facilities for animal lovers is a pet hotel. It used to be that pet boarding was simply a matter of feeding and housing animals while their owners were away.
But nowadays, luxury pet hotels are proliferating, offering five-star facilities that sometimes outshine hotels where humans stay. One of the most eye-catching products at IIPE 2025 was the lineup of pet hotels that offer a wide range of service levels.
While standard pet hotels only provide the basics, these luxury facilities provide a different experience. Air-conditioned rooms, integrated health services, mini swimming pools, and grooming sessions are all on the menu for pet parents.
Memorable for your favorite
David Hadiputra often leaves his beloved pets in luxury pet hotels. The CEO of Link2Link Indonesia said that the comfort of a pet hotel is a consideration for animal lovers like himself to leave their pets.
"Premium services are different from usual, happy pets and complete facilities," he told SUAR in Jakarta when contacted in Jakarta, Friday (28/11).
For her, the more comfortable the pet hotel is, the better experience it will provide for the animal. As a dog owner, she is willing to spend more because she thinks the premium experience and services offered are worth the high price.
She emphasizes that comfortable accommodation, a dedicated room that is clean, cozy, and air-conditioned are key to making pets feel relaxed. However, the most essential facility for pet parents is a 24-hour CCTV camera that can be accessed via mobile phone.
"We can monitor via cellphone and most importantly there is a choice of rooms with a wider size, even allowing pet dogs to stay together without being separated, if in a regular pet hotel it is small and uses a cage, it's a pity," he said.
Pet hotels are becoming a promising business as the number of pet parents grows. Some of them are:
Groovy paw-resort
One of the most eye-catching luxury pet hotel products is Groovy Paw-Resort. If pet hotels only provide basic services, Groovy offers quite different facilities such as air-conditioned rooms, swimming pools, health checks and grooming services.
Groovy Group Business Owner, Juda Adisusanto said there are 3 reasons why the pet hotel business is growing in Indonesia:
- Increase in the number of animal owners: Millennials and other age groups are increasingly keeping animals for reasons of emotional comfort, which directly increases the demand for various pet services.
- A necessity during the holidays: When owners need to travel for holidays such as Lebaran, animal care services such as pet hotels become the ultimate solution to ensure pets are not left behind and remain well cared for.
- High demand for premium services, pet owners want more than just basic shelter, they are looking for premium services that make animals feel comfortable and happy, such as hotel-like rooms, healthcare, and recreational facilities.
"Groovy comes as a solution for animal lovers who want premium services by presenting "Groovy Paw Hotel and Resort located in Curug Bogor," Juda told SUAR.
Groovy Paw Hotel and Resort excels in providing facilities for pets, ranging from a wide selection of rooms, swimming pool, playground, grooming services, to pet taxi shuttle services.
The facilities are specially designed for pets' comfort, such as providing up to 3 meals a day and air-conditioned room options.
"Animals that can be left at Groovy Paw Hotel and Resort are cats and dogs," Juda told SUAR (2/11).
Groovy Paw Hotel and Resort's advantage over other pet luxury hotels is that it provides superior cat and dog rooms that are more spacious, comfortable and air-conditioned and the cost of the stay is adjusted based on the pet's weight and the room type chosen.
Some of the animal lovers who come to Groovy come from various circles ranging from artists, celebrities to officials but Judah did not mention the names of important or famous people who came to his place of business.
In addition to providing Pet Hotel Luxury, Groovy Group is also engaged in Pet Center services, a center that provides everything related to pets, from animal sales, necessity products (such as food, toys, cages), to animal care and health services in one place.
Pet Transport which is a pet shipping service, which can be a professional animal shipping service or the use of specialized containers such as pet cargo or pet carrier.
Priced at Rp150 thousand - Rp500 thousand per night, Groovy rooms are divided into Dog Supawarior with a 3x2 meter room with bed and carpet facilities, Dog Lux Room with a large cage type room,Dog House Room with an outdoor cage, Cat Sweet Room with a 3x3 meter room with cat tree and cat tower facilities and finally Cat Supawrior Plus room with cat cage facilities and indoor cat cages.
"The basic facility is filled with a maximum of 8 dogs and 2 nights stay, except for certain days," he said.
Judah admits that the turnover from this business is very promising. On weekdays, the income can reach tens of millions of rupiah, and this figure can skyrocket by 50% or more during the long holiday season. Their customers come from all walks of life, including artists, celebrities, and officials.
"All rooms are full during the Eid or Christmas holiday season," he said.
Cat-loving celebrities
Not only Groovy, the appeal of pet hotels is also felt by celebrities in the country. Through Arnamir hotel Kucing and Spa, artist Tya Ariestya poured her love for cats by establishing this business.
Located in Kebayoran, Joglo, and Setiabudi, South Jakarta, Arnamir caters only to cats, as per the business owner's animal of choice.
The advantages of Arnamir Pet Hotel include its complete facilities, such as various types of rooms (deluxe, junior, president suite) to a special floor for playing. The hotel is also equipped with CCTV in each room for monitoring, and provides healthy grooming services to keep cats clean and comfortable.
"There are various types of rooms such as deluxe, junior, and president suite that can accommodate up to two cats," he said.
There is a grooming room for bathing, nail trimming, and other treatments that help keep cats healthy and clean.
Meanwhile, the cats commonly boarded are domestic mixes and purebreds such as Persians, Anggora, Scottish Fold, and Ragdolls.
The number of animals deposited varies depending on the season, on normal days it can reach dozens when approaching the holiday season it can reach hundreds.
Cat boarding at Arnamir is priced at Rp100,000 per night. Not only as a hotel, there are also other facilities, ranging from healthy baths for IDR 100 thousand, mushroom or flea baths IDR 125 thousand, and flea and mushroom baths IDR 150 thousand.
Juda from Groovy added that the success of the pet hotel business proves that humans can express their love for animals by providing the best for their welfare.
"They ensure that their beloved furry family members also get the premium vacation they deserve, as their owners' standard of living improves," he said.
The 'anabul' are now not only cared for, but pampered, as their happiness is the owner's peace of mind.
