Home boarding or a pet hostel: how the two stays differ
Updated By PetymFacts checked against official sources on
Quick answer
Home boarding means your pet stays in a sitter's own home, usually with few other animals; a pet hostel, kennel or pet hotel is a facility built for many. Neither is safe or unsafe by type, what matters is what the sitter or facility has been checked for, and how your own pet copes.
Where many dogs share a space, kennel cough spreads more easily and brown dog ticks can live in the walls and cracks, so ask about vaccination and tick policies wherever you book.
A sitter's home and a facility, side by side
| Option | Home boarding (a sitter's home) | Pet hostel, kennel or pet hotel (a facility) | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Where your pet sleeps | In the sitter's home | In the facility's rooms, runs or kennels | Not stated |
| Other animals | A small number, set per home | Many, up to the facility's capacity | Not stated |
| Infection and ticks | Fewer dogs sharing space | Kennel cough spreads where dogs are close together; brown dog ticks can live in kennel walls and cracks | Merck Veterinary Manual |
| What to ask | Who lives there, other pets, the society's rules, the nearest 24-hour vet | Registration, capacity, who is on site overnight, vaccination and tick policy | Not stated |
What Petym will check, when bookings open in your city
Petym is not taking bookings yet. When it opens in a city, these are the checks each kind of stay will have to pass before it is listed:
- Home sitters: identity verified (PAN); a video walk-through of the home by Petym; the housing society's permission for paid pet sitting; pet first-aid training before the first booking; a named 24-hour vet within reach; a pet limit set for the home.
- Facilities: business registration documents; State Animal Welfare Board registration where the rules require it; a walk-through; a stated capacity; someone on site overnight.
- Every pet: current rabies and core vaccinations recorded before the first stay, and tick and flea prevention.
Which to choose when
- A home stay suits a pet that is calmer with fewer animals around, or an owner who wants their pet in a household routine.
- A facility suits an owner who wants staff and set routines, and a dog that is used to other dogs.
- For a first stay, try a short one first and see how your pet copes (Petym's practical advice, from the graduated-practice principle vets use).
Going away soon? Tell us your dates.
A checked local sitter feeds, walks and keeps your pet company at home, follows your care sheet to the letter and sends a photo every day. Petym is opening city by city: send your dates and we will tell you when a sitter can take them.
- Meet your sitter first, free
- PAN-checked, first-aid trained
- A photo every day
- Pay through Petym, never cash
Questions owners ask
What is the difference between home boarding and a pet hostel?
- Home boarding is a stay in a sitter's own home with few other animals; a pet hostel, kennel or pet hotel is a facility built to house many pets at once.
Is home boarding safer than a kennel?
- Neither is safe or unsafe by type. Ask what each has been checked for, and about vaccination and tick policies, kennel cough and brown dog ticks spread most easily where many dogs share a space.
What should I ask a home boarding sitter before booking?
- Who lives in the home and which pets, whether the housing society allows it, where the nearest 24-hour vet is, and how they will keep your pet's routine.
Keep reading
Keep exploring
Sources
Each source was opened and read on the date shown. How Petym checks its sources
- Merck Veterinary Manual: Kennel cough (canine infectious tracheobronchitis) (opens in a new tab)
- Cornell University College of Veterinary Medicine: The risks of kennel cough (Riney Canine Health Center) (opens in a new tab)
- PDSA: Kennel cough (opens in a new tab)
- Merck Veterinary Manual: Tick control (opens in a new tab)
- Companion Animal Parasite Council: Ticks (opens in a new tab)
- RSPCA Australia: How can I find a good boarding facility for my companion animal? (opens in a new tab)
Show all 9 sourcesShow fewer
- Merck Veterinary Manual: Ixodid ticks (opens in a new tab)
- Parasites & Vectors (2010): Biology and ecology of the brown dog tick, Rhipicephalus sanguineus (opens in a new tab)
- Physiology & Behavior (2007), University of Bristol: Behavioural and glucocorticoid responses of dogs to kennelling (abstract read) (opens in a new tab)