Yardstick Dog Hotel opened its first Nashville location in 2022. Beforehand, Atkins consulted with industry experts and Brooklyn-based architectural design firm Bolt Design. Each hotel roughly follows the same footprint, albeit with different exteriors, Atkins says.
As pet owners arrive at Yardstick facilities, they enter a lobby stocked with comfortable furniture, a coffee maker and merchandise. A front desk with a hovering “check in” sign adds to the resort feel.
“It feels kind of more like a hotel lobby or a beautiful, sort of retail environment, as opposed to kind of what you typically see in the industry,” Atkins says.
A lounge area for dogs featuring plush couches comes next. Behind that, six to seven individual suite rooms create a compartmentalized and sound-conscious environment. Each room features anywhere from 6-12 suites.
“Guests” are placed in rooms with other dogs of a similar breed and temperament. Dogs get their own suite, unless they were booked with a sibling, in which case the two are boarded together.
“So you can imagine that’s just a much calmer, less stressful environment for the dogs, as opposed to being in this large room with a ton of dogs,” Atkins says.
If an owner feels like their dog deserves a treat, they can dial up room service like any three–star human hotel. Options include CBD chews for anxious dogs or puppucinos for those with a sweet tooth. Staff also keep owners updated with texted photos and videos of their animal enjoying their stay-cation.
Each facility comes equipped with four to six indoor playrooms built with poured rubber floors, which are easy on pets’ joints, and an outdoor area. During the day, overnight boarders and daycare dogs (who also get their own suite for downtime) rotate between mealtime, playgroups and rest in suites. Owners can also book light grooming services including baths, brushes, nail trims, cleaning and tooth brushing.