Fairmont Canine Ambassadors bring extra level of comfort to guests

Hong Kong – Known for thoughtful and welcoming service, Fairmont Hotels & Resorts offers a distinctive service at select hotels with resident hotel dogs known as Canine Ambassadors.

Hong Kong – Known for thoughtful and welcoming service, Fairmont Hotels & Resorts offers a distinctive service at select hotels with resident hotel dogs known as Canine Ambassadors. Travelers missing their own furry friend or looking for a companion while taking a walk can bring along the resident Fairmont dog for extra security and the comfort of home.

The newest member of Fairmont’s Canine Ambassador team is Edie, a white Boxer/Labrador Retriever at Fairmont Pittsburgh, who is named after Andy Warhol’s “superstar” Edie Sedgwick and is readily available to accompany guests on walks around the hotel. She joins Golden Labrador Retriever Marcus, known to his friends as Mark, who is the Director of Pet Relations at The Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise in the Canadian Rockies. He loves to hike and play fetch with guests. Zeus, another recent hire, is a handsome Chocolate Labrador who is overseeing interactive guest appreciation at Fairmont Sonoma Mission Inn & Spa in California. He keeps an eye on a multitude of lobby activities, co-leads guest hikes and assists in grounds supervision of the classic 226-room property. Smudge, a Golden Labrador Retriever recently moved across the pond with General Manager Garrett Turta from his former home at Fairmont Algonquin to Fairmont St Andrews in Scotland.

Joining the pack in summer of 2009 were two new hires: Jordy, a Black Labrador Retriever at Fairmont Le Manoir Richelieu in Quebec and Golden Labrador Gracie, who joined the staff at the Fairmont Tremblant. The dogs are enjoying being able to meet and greet guests, go on scheduled walks and runs, and serve as community liaisons. The Canadian Guide Dogs for the Blind trained all four dogs and although they didn’t end up becoming guide dogs, they are committed to the new goal of making every guest smile.

All join their other four-legged colleagues as official members of the hotels’ Guest Services Teams. Catie, a Black Labrador originally trained as a guide dog with the Guide Dog Foundation for the Blind in New York, changed careers to become the famed Canine Ambassador for The Fairmont Copley Plaza Boston. Endearingly called Catie Copley, she’s a community liaison participating in story hour at the South End branch of the Boston Public Library and has spent time with guests who are ill. Such a delight with children, Catie has even been the star of two children’s books, the second of which includes her colleague Santol, the Canine Ambassador at Fairmont Le Chateau Frontenac. The new book, Catie Copley’s Great Escape, is a follow up to 2007’s top-seller Catie Copley, and follows the adventures of Catie as she takes her first trip to Canada to visit Santol.

In Vancouver guests can meet Mavis, a Lab/Retreiver mix, and Beau, a Yellow Labrador, at The Fairmont Hotel Vancouver. Both are former BC Guide Dog trainees that were better suited to the social life of a hotel ambassador. The Fairmont Waterfront was the first hotel in the company to introduce a K9 Ambassador — welcoming Morgan, a Black Labrador, in 2002. He is now enjoying his dog days of retirement

As personalized relationships are at the heart of Fairmont service, guests can stay in touch with their furry friends, by sending some “ani-mail” either by snail mail to the hotel or via email at: [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], [email protected] and [email protected]. Guests who want to stay in touch with Catie, Santol and Sonny can keep up with them on their own individual Facebook pages as well. For a look at all of Fairmont’s Canine Ambassadors, visit http://www.fairmont.com/promotions/canineambassadors.

About the author

Avatar of Linda Hohnholz

Linda Hohnholz

Editor in chief for eTurboNews based in the eTN HQ.

Share to...