Pets take to the roads and air with their owners

The company usually books an entire floor of rooms to avoid the dogs' barking disturbing guests.

"I once stayed in a guesthouse where the receptionist prepared welcoming gifts for dogs, which included toys and glow collars to reduce the chance of an animal getting lost at night," Zhang said.

During check-in, the hotel floor and type of room assigned to an owner is based on a dog's size, with large animals housed in bigger rooms and on lower floors. Dog bowls, mats, towels specifically for the animals, and disinfectant sprays are placed in the rooms, Zhang added.

The company organizes about 15 trips a month, compared with only two or three in 2018. Customers using its services are generally those born between 1985 and 1995.

"I have seen pet travel gradually being accepted by society. In 2015, when I entered the industry, pet travel was a complete blank, with few hotels willing to accommodate animals," Zhang said, adding that there are now also more reliable pet travel organizations.

Queenie Fu, 35, a catering manager in Beijing, and her corgis Kele and Qixi joined one of the company's tours to a grassland area in Inner Mongolia and also took a short trip to the Miyun Reservoir in suburban Beijing. She said the dogs made friends with other dogs, and pet owners also enjoyed social activities.

The most memorable moments for Fu included playing with the dogs on paddle boards and when Qixi tilted her tongue and twitched her legs to pretend she was exhausted after climbing a mountain.