Contextual inquiries were conducted with ten participants via Zoom and in person. Each participant was read one of two scripts: one for travel by plane and another for travel by car. For ethical reasons, each participant was also asked if it would be okay to record the session and take pictures, to which they all agreed.

First Scenario: A flight to Austin, TX from your home, with five days spent in Austin, and then a return flight. I observed how the participant went through the process of booking a flight, while also account for the following activities during their stay:

● A visit to a lake

● A meal at a restaurant

● A trip to a tourist attraction (for example, a museum)

● An available veterinarian / pet clinic in case of emergency

● A dog park

Second Scenario: A road trip from Nashville, TN to Miami, FL with one overnight stay planned on the way down, 5 days spent in Miami, and one overnight stay planned on the way back. I also observed how the participant went through the process of accounting for the following, including car rental (if needed):

● A visit to the beach

● A meal at a restaurant

● A trip to a tourist attraction (for example, a museum)

● An available veterinarian / pet clinic in case of emergency

● A dog park

Generalizations

Despite the method of travel, both groups experienced similar ways of searching for dog-friendly places and expressed similar pain points, such as frustration locating information about pet accommodations and lack of space at some destinations. Overall, participants relied 14 heavily on reading reviews and ratings to plan out their trip. There was a growing frustration for flight scenario participants, in particular, regarding the difficulty of booking a plane ticket due to breed and size restrictions. AirBnB was the preferred method for overnight stay since it allowed dog owners to book a place with plenty of roaming space plus the opportunity to book one with a fenced back yard and indoor air conditioning. This provided some ease for dog owners who may not want to take their dog everywhere with them throughout the trip. Lastly, despite socio-economic background, all participants were disappointed with the extra fees accrued for having a dog (mostly for overnight stay and car rentals).

Trends

Google search was the preferred method of starting the process for dog-friendly attractions while AirBnB was the preferred method of starting the process for dog-friendly accommodations. Dog owners preferred renting houses over hotel rooms and displayed emotional care for their pets. Lastly, dog owners prefer car travel over plane travel due to anxiety, size restrictions, and breed restrictions.

Surprises

Many websites and companies make it difficult to easily find information about their dog policy. It took most participants some searching around until they finally found anything regarding dog-friendliness. Many dog-friendly companies also charge an extra fee for having pets. In one observation, the owner was concerned about breed restrictions for her pit bull—but that thought only came to her after going through all the effort of choosing locations to visit, and that she had to specifically search about breed restrictions because it 15 wasn't as though that information would be specifically advertised everywhere else. Breed and size restrictions also played a role in determining which airline to fly.

Takeaways

There is a large need for an app that takes into consideration the need of all types of breeds and sizes, whether traveling by car or plane. Allowing dog owners to rate and comment should remain a priority as dog owners seek those within their community for validity of these places. Any sort of fees should be made clear. A similar exercise but with bringfido.com could be beneficial in seeing what aspects of the website removes barriers and what limitations the website still has for dog owners (Samchisen, 2022).

A total of 10 interviews were conducted to gain an understanding of user preferences and needs. Themes derived from our contextual inquiries were used to plan our interview protocol, which served as a way for us to consistently ask the same questions across our interviewee group. Notes from the interviews were collected and shared on Mural, and then synthesized to determine resulting themes.

Key theme #1: Dog owners want to travel with their pets

Dog owners of all professions, ages, and geographic locations share a desire to travel with their pets. Many interviewees expressed an emotional bond with their pet that influenced their traveling needs. One interviewee (senior woman, divorced, suburban homeowner, new dog owner) expressed, “It's like having a child. I treat the dog like my own kids...the only difference is the dog is dependent on me for the rest of its life!" Another interviewee (middle aged woman, 16 married, suburban homeowner, former dog owner that traveled with their dog often) described the impact the dog had on her traveling plans because of this emotional connection: “He was our family so he'd go wherever. If he could go, we took him. If we couldn't then we'd make other arrangements. He was part of our family and we loved every second.”

Key theme #2: Preferred tools—which include Google and AirBnB—don't provide sufficient information to pet owners

Despite the notion that younger people are more tech-savvy, the same tools were repeatedly mentioned when planning a trip: Google and AirBnB. However, this led to a frustration of having to scour the internet with planned keyword searches to guarantee that an accommodation was truly pet-friendly, with a high level of reliance on user reviews. “A consolidated tool would be so helpful!” exclaimed a female millennial, married, tech-savvy dog-owner from Nashville, TN. In talking about her ideal vacation, this same interviewee described a need for an app that displays all results laid out in one place like Google Maps with an emphasis on visuals. Another interviewee—female baby boomer, retired, homeowner, married, lives in N. Florida—uses AirBnb for booking overnight accommodations because you can filter for pet-friendly properties and they seem to be accurate. The visuals helped many of the interviewees to search for larger properties that would allow their dogs to roam around. Lastly, although bringfido.com was mentioned throughout contextual inquiries, most interviewees had never used it, heard of it, or relied on it. One female interviewee said about the service, “I didn't really get a lot of answers [from bringfido]...it wasn't very clear if [dog-friendly destinations] were year-round, or just outdoor dining.” The need for a consolidated tool with visuals and the ability to plan a trip from car rental to overnight stay to daily activities confirmed [my] problem statement.

Key theme #3: Plane travel is almost never an option

The idea of traveling with their dogs in a plane caused an anxious opposition. While dog owners want to travel with their pets, there was a high level of concern around the dogs' well-being at an airport and within the plane. Would they be in cargo or beside them? One respondent expressed that her german shepherd simply wouldn’t be allowed in the cabin because of his size since the airlines she is aware of have size restrictions. Furthermore, different airlines have different limitations and rules which makes it difficult for dog owners to make an informed decision on which airline to choose.

Key theme #4: Dog-friendly and pet-friendly are used interchangeably When asked about the difference between “dog-friendly” and “pet-friendly”, dog owners seemed to have a couple different answers. Overall, the majority seemed to agree that, “Dog-friendly means that they allow dogs while pet-friendly means that allow different domestic animals” as expressed by a 29-year old, female owner of a dalmatian from Chicago. This was interesting to hear because in some contextual inquiries, dog-friendly leaned more towards service animals but not necessarily dogs in general. Throughout interviews, the two words were used interchangeably by interviewees.

Key theme #5: Fees should be transparent

Lastly, traveling with a dog comes at an additional cost. Not only does it take more time, but many services such as hotels and car rental companies have hidden fees for having a dog. The fee (whether it be a one time or daily fee) may deter some plans and complicate the process of planning a vacation with a dog.

Throughout the observations, interviews, and surveys, I noticed several recurring themes: how different generations utilize Google in their travel planning, consideration of dogs’ comfort and safety, and preference for car travel over air travel.

The first seven questions allowed us to get to know participants a little better, focusing mainly on demographics of both themselves and their dogs. 44% of respondents were ages 25-34 (Millennial), nearly 30% were between the ages of 35-54 (older Millennial, Gen X). Roughly 7% were aged 65 and older (Baby Boomer), and 4% were between 18-24 (Gen Z).

While an effort was made to share our survey link in more diverse digital communities (through social media, work communities, etc.), women were the vast majority of respondents. I can speculate as to why more women responded rather than men, I recognize this as a potential drawback to the ultimate research findings.

A large percentage (90%) of participants describe themselves as “experienced” dog owners, having only one dog (70%). When it comes to traveling with their dog, the majority of participants prefer to travel with other people, as well. As for the dogs, respondents own a wide variety of dog breeds, ranging from Chihuahuas to Mastiff mixes, purebreds to mutts.

Most respondents said they owned a large dog (50-70 lbs), followed by medium (30-49 lbs). One interesting thing to note was that only about 21% identified their dog as extra small (less than 20 lbs), which one would think would be the most prevalent sized dog when it comes to travel.