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Six signs pets are the economy's new big spenders

Some 82.5 million American households, or 68 percent, include domestic animals. Americans spent an all-time-high $55.7 billion on their pets last year, and spending will inch close to $60 billion this year. Here are six things driving the pet spending boom.

5. Pet penthouses

Eduardo Munoz/Reuters/File
A dog arrives at the Hotel Pennsylvania as part of the Westminster Dog Show in New York February 7, 2014.

  • By Lee Smith CNBC

Some lucky pets receive a level of service that most Americans can only dream of. In 2010, Disney World Resorts in Buena Vista, Fla., established a luxury hotel (you can call it a kennel if you prefer) for pets accompanying the family on vacation. However, Disney World isn't the first to offer pets luxury service, and it undoubtedly won't be the last. The D Pet Hotel looks like any normal hotel, with full-size beds and flat-screen TVs, but its only guests are dogs. The hotel is popular enough to have two trendy locations: one in Hollywood and another in Manhattan's Chelsea neighborhood.

The trend continues to pick up momentum. Statistics tell the story. Pet services, including grooming, boarding, training and pet-sitting, grew by the largest percentage among pet economy sectors from 2012 to 2013—6.1 percent, to $4 billion, according to APPA data.

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Mark Sappenfield
Editor

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