“Airbnb” for pets puts holiday travel within reach
Australians are known throughout the world for their love of foreign and domestic travel, traditionally jumping at the opportunity to set off on planned or impromptu holidays or getaways. Blessed with generous leave entitlements, relatively stable jobs and low unemployment, citizens of the “lucky country” are spoilt with choice and opportunity when the travel bug itches.
A major impediment to scratching that itch, however, has been the “what do I do with my pet” problem experienced by many of the owners of Australia’s 33 million pets. That problem has been compounded for the five million Australian households with pets by soaring kennel and cattery fees and charges that can see the cost of boarding a dog or cat for just a week exceeding a return airfare to popular holiday destinations. Fierce competition for limited spots mean kennels are often booked out months ahead, putting last minute getaways out of reach for many pet owners.
Facts like these, along with the positive experience of helping a friend who needed someone to care for his dog on short notice, inspired young entrepreneur Alexis Soulopoulos to create Mad Paws, an online community of pet-sitters.
Australia’s first Airbnb for pets was borne!
Mad Paws differs from traditional retail pet care businesses because it puts owners in total control of the temporary care of their beloved pet. Owners get to select a sitter based on their unique profile, qualifications and characteristics, and then establish care terms and rates with the sitter, which at an average of $25 a day can be more than 50% less than kennels and catteries.
Almost 2000 sitters nationally have already registered at www.madpaws.com.au since November, 2014, with more signing up every day.
“It’s a win-win-win for the owner, the sitter and, of course, the pet,” Mr Soulopoulos said. “Owners get to holiday guilt-free, knowing their pet isn’t locked away in a kennel and is receiving personalised care at great prices from people who love dogs, cats and other animals.”
Mr Soulopoulos came up with Mad Paws after helping a friend who struggled to find a place for his golden retriever Honey to stay while he travelled.
“The last thing my friend wanted was to leave Honey confined to a kennel, which can be a distressing experience for pets and hugely expensive for owners, with some kennel fees running upwards of $50 a day, plus extra charges for walking and playing with their pets,” Mr Soulopoulos said.
“Caring for Honey was an incredibly rewarding experience for me in that I helped out a good friend and moreover had a great time walking, feeding and caring for my temporary canine companion. It occurred to me there must be thousands of people who would be prepared to take in a stranger’s pet for a short while, and at the same time make a bit of extra cash doing something they enjoy.”
Mr Soulopoulos’s reasoning was spot on with Mad Paws quickly registering thousands of sitters nationally, giving owners a convenient and trustworthy holiday care solution for their pets.
Melbourne’s Sarah Finegan was among the first to experience the ease and convenience of Mad Paws when she needed someone to care for her much loved cat Zelda at short notice. With none of her trusted friends available to pet sit, she was forced to contemplate doing the unthinkable – putting her beloved Zelda in a cattery.
Luckily for Sarah (and her cat), help was only a few mouse clicks away. Mad Paws connected Sarah with Amanda Carlesso, another local with a passion for pets and over 10 years’ experience working with animals. After reading Amanda’s Mad Paws profile, and exchanging a few emails and phone calls, Sarah’s worries disappeared and she was happy to entrust Amanda with her feline friend.
For Sarah, one of Mad Paws’ greatest features was the personal and human element of the site, and the sense of community it engendered.
“When you first visit Mad Paws, it brings up all the sitters in your local area. It was great to see how many animal lovers are nearby and eager to help out. The fact that it’s set up almost like Facebook, with profiles for each user, makes it all really friendly and takes out the guesswork,” she said.
“Because I was able to get Amanda to visit my house to look after Zelda, instead of me taking him to her, not only made things a lot easier for me, but also made the experience less stressful for Zelda, who gets a bit stressed out in unfamiliar situations.”
Amanda says that she can understand why pet owners would choose to use Mad Paws over traditional boarding options.
“Having worked around animals for over a decade, I know just how much anxiety and hassle there can be with putting them in kennels and catteries. When they’re exposed to such a large amount of other animals, it can really affect them negatively – both mentally and, in some cases, physically.
“That’s why I signed up to Mad Paws; to help owners and, more importantly, their pets, relax and enjoy themselves. I had a bit of spare time at the moment and I thought ‘why not’, and I’m so glad I did. Looking after Zelda was so simple and rewarding, and Sarah was lovely. The entire process from start to finish could not have been more enjoyable.”
Alexis Soulopoulos said every Mad Paws sitter was fully vetted to give pet owners additional comfort their pets will be well cared for. Each pet sit is also covered by a free public liability insurance policy.
“Every registered sitter is contacted by our team to verify their application and only those that satisfy our verification processes are shown on the site,” he said. “We also encourage owners to meet with shortlisted sitters to fully satisfy themselves that they’ve chosen the right person for their pet.
“After the sit, owners are asked to rate the sitter to give other owners an honest appraisal of how they performed. These measures combine to give owners real confidence their pet will be happy and safe.”
