Canine Ambassadors Bring Extra Level of Comfort to Guests
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.
Sonny, a Yellow Labrador Retriever, is the newest member of Fairmont’s Canine Ambassador team and works at The Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise as director of Pet Relations. Also new to Fairmont is Golden Labrador Gracie, who joins the staff at the Fairmont Tremblant. She will meet and greet guests, be available for scheduled walks and runs, and be a community liaison. The Canadian Guide Dogs for the Blind trained both Sonny and Gracie and although they didn’t end up becoming guide dogs, they are committed to the new goal of making every guest smile.
Sonny and Gracie 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 you can meet Holly, a Yellow Labrador and Golden Retriever mix at
The Fairmont Waterfront and Mavis – Holly’s half-sister – and Beau, both Yellow Labradors as well, at The Fairmont Hotel Vancouver. All three are former BC Guide Dog trainees that were better suited to the social life of a hotel ambassador.
The Fairmont Winnipeg is proud to host Winnipeg’s first official canine hotel ambassador, Dakota. A four year-old black Labrador crossbreed, Dakota was rescued by the Humane Society in 2004, malnourished and in pain with a broken leg that had been left to heal on its own. Now as Canine Ambassador, Dakota has found his home bringing smiles to the faces of hotel guests, welcoming them in or even accompanying them on a stroll through the city.
Two Golden Retriever Concierges have also taken up greeting and walking duties at
The Fairmont Acapulco Princess in Mexico. After spending months in a specialized training program, Chunki and Kimi are on hand to play, greet and guide guests around the hotel and even relish the opportunity to be accompanied by other guest’s pets.
