IHG Service Dog Policy: Holiday Inn, Kimpton & More (2026)

The Short Answer on IHG and Service Dogs

If you have a trained service dog, every IHG-branded hotel in the United States must welcome your dog at no extra charge, in any room type, regardless of whether that property accepts pets. This is not an IHG courtesy. It is a federal obligation under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), which covers hotels as places of public accommodation under Title III.

IHG Hotels & Resorts operates roughly 21 brands and more than 7,000 properties worldwide, from budget Candlewood Suites to luxury InterContinental and Six Senses. The brand-by-brand pet policies you see advertised (deposits, weight limits, pet amenities) are commercial perks for pets. They do not apply to service animals. Understanding that single distinction is the key to a fee-free, friction-free stay, and it is what we unpack below alongside the practical steps that keep front-desk conversations short.

For the broader rulebook that applies across every chain, see our guide to service dog rights in hotels.

Pet-Friendly Perks vs. ADA Obligations: Don't Confuse Them

This is the most important section in the article, because confusing the two categories is exactly how handlers get wrongly charged. Pet policies and service-animal law are two completely separate systems:

• Pet policy (a business choice): Kimpton, for example, famously welcomes pets of any size, weight, or breed at no charge, with pet beds and bowls on loan. Holiday Inn, Holiday Inn Express, Staybridge Suites, and Candlewood Suites set their own pet fees franchise-by-franchise, which is why one Holiday Inn may charge a $75 one-time fee while another charges a per-night rate.
• ADA obligation (the law): A service dog is not a pet. Under the ADA, a service dog must be allowed even at a 100% pet-free property, and the hotel cannot charge any pet fee or deposit for it.

In plain terms: even if you book the most pet-hostile IHG property in the country, your trained service dog stays for free. The pet-fee schedule is legally irrelevant to you. The U.S. Department of Justice is explicit that if a business charges pet deposits or fees, it must waive them for service animals.

What Federal Law Requires of Every IHG Property

The ADA's service-animal rules are uniform nationwide, so they bind a Crowne Plaza in Chicago exactly as they bind a voco resort in Florida. Per ada.gov, a service animal is a dog (or, in limited cases, a miniature horse) individually trained to do work or perform tasks directly related to a person's disability. Hotels must:

• Permit the service dog in all guest-accessible areas, including the room, lobby, restaurant, pool deck, and fitness center.
• Refrain from charging a pet fee, cleaning fee, or deposit for the dog.
• Avoid isolating handlers (for example, no forced "pet room" or far-corner room) or treating them less favorably than other guests.
• Allow the dog to stay in the room with the handler, who remains responsible for the dog's care and supervision.

The hotel may charge for actual damage the dog causes, but only the same amount it would charge any guest for comparable damage. It may also ask a handler to remove a dog that is out of control or not housebroken. Those are narrow exceptions, not loopholes for fees. Keep a copy of our printable ADA law card for handlers for the rare staffer who needs a reminder.

The Two Questions IHG Staff Can (and Can't) Ask

If your dog's role is not obvious, the ADA permits front-desk staff to ask exactly two questions, and nothing more:

1. Is the dog a service animal required because of a disability?
2. What work or task has the dog been trained to perform?

That is the entire script. According to ada.gov, staff may not:

• Ask about your disability or demand medical records.
• Require a special ID card, certificate, or registration for the dog.
• Require proof of training or ask the dog to demonstrate its task.
• Charge a fee because the dog lacks "papers."

Because no documentation can be legally required, a confident verbal answer is all you owe. Our guides on how to present your service dog and what to do if access is denied walk you through both the easy and the difficult versions of this conversation. If a handler has more than one dog, staff may ask the two questions about each one; see handling multiple service dogs.

Emotional Support Animals Are Treated Differently

Here is where many travelers get caught off guard. An emotional support animal (ESA) is not a service animal under the ADA. ESAs provide comfort through their presence but are not trained to perform a specific task, so they have no public-access rights in hotels. The Fair Housing Act, which does protect ESAs in rental housing, does not extend to hotels, motels, or resorts. The Air Carrier Access Act, which governs flights, has also excluded ESAs since the U.S. Department of Transportation's 2021 rule, meaning airlines may treat an ESA as an ordinary pet.

That means at an IHG property, an ESA is treated like a pet: it is welcome only where pets are welcome, and the hotel may lawfully charge its standard pet fee. If your dog provides comfort but is not task-trained, it is an ESA, not a service dog, and you should budget for pet fees accordingly. To understand which category fits you, read ESA vs. service dog and which one you actually need. Many anxiety- or PTSD-related conditions can qualify for a true psychiatric service dog when the dog is trained to perform tasks.

IHG Brand-by-Brand: What Actually Changes

For a service dog handler, the legal answer never changes across brands. What changes is the surrounding pet program, your reservation workflow, and how often you may need to clarify your dog's status. Here is the practical picture:

Bottom line: pick the brand for the trip, not for the dog. The ADA travels with you to all of them. For comparisons across the industry, see the best hotel chains for service dog travel.

How to Book an IHG Stay Smoothly with a Service Dog

A few minutes of prep prevents almost every awkward exchange. Recommended steps:

1. Book directly when possible and add a note in the special-requests field that you travel with a trained service dog (not a pet) and expect no pet fee under the ADA.
2. Call the property a day ahead to confirm the note is attached. Use the words "service dog," not "emotional support" or "pet," so the right rules apply.
3. At check-in, watch the folio. If a pet fee or deposit appears, politely ask the desk to remove it, citing the ADA. This is the single most common error to catch.
4. Prepare your two-question answer in one sentence, e.g., "Yes, she's a service dog trained to alert me to low blood sugar."
5. Keep your dog under control and housebroken at all times; this protects your access and the next handler's.

If a property does try to bill you, our walkthrough on what to do when a hotel charges a service dog pet fee shows how to get it reversed, and how to file a DOJ ADA complaint covers the escalation path. For trip-wide prep, see traveling with a service dog.

The Honest Truth About "Registration" and ID

Let's be direct, because the internet is full of misinformation that costs handlers money. The United States has no official service dog registry. No federal agency issues service dog certificates, and ada.gov states plainly that businesses cannot require ID cards, registration, or proof of training. Any website claiming your dog must be "registered" to enter a hotel is selling a product, not stating the law. See service dog registration scams and the truth about registering a service dog before you pay anyone for mandatory "certification."

So why do experienced handlers still carry an ID card, a vest, or a digital profile? Because of friction, not law. A new front-desk employee who has never read the ADA tends to relax the moment they see a clean, professional credential. A digital service dog profile with QR verification lets staff scan and confirm your dog's working status in seconds, ending the conversation before it becomes an argument. It is a voluntary, practical tool, never a legal requirement, and that distinction matters. Used honestly, it smooths access at any IHG property without ever implying your rights depend on it. Learn more in is a service dog ID card worth it.

State and Local Rules That Layer on Top

The ADA is the floor, not the ceiling. Some states add protections (or penalties for misrepresentation) on top of federal law, and those apply to the IHG property in that state. For example, many states make it a crime to fraudulently pass off a pet as a service dog, which is one more reason to stay honest about your dog's training. New York City, a major IHG market, has its own layer of access rules; see NYC service dog laws.

Use our hub of service dog laws by state to check the specifics for your destination, including high-traffic states like California, Florida, Texas, and New York. None of these laws can override the core ADA guarantees of free access and no pet fees; they only add to them.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does IHG charge a pet fee for a service dog?

No. Under the ADA, no IHG property, Holiday Inn, Kimpton, Crowne Plaza, Staybridge, Candlewood, or any other brand, may charge a pet fee, deposit, or cleaning fee for a trained service dog, even at pet-free hotels. The only lawful charge is for actual damage the dog causes, at the same rate any guest would pay. If a pet fee appears on your folio, ask the desk to remove it and cite the ADA.

What can IHG front-desk staff ask about my service dog?

Only two questions when the dog's role isn't obvious: (1) Is the dog a service animal required because of a disability? and (2) What work or task is it trained to perform? Per ada.gov, staff cannot ask about your disability, demand medical records, require an ID or registration, or ask the dog to demonstrate its task.

Are emotional support animals covered by the IHG service dog policy?

No. ESAs are not service animals under the ADA and have no public-access rights in hotels. At an IHG property an ESA is treated as a pet, so it's only allowed where pets are welcome and the standard pet fee can apply. If your dog is task-trained, it may instead qualify as a psychiatric service dog with full access.

Do I need to register or certify my dog to stay at a Holiday Inn or Kimpton?

No. The U.S. has no official service dog registry, and hotels cannot legally require any ID, certificate, or registration. A digital profile or ID card is purely voluntary, useful only to reduce friction with untrained staff, never a legal prerequisite for access.

Is the policy the same at every IHG brand?

The legal answer is identical across all IHG brands because the ADA applies to all of them. What differs is each brand's pet program for actual pets (Kimpton is free; Holiday Inn fees vary by franchise). Those pet fees never apply to a trained service dog.

What should I do if an IHG hotel denies my service dog?

Calmly state your dog is an ADA service dog and answer the two permitted questions. Ask for a manager. If the denial or a wrongful fee stands, document names and times, then escalate through IHG corporate and, if needed, file a complaint with the U.S. Department of Justice.