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CNN Live Today

Interview With Caroline Haberfeld

Aired January 26, 2004 - 11:52   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: Well, of course you expect pampering at an upscale hotel. Now your doggie can be a diva as well. We are looking at pet-friendly luxury hotels in our Monday feature segment, which of course is called "GetAways."
Caroline Haberfeld is an executive editor at "Departures" magazine, and she joins us this morning. This one goes right to my doggie owner's heart. Good morning.

CAROLINE HABERFELD, "DEPARTURES": What kind of dog do you have?

KAGAN: I call her a "southern white trash." She's from the pound.

HABERFELD: That's great. No, it's amazing, actually, how many people travel with their dogs now and their cats. It's incredible.

(CROSSTALK)

KAGAN: Go ahead. I'm sorry.

HABERFELD: No, about 66 percent of all people who own pets say they want to take them away with them now, which is a really high statistic.

KAGAN: When I saw all these great deals here, or these accouterments, I felt bad by not bringing my dog and cat out here to the Golden Globe Awards. So let's go ahead and look and see how you can travel with your dog.

There's a pretty new Ritz Carlton hotel on Central Park. What are they doing for the pooches?

HABERFELD: Well, Ritz Carlton is of course known for their service. So they're equally known for their service for people's pets. They give you little Burberry raincoats if it's raining outside. They'll make you amazing little snacks in the shape of a pretzel or a slice of pizza or, my personality favorite, a black-and- white cookie. But all for the dog. They give you a little poochie carrier which is the same carrier that Reese Witherspoon used in "Legally Blond" to carry your dog with you.

So they're right on top of you and everything that your pet needs they can provide. They also keep track of what you do at a Ritz Carlton. So the next time you go back to a Ritz, everything will be completely taken care of for you.

KAGAN: Oh, that's great.

Now, at the Lowe's hotels they know that if you're out there and you're traveling you're probably busy, you might need a pet walker or a pet sitter.

HABERFELD: It's true. And Lowe's actually was one of the first hotel chains to start accepting pets. And when you get there your dog has a personalized note from the general manager. They give you a little programme of what's available in your city to see and do, sort of pet-friendly restaurants and places you can go.

And they've also created this entire menu for your dog or your cat, actually, that you can choose from that's veterinarian approved. They've really taken a lot of care in taking care of your pet.

KAGAN: Now, we should say you're paying for all this stuff. It's not free, right?

HABERFELD: Actually, some of it's free, and some of it you pay for. It depends on the chain, it depends on sort of what you're getting. But, you know, some things it's actually free to bring your pet.

KAGAN: The Peninsula Hotels, they're worried that Fido -- or in my case, Darla Louise -- is cooped up in that hotel room and wants a little bit of entertainment. So they have dog-themed movies.

HABERFELD: They do. They'll send you dog-themed videos. They actually have private walkers that will take care of you.

And they have this amazing sort of -- it's a green canvas bed that's stuffed. It's very soft, but it's stuffed with smelly -- nice- smelling cedar chips. So it's a really nice place for your dog to sleep. So they sort of take care of the dog all the way from walking around the city to when it's sleeping.

KAGAN: The Starwood Hotels are thinking about toys, and thinking about what kind of toy your dog might like.

HABERFELD: Actually, my favorite thing about Starwood is that they give a dog little mini bathrobes, which I think is so fabulous.

They'll also make them sirloin steak and serve it on china. They do all sorts of things. They have private walkers that they can hire. They also -- the same way that you have, you know, little mints on your pillow, they'll do nightly turndown service for your dog, which I think is very funny.

KAGAN: And not to be outdone, the Sofitel (ph) Hotels have doggie spa.

HABERFELD: Sofitel, the Water Tower in Chicago, they have a doggie spa that will come and pick up your dog for the day so that, you know, while you're going to the hotel spa the dog can also have a sort of day spa, and then they'll bring them back all clean and fluffy and ready for a night out, maybe. So they really got it down. And they also do this whole sort of gift basket, which is extra. But it's sort of biscotti and bagel bones for dogs. So they have all sorts of little treats that they can bake for you.

KAGAN: And finally, are we just talking dogs? I also have a three-legged cat at home who might like to take a little trip.

HABERFELD: No, actually cats can come, too. They're totally taken care of also. They get little aromatherapy fur spritzes and all sorts of different spa treatments. Starwood actually does in-room massages. So there's definitely things for cats as well as for dogs.

KAGAN: Well I think Tripod's aromatherapy choice would be fish.

HABERFELD: That's right. Exactly.

KAGAN: That would be copacetic.

Caroline, thank you so much for taking care of dogs and our cats on a little trip there and telling us what is out there for pet- friendly travel. You can see more of that of course in "Departures" magazine.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com







Aired January 26, 2004 - 11:52   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: Well, of course you expect pampering at an upscale hotel. Now your doggie can be a diva as well. We are looking at pet-friendly luxury hotels in our Monday feature segment, which of course is called "GetAways."
Caroline Haberfeld is an executive editor at "Departures" magazine, and she joins us this morning. This one goes right to my doggie owner's heart. Good morning.

CAROLINE HABERFELD, "DEPARTURES": What kind of dog do you have?

KAGAN: I call her a "southern white trash." She's from the pound.

HABERFELD: That's great. No, it's amazing, actually, how many people travel with their dogs now and their cats. It's incredible.

(CROSSTALK)

KAGAN: Go ahead. I'm sorry.

HABERFELD: No, about 66 percent of all people who own pets say they want to take them away with them now, which is a really high statistic.

KAGAN: When I saw all these great deals here, or these accouterments, I felt bad by not bringing my dog and cat out here to the Golden Globe Awards. So let's go ahead and look and see how you can travel with your dog.

There's a pretty new Ritz Carlton hotel on Central Park. What are they doing for the pooches?

HABERFELD: Well, Ritz Carlton is of course known for their service. So they're equally known for their service for people's pets. They give you little Burberry raincoats if it's raining outside. They'll make you amazing little snacks in the shape of a pretzel or a slice of pizza or, my personality favorite, a black-and- white cookie. But all for the dog. They give you a little poochie carrier which is the same carrier that Reese Witherspoon used in "Legally Blond" to carry your dog with you.

So they're right on top of you and everything that your pet needs they can provide. They also keep track of what you do at a Ritz Carlton. So the next time you go back to a Ritz, everything will be completely taken care of for you.

KAGAN: Oh, that's great.

Now, at the Lowe's hotels they know that if you're out there and you're traveling you're probably busy, you might need a pet walker or a pet sitter.

HABERFELD: It's true. And Lowe's actually was one of the first hotel chains to start accepting pets. And when you get there your dog has a personalized note from the general manager. They give you a little programme of what's available in your city to see and do, sort of pet-friendly restaurants and places you can go.

And they've also created this entire menu for your dog or your cat, actually, that you can choose from that's veterinarian approved. They've really taken a lot of care in taking care of your pet.

KAGAN: Now, we should say you're paying for all this stuff. It's not free, right?

HABERFELD: Actually, some of it's free, and some of it you pay for. It depends on the chain, it depends on sort of what you're getting. But, you know, some things it's actually free to bring your pet.

KAGAN: The Peninsula Hotels, they're worried that Fido -- or in my case, Darla Louise -- is cooped up in that hotel room and wants a little bit of entertainment. So they have dog-themed movies.

HABERFELD: They do. They'll send you dog-themed videos. They actually have private walkers that will take care of you.

And they have this amazing sort of -- it's a green canvas bed that's stuffed. It's very soft, but it's stuffed with smelly -- nice- smelling cedar chips. So it's a really nice place for your dog to sleep. So they sort of take care of the dog all the way from walking around the city to when it's sleeping.

KAGAN: The Starwood Hotels are thinking about toys, and thinking about what kind of toy your dog might like.

HABERFELD: Actually, my favorite thing about Starwood is that they give a dog little mini bathrobes, which I think is so fabulous.

They'll also make them sirloin steak and serve it on china. They do all sorts of things. They have private walkers that they can hire. They also -- the same way that you have, you know, little mints on your pillow, they'll do nightly turndown service for your dog, which I think is very funny.

KAGAN: And not to be outdone, the Sofitel (ph) Hotels have doggie spa.

HABERFELD: Sofitel, the Water Tower in Chicago, they have a doggie spa that will come and pick up your dog for the day so that, you know, while you're going to the hotel spa the dog can also have a sort of day spa, and then they'll bring them back all clean and fluffy and ready for a night out, maybe. So they really got it down. And they also do this whole sort of gift basket, which is extra. But it's sort of biscotti and bagel bones for dogs. So they have all sorts of little treats that they can bake for you.

KAGAN: And finally, are we just talking dogs? I also have a three-legged cat at home who might like to take a little trip.

HABERFELD: No, actually cats can come, too. They're totally taken care of also. They get little aromatherapy fur spritzes and all sorts of different spa treatments. Starwood actually does in-room massages. So there's definitely things for cats as well as for dogs.

KAGAN: Well I think Tripod's aromatherapy choice would be fish.

HABERFELD: That's right. Exactly.

KAGAN: That would be copacetic.

Caroline, thank you so much for taking care of dogs and our cats on a little trip there and telling us what is out there for pet- friendly travel. You can see more of that of course in "Departures" magazine.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com