A kiwi-and-oatmeal treatment awaits visitors to the luxury resort and spa located off Little Rock's Rebsamen Park Road.
New Age music is piped into individual suites to help set the mood. A stylist who once served clients in a posh West Hollywood, Calif., salon is available by appointment.
High-end meals and snacks with all-natural ingredients are offered.
For dogs. This place is for dogs.
Hounds Lounge Pet Resort and Spa opened five months ago with the aim of providing "a vacation for dogs," owner Justin Harris said. Opening a resort and spa -- for pets -- was the culmination of nearly four years of planning by Harris and Mandy Marshall.
"We don't have kids ourselves. We realize how valuable pets are in our lives and the lives of others. They're an extension of our families," Harris said. "People will spend almost as much disposable income on their dogs as on themselves, man. That's what we're selling here. Pet parents go on vacation. Why can't the dogs go on vacation as well?"
Harris isn't wrong about people's willingness to spend on their pets. More than $60 billion was spent on food, veterinary care and pet services like grooming and boarding in 2015, according to the American Pet Products Association.
Between 2014 and 2015 the pet services sector grew 11.8 percent to $5.41 billion. It was expected to reach $5.73 billion this year.
A 2015 Mintel Research survey of pet owners in the U.S. found that 62 percent view pets as family members.
Developing a high-end grooming and boarding business was born from years of frustration with options that existed in Little Rock. Specifically, Harris said he grew tired of lugging their red Doberman pinschers, London and Hemingway, out west for grooming and boarding.
After years of looking for the right place they eventually settled on 6,000 square feet of space -- about half what they envisioned -- formerly occupied by building materials supplier JE Allen Co. Warehouse space in the back of the building is now used as a play area for dogs.
Locating at 1711 Rebsamen Park Road was also a bit of a compromise for the couple who initially thought their concept would be best suited downtown. Moses Tucker Real Estate vice president of commercial brokerage John Martin sold the two on a space closer to midtown than downtown. Hounds Lounge is about 1½ miles from the largest municipal dog park in Little Rock and located near thousands of apartment dwellers in addition to the large number of single-family residents living in Hillcrest and Capitol View.
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Hounds Lounge is staffed 24 hours a day. That means any animals boarded are under round-the-clock supervision -- even when sleeping. A self-service wash area is available for customers from 7 a.m. until 7 p.m. weekdays.
An initial investment of $400,000 has Hounds Lounge up and running. Marshall and Harris are spending another $7,000 on outdoor turf to "create a cleaner space for our furry friends" and cut down on the upkeep needed for a yard.
Help building the business plan came from using free services at the Arkansas Small Business and Technology Development Center at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock. Similar centers operate on campuses at Arkansas State University, Arkansas Tech University, Henderson State University, Southern Arkansas University and the University of Arkansas campuses at Fayetteville and Monticello.
Hounds Lounge has about 15 employees, 11 of whom are full-time. Approximately 130 dogs can be boarded during the day and each of the 43 "suites" can comfortably hold two dogs for overnight stays.
Prices for services include $39.99 for an overnight stay -- there are discounts for multiple dogs -- to $150 for 10 self-washes of dogs larger than 20 pounds. Brushing teeth is $6 and a nail trim is $15. Doggie daycare rates range from $19 per day to $450 for a 30-day package.
"We decided we could offer a service that other places in town were doing, but do it better. People will pay," Marshall said. "And we're doing it in an underserved market. This area of town has really, really needed this."
If you have a tip, call Chris Bahn at (501) 378-3518 or email him at cbahn@arkansasonline.com
SundayMonday Business on 12/11/2016