One of the many great things about opening a dog daycare is that you get to spend your days with the sweetest dogs in town. While it's an exciting business endeavor, there are many items to manage, including the occupancy.

At a doggy daycare, you will be dealing with large groups of dogs at one time. With that many dogs, you have to be mindful of the environment to ensure it is safe for you, your employees, and the pups. 

Why is occupancy management important to doggie daycare facilities?

Occupancy management is important for doggie daycare facilities because it helps ensure that the facility operates at its most efficient level. By carefully managing the number of dogs in the facility, pet professionals can avoid overcrowding and reduce the potential for dog fights.

Additionally, occupancy management can help ensure that the facility meets its customers' needs by providing enough space for dogs to play and socialize.

Managing your occupancy management primarily ensures operational efficiency, but it can also help ensure your business maximizes its success. Staying on top of how many dogs you have coming in can help you better understand whether you can take on more clients and increase your profits.

Planning for seasonal fluctuations. 

As with most businesses, your doggy daycare will likely experience seasonal fluctuations. During quieter seasons, your occupancy rate will likely decrease, which can impact your revenue. Planning for seasonal fluctuations should have you prepared for an increase or decrease to cover your overheads all year round.

Seasonal fluctuations are usually tied to:

• Changing of the weather: In extreme weather conditions, such as really harsh winters or really hot summers, pet parents may be more inclined to keep their pets at home.
• Vacation and travel seasons: Usually during the summer months,  holiday weekends, or school breaks, pet owners will be taking their dogs with them on vacation or using pet boarding facilities.
• Seasonal jobs and schedules: If your clients have seasonal schedules like teachers who get the summer off, they may not want to use a dog daycare and prefer to keep their pups at home instead.

Finding your business’s busy season.

If you use a dog daycare software, you can utilize the reporting features to find your peak times of the year. Review data for past months and similar seasons over the years you've been in business. Look for patterns to predict future trends and prepare accordingly. 

If you've only just opened, there are ways you can get a feel for what to expect:

• The market research you performed as part of your dog daycare business plan can come in handy when you're planning for seasonal fluctuations. 
• Partner with other pet business owners to learn more about what to expect throughout the year. 
• Research your community to learn about schedules, the needs of dog daycares in your market, the typical occupation, and more.

Planning for seasonal fluctuations is not straightforward, and sudden changes in the economy can impact your business. But with market research, data analytics, and trends, you can be as best prepared as possible for anything that comes your way.

Doggy daycare occupancy requirements.

Your doggy daycare facility will likely have to adhere to occupancy requirements. These requirements are usually set by your local government and are often attached to your business license. 

Occupancy requirements stipulate how many dogs you can have on your premises at any given time. In some instances, your business license might also state how many dogs are allowed per 1 staff member. 

Additional requirements that your doggy daycare may need to follow are spatial requirements. Some local governments have minimum space requirements for dogs that pet care businesses have to follow. These requirements stipulate that dogs in your care have enough space to stand up, turn around, and lie down when in a kennel. 

By having effective occupancy management, you can ensure safety is always a priority. 

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Why use a dog daycare software for occupancy management?

Your doggy daycare has so many moving parts every day, it can get overwhelming. You’re constantly having dogs come in and out, managing schedules, and ensuring enough coverage. Certain pet care software can take the hassle out of your occupancy management to give you one less thing to worry about.

Occupancy management software features can help you to:

• Put limits on the number of dogs that can be scheduled for one day. 
• Track where each dog is within your dog daycare facility to prevent overcrowding in one room.
• Schedule employees to ensure the staffing requirements are adhered to.
•  Create marketing campaigns to be sent prior to busy seasons.

By using a kennel software,  you can ensure your business complies with regulations and is a safe work environment for your employees, yourself, and the pups.

7 PetExec occupancy management features for dog daycares.

PetExec, the doggy daycare software, is a staple tool in many pet care businesses. With a whole suite of features, you can run your entire business from one centralized software tool. The cloud-based software can streamline and automate your occupancy management to prevent overbooking and ensure the safety of everyone in your facility. 

1. Calendar. 

The calendar feature allows you to see customer appointments and employee scheduling at a quick glance. You can see which dogs you have for the day, color code the appointments, and set up notes for each dog. If you separate neutered and unneutered dogs in your pet daycare, you can quickly see which dogs are coming in and whether you’ll need to separate certain ones. 

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2. Play area manager. 

Keep an eye on playtime and daycare activities from your connected devices at any time. You can move dogs around your facility electronically to ensure each dog receives the necessary indoor and outdoor activities. As PetExec is a cloud-based software, all devices remain synced which means 1 employee in 1 play area will know what's happening in the other play areas. 

3. Employee management. 

Occupancy management is not just for your furry clients. You have to manage the occupancy for your employees, too. With the employee management feature, you can check employee's schedules, manage daily tasks and locations, schedule breaks and lunches, and more. With this feature, you can ensure you have enough coverage each day and that each staff member doesn’t exceed the number of dogs they can look after at 1 time.

4. Reporting and analytics. 

Managing your occupancy, you have to keep track of trends and schedules for your business. With reporting, you can review trends during specific time periods, review demand for services you offer, and determine when your on and off seasons are. This allows you to make informed decisions to increase revenue and grow your bottom line. 

5. Quick check-in. 

The quick check-in feature is convenient for your employees and clients as they check in their pups for the day. You can customize the options and easily keep track of the dogs who have checked in and who might not have shown up for the day as scheduled.

6. Marketing campaigns.

PetExec can look after your marketing campaigns during off-seasons so you can focus on your operations during the on-seasons. You can send fully customized emails prior to the busy season to get in front of your customers' eyes before your competitors do. 

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7. Guaranteed cash flow. 

Pet care businesses affected by seasonal fluctuations know the struggles of covering overhead costs during the low seasons. PetExec can help keep the cash flowing by limiting clients from booking without paying a deposit. Collecting deposits at the time clients book for future dates means you can keep the revenue flowing through the off-seasons and take the stress out of off-season expenses.  

Final thoughts. 

Occupancy management is very important for doggy daycares. From preventing dog fights to ensuring compliance with regulations, running a dog daycare facility is no easy feat. 

By choosing a pet care software like PetExec, you can automate your occupancy management tasks to maximize profit without exceeding your capacity limits. 

To learn more about how PetExec can handle all your pet business needs, book a free demo today!

Commonly asked questions.

How to start a dog daycare?

Starting a dog daycare requires experience working with dogs. Research your state's legal requirements, apply for permits and business licenses, choose a location, purchase dog daycare insurance, hire employees, and market your dog daycare.

How much space do dogs need?

According to the USDA, the space requirement for dogs is to have enough space for each dog to stand, turn around freely, and lie down comfortably. The height should be at least 6 inches from the tallest dog in the enclosure. 

How many dogs per employee?

There is no set rule for how many dogs per employee so it will depend on your local government’s requirements, but a common standard is 10-15 dogs per employee.