Pet gifts specialist wins hotel industry award

Preston-based Pet Hamper, which specialises in luxury toys and treats, has been recognised as the hotel industry’s favourite supplier at the Hoteliers Choice Awards.

Pet Hamper was launched during the Covid-19 pandemic when co-founder Mark Jackson was unable to find suitably special gifts for his friends and their pets - so he set up his own online shop.

After proving popular with customers, the company  soon secured a number of agreements with corporations - including a string of hotels which now offer Pet Hamper gifts to their guests.

Pet Hamper works with venues including the Prince Akatoki London, The Elms Hotel & Spa, The Corner London and the Everything Retreat as well as PetsPyjamas, the booking platform which helps owners find and book pet-friendly holidays.

With more than half of UK households now owning pets and more than a third saying they’d rather stay home than holiday without their pets, a growing number of hotels are becoming pet-friendly destinations.

Pet Hamper now supplies hotels with a range of gifts, from individual fun toys and healthy treats to hampers wrapped in bespoke branding and colourways.

This ideas has seen the company win the Hoteliers Choice Award as the industry’s favourite supplier. The prize includes a £5,000 stand and marketing package at the Independent Hotel Show London.

The category attracted hundreds of nominations, with a panel of expert judges selecting the shortlist and the public voting for their overall winner.

The judges of the award included editors from Boutique Hotelier magazine, Condé Nast and the chief executive of Pride of Britain.

Among those championing the case for Pet Hamper was Petra Clayton, chief executive of hospitality marketing experts Custard, who said: “Everyone loves animals, so I was instantly drawn in and loved the personalised touch using their dog Barney. 

“Pet Hamper is a proper British business, doing something very simple but relevant, especially now.”

Mark Jackson, co-founder of Pet Hamper, said: “It’s been a whirlwind journey from launching the business just a few years ago, to starting to work with all these incredible hotels, to now winning this national award against some fierce competition.

“Our goal is to make pets and their owners happy and that’s really resonated with the UK public - especially the hotel sector. We’re thrilled and proud to have won, and we can’t wait to take up our place at the Independent Hotel Show London which is a great opportunity for us to meet many more hotels and grow our business even further.”