Morgan Owens, a wellness, media and lifestyle entrepreneur, recently checked herself and her seven-year-old bichon frise, Ralph, in for a staycation at The Lytle Park Hotel in Cincinnati, Ohio.

There, they watched Netflix and dined on room service. Owens got a massage at Mitchell’s Salon & Day Spa across the street, and Ralph literally touched grass in all the green spaces. 

“I’ve been so work-focused – our generation, we have been through Covid-19, diversity, equity and inclusion, funds were recently pulled from my business, the list goes on – so the last thing on my mind has been having a child,” she says.

The 40-year-old may be in a committed, cohabitating relationship, but when it comes down to choosing between solace and planning for kids, “I’m going to swing towards the luxury hotel”. Provided Ralph can come along.

Couples known as Dinkwads – double income, no kids, with a dog – are becoming a potent force in travel. Forgoing kids because they do not want them, or still cannot afford them despite the dual income, these couples are filling that emotional space with pets to the point of treating them like children. And hotels are stepping up to meet the modern family by providing more canine-inclusive luxury services, from gourmet dog menus to fur baby-tailored spas. 

“The US is a quite hostile place for raising children. There are so few supports for families, everything from high costs of daycare to limited protection for parental leave. The cost of everything has gone up,” says Lindsay Bryan-Podvin, a financial therapist with a weekly newsletter who is in her late 30s. “I’m seeing more people choose to stay, or come to terms with staying, in a Dinkwad relationship.”

Some 53 per cent of Americans owned pets in 2025, with millennials making up the largest percentage, according to an American Pet Products Association report.

Pet industry expenditures are projected to reach US$165 billion (S$213.5 billion) in 2026, up from US$158 billion in 2025. Per a recent survey by investment bank Morgan St...