Holiday Inn pet policy: Holiday Inn Express, Staybridge, Candlewood and more
Short answer: IHG doesn't have one Holiday Inn pet policy. Each hotel sets its own fee, weight limit and number of pets, and some Holiday Inn Express hotels don't take pets at all. Every Staybridge Suites and Candlewood Suites hotel in the Americas takes pets, with fees and weight limits set by the hotel. At the 14 pet-friendly hotels we checked, most allowed 2 pets, weight limits ran from 25 lb to 125 lb, and two Holiday Inn Express hotels list no weight limit. Check the hotel's own ihg.com page before you book.
IHG at a glance
IHG Hotels & Resorts (Holiday Inn family and extended-stay brands)
Set by each hotel
Max pets / room
No brand-wide limit published. Most hotels we checked: 2. One lists 3, one lists no limit, one allows 1
3+ dogs?
Not brand-wide. Holiday Inn Express Knoxville Downtown lists 3 pets; ask the hotel
Weight limit
No brand-wide limit. Hotels we checked: 25–125 lb, and two list none
Fee
Set by each hotel, non-refundable. Hotels we checked: $25–$50 a night, or $75 (1–6 nights) / $150 (7+ nights) per stay
Deposit
Not stated — call property. Some hotel pages list a “pet damage deposit” field
Breed limits
Not stated — call property
Kinds of pets
Varies: dogs only, dogs and cats, or “all pets”
Leaving pets alone
Staybridge & Candlewood: allowed, crated if you leave the hotel. Holiday Inn & Holiday Inn Express: Not stated — call property
Service animals
Brand pages: Not stated — call property. Two hotels we checked: no charge
Which hotels?
All Staybridge Suites and Candlewood Suites in the Americas. Holiday Inn and Holiday Inn Express: some hotels only
What IHG’s own brand pages say. Only Staybridge Suites and Candlewood Suites publish a brand pet policy, and both leave the fee and weight limit to each hotel.
Staybridge Suites
Every hotel in the Americas takes pets
Pets accepted?
“All Staybridge Suites hotels in the Americas are pet friendly” (brand page). Elsewhere, ask the hotel
Weight limit
“Maximum weight of pet varies by property”
Fee
Non-refundable; “Fees vary per hotel”
Number of pets
Not on the brand page. Not stated — call property
Leaving pets alone
Allowed. If you leave the hotel, the pet must be in a crate or carrier
House rules
Vaccination records on request; “Pet In Suite” magnet on your door; no pets in the Great Room, fitness center, food areas or pool; leash outside the suite; take the pet out before housekeeping
How to book
Book, then call the hotel with your confirmation number and ask them to add your pet
IHG doesn't publish a brand-wide weight limit. The limits we found ran from 25 lb to 125 lb, and two Holiday Inn Express hotels (Mount Airy and Casa Grande) list no weight limit per pet. For a big dog, the hotel matters more than the brand:
Staybridge and Candlewood: 3 of the 6 we checked allow up to 80 lb. Others stop at 50 lb, and Candlewood Times Square at 25 lb.
Holiday Inn: the 4 full-service Holiday Inns we checked were the strictest, at 30–50 lb.
Holiday Inn Express: the widest range, from no weight limit to “no pets.”
Hotel Indigo Asheville lists the highest limit we found, 125 lb, but only 1 pet.
Most pages give one weight figure without saying whether it's per pet or combined. Staybridge Sterling Heights and Candlewood Times Square say per pet. If your dogs are near the limit, ask the hotel.
IHG doesn't set a brand-wide pet limit. Most hotels we checked list 2 pets, but two list more: Holiday Inn Express & Suites Knoxville Downtown lists 3 pets (75 lb, dogs and cats), and Holiday Inn Little Rock-Presidential lists no limit on number (40 lb). Call the hotel, give the number and weight of your dogs, and ask them to note it on your reservation. Outside IHG, see hotel chains that allow 3 or more dogs.
How IHG pet fees work
Each hotel sets its own fee. Every fee description we read called it non-refundable. They came in three shapes:
Flat, by length of stay: $75 for 1–6 nights and $150 for 7+ nights at most Staybridge and Candlewood hotels we checked. San Antonio and Kenosha charge it per pet.
Per night: $25–$35 at most Holiday Inn and Holiday Inn Express hotels we checked (Sioux Falls: $25 per pet, per day).
Mixed: Mount Airy charges $50 for the first 3 nights, then $25 a night.
Our arithmetic, before tax:
2 dogs, 5 nights at Staybridge San Antonio: $150 ($75 × 2)
2 dogs, 10 nights at Staybridge San Antonio: $300 ($150 × 2)
1 dog, 5 nights at Holiday Inn Express Mount Airy: $100 ($50 + 2 × $25)
1 dog, 3 nights at Holiday Inn Express Knoxville: $105 ($35 × 3)
On several pages, the fee field and the written description disagree (Little Rock, Candlewood Times Square, Hotel Indigo Asheville). Some pages also list a “pet damage deposit” next to a non-refundable fee. Ask the hotel which amount applies, whether it's per pet or per room, and whether any of it is refundable.
What 15 IHG hotels actually list
Each IHG hotel shows its own rules in the “Pet policy” part of its official ihg.com page: a short description plus fields for fee, weight limit, number of pets and kinds of pets. These are property-specific examples read on Oct 28, 2026, quoted as the hotels write them, sorted from highest weight limit to lowest. They are not brand rules.
Holiday Inn Express & Suites Mount Airy, NC (property-specific)
No weight limit listed
Fee
$50 plus tax for the first 3 nights, then $25 plus tax each night after
The Staybridge and Candlewood brand pet pages don't mention service animals. Two hotel pages do: Holiday Inn & Suites Sioux Falls - Airport says there's no charge for service animals, and Hotel Indigo Asheville says trained service animals are welcome at no charge but emotional support animals pay the pet fee. Elsewhere, ask the hotel.
Before you book
Open the hotel’s own ihg.com page and read “Pet policy” (on the hotel page or its Amenities tab). That’s where the fee, weight and pet limit are.
Read both the description and the fields. They don’t always match. If they differ, call the hotel.
Call the hotel after booking with your confirmation number and ask them to add your pets, as Staybridge and Candlewood ask.
Don’t assume a Holiday Inn Express takes pets. Some don’t.
Ask whether the fee is per pet or per room, and whether any “deposit” is refundable.
Bring a crate if you’ll leave your dog in a Staybridge or Candlewood suite while you’re away from the hotel.
Using a service animal? Ask the hotel; the brand pages don’t say.
Where each fact comes from
All checked Oct 28, 2026, read directly on IHG’s own website (ihg.com) with an automated page reader. No search-engine copies were used.
Every value comes from the chain's own website, checked on the date shown. "Not stated — call property" means the official source doesn't say. Policies change and individual hotels can differ, so confirm with the hotel before you book.