How to Optimize Your Kennel Occupancy Rate

Home › Blog › How to Optimize Your Kennel Occupancy Rate

Kennel occupancy rate is the most important metric in dog boarding. A kennel running at 40% occupancy and one at 80% occupancy have the same fixed costs — but radically different profitability. Improving this number is the highest-leverage thing most boarding operators can do.

How to Calculate Your Occupancy Rate

Occupancy rate = (dog-nights delivered / total available dog-nights) × 100

If you have 20 kennels and operated for 30 days, you have 600 available dog-nights. If your total dog-nights boarded was 420, your occupancy rate was 70%.

Track this monthly. Track it by kennel type (standard vs. deluxe) separately. The number tells you whether you have a capacity problem or a demand problem.

What Good Looks Like

• Under 50%: Demand problem. Your marketing or reputation isn't generating enough clients.
• 50–70%: Healthy baseline. Room to grow without adding infrastructure.
• 70–85%: Strong performance. This is where profitability really compounds.
• 85–95%: Excellent. You're getting close to capacity — start planning expansion.
• 95%+: You're turning away clients. Expand or raise prices.

Levers to Increase Occupancy

1. Fill shoulder seasons aggressively. Holidays fill themselves. Target non-holiday long weekends, school breaks, and business travel seasons with specific promotions.
2. Build a recurring boarding base. Clients who board every time they travel are your most predictable revenue. Identify them and treat them exceptionally well.
3. Improve your Google presence. Most first-time boarding clients find you through Google. More reviews + better photos = more inquiries.
4. Add add-on revenue. Even at the same occupancy, adding $20/night in add-ons (extra walks, photo updates, baths at checkout) significantly improves profitability.
5. Reduce cancellations. Track your cancellation rate. A deposit requirement reduces last-minute cancellations that leave kennels empty during peak periods.

Using Occupancy Data to Make Decisions

Your occupancy data answers the two most important strategic questions:

• Should I expand? Only if your 60-day forward occupancy rate is consistently above 80%.
• Should I raise prices? If you're consistently above 85% and turning clients away, yes — immediately.