| Pets in yurts and cabins |
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| The pilot project |
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Reservations can be made by phone (1-800-452-5687) for stays through Sept. 30, 2010, at the following parks:
- South Beach (one rustic yurt, site A-30)
- Stub Stewart (one rustic cabin, site 8)
- LaPine (one rustic cabin, site 1, and one deluxe cabin, site 44)
Extra fee of $10 per night. Limit 2 pets. Pets are defined as cats and dogs.
During the pilot project, we will carefully monitor how pets affect the yurts and cabins – wear and tear, cost to clean, the reactions of other visitors – and make a statewide decision based on the results. That final statewide decision could still be to keep the existing pet rule, or to open up a small number of yurts and cabins statewide to people with pets.
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| The Pet Survey |
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A whopping 10,000 of you wanted a say in our policy about allowing pets in yurts and cabins in Oregon State Parks. Right now, all animals (except service animals) are completely prohibited in the 250 yurts and cabins across the state. In the past few years, a growing number of customers have asked us to reconsider the ban.
The Surveys
We conducted two surveys from Sept-Oct, 2007: one online, and one by phone with current state park reservation customers. More than 10,000 people responded in total, with the online survey gathering more than 90% of the responses.
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| What you said |
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People feel strongly about this issue. In the online survey, 81% of pet-owning respondents disagreed with the current prohibition, and 15% agreed with it. Non-pet owners generally agreed with the policy (69%), though a fair number disagreed with the restriction (27%). Phone survey results from our current customers were similar, but less dramatic: 59% of pet owners disagree with the pet prohibition, and 30% agree with it. More than a quarter of non-pet owners — 28% — disagree with the restriction, and 40% agree with it.
When asked if the “no pets” policy kept them from booking a yurt or cabin in the past, 71% of the online respondents said “yes,” as did 45% of our current reservation customers.
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| The big factors |
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Pet owners want the option to bring their animals when they camp. Others are worried that allowing pets inside yurts and cabins will lead to a drop in the high standard we set for cleanliness and well-kept facilities.
Will permitting pets enable new campers to experience an Oregon state park? If we allow pets, will it be harder or more expensive to keep yurts and cabins clean and in good repair? Will some people feel less satisfied with yurts and cabins? Surveys are all well and good, but they don’t predict the future very well on complicated questions like these.
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| About being fair |
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Our goal is not to rent more yurts and cabins. They operate close to capacity now. The experience of camping in a yurt or cabin is unique, and the chance to do so should be available to as many people as possible. We believe customers with pets should have a fair chance to rent a yurt or cabins―subject to some restrictions, and subject to assessing how well it all works.
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