December, Easter, the summer holidays. Every peak season goes the same way: the phone never stops, owners want to lock in a spot weeks ahead and the front desk ends up keeping reservations in a notebook, a chat and the memory of whoever took the call.
Then the day arrives. Three pets nobody expected, a kennel two people promised, an owner who asked for their dog to be collected and nobody wrote it down.
Three things that bring order to peak season
1. Reservations in the system, not in a notebook
A reservation should live in the same place where the stay is later registered. That way the whole team sees the same information, and Saturday’s front desk knows what Tuesday’s promised.
2. Care details are asked once
Allergies, feeding, whether the pet is aggressive. These are the details that prevent a problem at three in the morning, and the ones owners hate repeating every visit.
3. Transport is planned, not improvised
Home pickup and drop-off is a service owners value highly in travel season. But it only works if the driver has the day’s list with times and addresses.
How Vetzilla handles it
Reservations that don’t hold kennels too early
From Boarding / Hotel you create a reservation with the pet, the dates and the service. Nothing is charged and no kennel is blocked: that happens when the pet arrives. The Upcoming tab shows the full week, with how many arrivals and departures each day has.
Check-in in seconds
When the pet arrives, “Register arrival” only asks for the kennel and the invoice. The dates and the service were already on the reservation. The boarding line is added to the invoice automatically, and everything the pet uses during the stay is added there too, to be paid once at departure.
A care profile that travels with the pet
Every pet keeps its allergies, its feeding and whether it is aggressive. When you reserve, those details fill themselves in. If something changed, correct it and decide whether to update the profile for next time.
Transport with a run sheet
When you reserve, pick pickup, drop-off or round trip, with address and time. If you charge for it, the trip is added to the same invoice as the stay. The Transport tab gives you the day’s list sorted by time, with the owner’s phone and a map link.
Good practice for peak season
Review the week every Monday. The Upcoming tab tells you which days are busy. Use it to plan staff and space before it is too late.
Watch capacity yourself. The system does not block a reservation for lack of space. Before confirming on peak dates, check how many arrivals that day already has.
Confirm with the owner the day before. A quick call or WhatsApp cuts no-shows and lets you free the spot if plans change.
Charge for transport. It is a service with a real cost: fuel, time and a person away from the clinic. Price it in your catalog.
Less improvising, more capacity
Peak season is the best opportunity of the year for a clinic’s boarding area. What usually limits it isn’t space, it is disorder. With reservations, care profiles and transport in the same system, your team looks after more pets with fewer surprises.
Frequently asked questions
How do I avoid overbooking my boarding kennels?
Before confirming a reservation on peak dates, compare that day’s arrivals with your available kennels. In Vetzilla, the Upcoming tab shows each day’s arrivals and departures for the week. The system does not block a reservation for capacity, so that check is yours.
What should I ask for when a pet checks into boarding?
At minimum: allergies, feeding (brand, portion and times), scheduled medication, whether the pet is in heat or aggressive, and an owner contact number for the duration of the stay.
Should I charge for pet transport?
Yes. It has a real cost in fuel, time and staff away from the clinic. Charging per trip, and double for a round trip, keeps the service profitable and easy to explain.
Should I take a deposit on reservations?
Many boarding businesses ask for one on peak dates to cut no-shows. It is your clinic’s call: Vetzilla does not record deposits on a reservation, billing starts at check-in.
Read the Reservations and Transport documentation to set it up at your clinic.