Why Luxury Pet Spas Sit Empty: A Groomer’s Blueprint

Walk through almost any new luxury apartment community and you’ll find a pet spa on the amenity list: tiled walls, a raised tub, a nice photo in the leasing brochure. Developers put real money into these rooms. Many of them end up used as storage, or cycled through a rotating cast of vendors who never stick around.

I’ve spent 15 years grooming dogs, and I’m the founder of SavyTails. When I walk into these rooms, I see spaces designed to be photographed — not worked in.

The Problem Was Never Demand

Residents want on-site pet care, and one of the best-known attempts to deliver it proves the point. Baroo, a Boston-based startup, partnered with luxury apartment buildings to offer dog walking, pet sitting, and grooming as a resident amenity. By 2017, it had raised $3.5 million and was operating across 220 properties in four metro areas.

It still didn’t survive. Its founder later explained that the company couldn’t reach profitability quickly enough, and that the staff cuts made in the attempt put too much strain on operations. Residents wanted the service. The model underneath it couldn’t hold.

“Residents wanted the service. The model underneath it couldn’t hold.”

The Labor Model Was the Weak Point

Look at how that labor was structured. Baroo’s founder noted that its pet handlers were hourly employees paid minimum wage, and that 100 of its 125 staff were part-time — while grooming services at those same properties could run as high as $600 per appointment.

I know this dynamic firsthand. Nearly 15 years in this industry has shown me that skilled pet care work is physically and emotionally demanding. Industry-wide, pet care turnover is driven by work that requires real expertise and takes a genuine physical toll — while pay rarely matches. When the most skilled person in the building is treated as interchangeable hourly labor, they leave.

And when the groomer leaves, residents stop booking. Pet owners trust the person holding the shears, not the amenity listing.

SavyTails professional in-building dog grooming service at a Charlotte NC luxury apartment community

The Room Is the Other Bottleneck

A pet spa is a workspace. Most are designed by people who have never groomed a dog, and it shows the first time a professional tries to use one. Awkward drain placement, inadequate lighting, tubs at the wrong height, no room to maneuver a nervous large breed — these aren’t cosmetic issues. They make the room harder to work in, which drives skilled groomers out just as fast as poor compensation does.

The fixes usually aren’t expensive. But identifying them requires knowing what to look for, and that knowledge comes from years behind the table.

How SavyTails Addresses Both

The People Problem

We partner with business owners, not hourly employees. SavyTails works with established, independent groomers who run their own businesses. We give them real autonomy over how they work — because professionals who own what they build have every reason to stay, grow their client base, and take genuine care of the residents they serve.

The Room Problem

We evaluate the room before we sign. Every SavyTails partnership begins with a Safety and Sanitation Evaluation of the facility. Problems get identified and addressed before a dog ever goes in the tub — protecting the residents, the groomer, and the property.

What This Means for Your Property

A pet spa only earns its build-out cost if a skilled groomer can work in it safely and has a reason to stay. Get the room right, pair it with a groomer who owns their business, and it becomes an amenity residents actually use — and mention when they decide to renew.

Planning a pet spa, or have one sitting empty? Schedule a facility evaluation with SavyTails before you build or renovate.