Hilton 'hearts' pets

The credit crunch is getting crunchier, the high euro has put Europe out of bounds and carbon-guilt about getting to America has taken the shine off those cut-price dollars, so now seems the perfect time for... Hilton's new "pet friendly" hotels.

From this summer on, visitors to the Hilton chain will be able to take advantage of stain- and water-resistant pet beds, special treats and pet concierge services. Thanks to the Hilton group, owners and their pets no longer need suffer the expense and indignity of kennels (which I imagine are pretty undignified, actually).

But it seems to me there are two things wrong here: firstly the increasing trend of treating animals like they are humans - or worse, dolls (I realized it was time to stop living in Japan when I saw a dog without any clothes on - and found myself worrying if it might be cold) - and secondly, that it seems so out of tune with what's going on in the world. It's almost as if the Hilton group were actually run by Paris Hilton - you can just imagine her sitting pool-side in Beverley Hills mulling it over with Nicole Ritchie: What do those little people out there really want Nicole? OMG! Somewhere for their Chihuahua!

And it was so close to being a totally awesome idea - except we all know that there is no better pet hotel than a Gucci handbag.