Prices usually increase by around 50 percent during major holidays such as Spring Festival, said Kong Lingqi, who runs a pet grooming business in Tongzhou district in eastern Beijing.

"We received phone inquiries about boarding or home services a month before Spring Festival," Kong said.

Most of the inquirers were regular customers of Kong's shop.

Hong Tao, vice-chairman of the China Consumer Economics Society, said that pet-related consumption is a modern consumer phenomenon. The strong demand for pet boarding during Spring Festival is inevitable and businesses incur costs to provide services and must set prices based on supply and demand.