I dislike boarding as I think it’s a stressful experience for nearly all dogs. If we can’t take our dog we take him to a friend who does pet sitting in her home or to a family member. I do try to travel with our pups if it’s the kind of vacation where they can be included (camping/hiking, beach). That said we have a puppy and while we took him on vacation with us, he only went to the beach like 3 or 4 times and was crated when we left the house. Traveling with him required a lot more gear and planning, though (we have a 42” crate because he’s huge!!), and is no one helped me, I would threaten to board the dog to get more help. That said, if staying in a hotel I probably wouldn’t take the dog because you really can’t leave them in a hotel alone like you could in a house (even crated I think the risk of barking while you’re gone or someone coming in is too great in a hotel). Most places don’t even allow you to leave the dog in the room when you leave anyway.