Effective Ways Boutique Hotels Can Market Online

5 Effective Ways Boutique Hotels Can Market Online

By Manisha Pathak, Source: Hotelogix

Customer service and one-of-a-kind experience are competitive advantages for boutique hotels. But, what boutique hotels need is a well thought out online marketing strategy. Here are 5 effective online marketing strategies for boutique hotels that can reduce dependency on OTAs and improve direct bookings.

Booking Engines:

Allow direct bookings on your website by offering a simple and quick booking engine.

Showcase rooms in the most attractive way and also utilize the Facebook booking engine as social media is a strong entity.There is a fine line between attracting a customer to your website and making them book. A booking engine is capable of incorporating all the room details and allows you to upsell your value added services.  Your value added services are crucial to winning a direct booking.

Own your Channels:

Make sure to display consistent rates across all channels. Own your website channel and enable pop-up deals for customers that can offer room upgrades, restaurant offers or free tickets to local attractions. Have your hotel listed on TripConnect to get enough traffic to your website. This way you will spend less on the commissions to the OTAs. Napa River Inn in California recently ran a free dinner offer which popped up immediately when you visit their website. This deal would not have been available on an OTA channel, so this is one of many ways to be able to seen more appealing to a customer when deciding which channel to book through.

 Create A Niche: Whilst having a booking engine and offering good deals form a part of the booking conversion, the positioning of your hotel product and what you look like online is what is going to help browsers be attracted to you in the first place. Build an engaging website for your audience and come up with interesting concepts that differentiate you from your competitors.

Be Good Looking: Good looking websites attract a lot of customers. According to a survey, the gallery section of a hotel website attracts 97% customers so having professional photographs will give you great advantage. Apart from hotel pictures, show the attractive locales too. Get a responsive website that will look good on multiple device screens as research by Forbes suggests, “By 2017, 87% of connected device sales will be through smart phones and tablets.”

Be Creative with Your Content: Increase searchability on search engines through blogs, powerful content and videos. Video is the new king of content and a very versatile marketing tool. Videos have viral reach of 77% on Facebook and people remember 50% more from videos compared to 22% with written content.

Hotelogix conducted a webinar on 15 July, 2014 on Online Marketing Strategies for Boutique Hotels. The webinar was held by Nathalie Salas, an acclaimed marketing consultant for start-ups and hospitality clients and an MCIM Chartered Marketer.

A webinar on Online Marketing Strategies for Boutique Hotels

SAN JOSE, Calif., July 10, 2014 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- via PRWEB - Hotelogix will be conducting a webinar on Online Marketing Strategies for Boutique Hotels on Tuesday, the 15th of July, 2014 at 4:00 P.M. GMT. The interactive session will be held by Nathalie Salas, an acclaimed marketing consultant for start-ups and hospitality clients, and an MCIM Chartered Marketer.

As boutique hotels aspire to provide a niche experience with personalized services to make a one-of-a-kind statement, their key focus lies in positioning. They compete with various types of players - luxury brands, budget brands and 5-stars, depending upon their positioning. Their success also lies in impeccable guest service that is expected to be consistent. All these factors directly translate into the technology that they need for positioning of their brand, and having in-house automation tools to help them enhance the guest experience. They also need to be equipped with the right tactics to make their hotel stand out in the online marketplace.

Considering these specific needs of boutique hotels,Hotelogix has invited Nathalie Salas to address the webinar as she has over eleven years of experience working with a variety of large blue-chip and SMEs in Europe and the Middle East. Her work in the boutique hotel sector allows her to collaborate with clients such as OTAs to deliver story-led content for their hotel inventories, as well as act as a hotel reviewer and judge for the Boutique Hotel Awards. Nathalie has also contributed to a number of online and print publications, including Boutique Hotel News, Masquerade (Dubai), Global Citizen (GCC), Hautetime.ae and her own travel site PerfectBoutiqueHotel.com.

Nathalie says "I am passionate about marketing and love helping independent hotels improve their marketing potential. Since Hotelogix also focuses on making hoteliering easy for boutique hotels, I am really looking forward to this webinar. With the online marketing strategies that I provide in the webinar, I hope to enable boutique hotels worldwide to participate and compete confidently in the global marketplace."

Mr. Aditya Sanghi, Co-founder and CEO of Hotelogix states, "In the present technological era, boutique hotels have immense opportunities, provided they position their brand on all the online marketplaces appropriately. The marketing mix and the key success factors for a boutique hotel are unique in its own way. Nathalie who has extensive experience globally is an expert on addressing the needs of boutique hotels and we take pride in having her on our platform. She will discuss the trends and forecasts for hotel online marketing, and help boutique hotels use them effectively to get sustainable results."

Hotelogix constantly strives to find ways and avenues to empower hotels with the latest technology and trends. This webinar is just another medium to spread awareness about the numerous tools available for hoteliers across the globe and how best to use them. 

Roadblocks That Slow Down Boutique Hotels

By Maansi Sanghi    |    by Hotelogix

Boutique hotels are independent properties that offer an unparalleled level bybof luxury and intimacy to guests. Boutique hotels focus more on the comfort of the guest above all else. While these hotels are trying to offer a unique experience to guests, they face unique challenges.

Boutique hotels have to compete with large scale chains that have disposable revenue and worldwide brand power, but they are not at a complete disadvantage. They can be more personal with guests through comments on social media and online travel agency reviews. This level of intimacy is both a blessing and curse for boutique hotels. While it is something they have an edge over large chain hotels, it is a lot of demanding work that often requires an entire position dedicated to the task.

The top three challenges boutique hotels face:

1. Financing. Financers are much more likely to back a branded hotel because they are easier to underwrite. It is also difficult for boutique hotels to gain financing for a property that doesn’t have comparable properties at the price point because there is no baseline – making it harder for boutiques to create a market and break on to the scene.
2. Global distribution systems. Facing major chains and their global branding is difficult for small boutique properties. Although the segment is growing, boutiques don’t have as much accesses to GDS. If hoteliers can’t find the right channel mix, they won’t be able to get the bookings necessary to survive in the industry.
3. Staffing. Because intimacy is a selling point for boutiques, it’s vital to have each and every staff member well trained to cater to the guest’s individual needs. The attention to detail in boutique hotels is even more important and that starts and ends with the staff. Hoteliers should know each staff member individually and be able to offer assistance or additional training to attain the right level of customer service.

These small, independent hotels though have the advantage of being able to switch tracks quickly if something isn’t working, unlike large chains that must abide by the rules of the corporation. With all the advantages a boutique hotel can offer to a customer, they face some unique challenges. There has been a rise in Boutique Properties showing a growing trend towards more intimate and concept destination holidays.

More holidaymakers look for boutique hotels at home than abroad

TravelMole

More holidaymakers look for luxury in the UK than they do when going abroad.

There were three times as many online searches for Lifestyle & Boutique hotels in the UK than in short or long haul destinations combined, according to research.

In the recent Boutique Hotels Sector Report by digital marketing agency Greenlight, it found consumers made a total of 136,650 searches on Google UK for small, fashionable, luxury and trendy hotels in August.

Of the total, 57% were for accommodation in the UK compared to 17% in short-haul and just 3% in long-haul destinations.

'boutique hotels london' was the most queried term, accounting for 7% of searches made for boutique hotels in the UK while four of the top ten most popular search terms were related to London.

Other popular spots for UK boutique hotel searches were Brighton, the Lake District and Edinburgh.

Ibiza, Barcelona, Majorca and Majorca's Puerto Pollensa accounted for 13% of UK searches for short-haul boutique hotels, proving more popular than Paris.

Further afield, the US, particularly New York, Istanbul in Turkey and Singapore, were the prime long-haul locations for boutique hotel searches.

Future of Hotels : Boutique

Future of Hotels : Boutique

By David Wilkening - Travel Mole

The future of hotels is here: Marriott International Inc. has joined nearly all top hotel companies in saying boutique or lifestyle brands are where visitors are expected to stay.

Marriott, the US"s largest hotelier by market value, plans to open its first Edition hotel in Waikiki Beach this October.

"We're interested in getting into the market as fast as we can and with as many as we can," Marriott Chief Executive J.W. "Bill" Marriott said.

Nearly all top hotel companies are unveiling or expanding boutique concepts, according to Reuters. That includes Starwood, Hyatt and Intercontinental.

Undoubtedly, lifestyle hotels are the wave of the future, experts said.

"Boutique hotels can charge as much as 12 percent more than other hotels of similar quality, according to Lodging Advisors LLC, which surveyed the top 15 U.S. markets," Reuters said.

"This heightened experience and individuality is something that I think is the future of the hotel business and other businesses," said hotelier Ian Schrager. "It's really about how it feels."

Just what is the "boutique" hotel segment?

Experts add it is difficult to duplicate or even define it. Such hotels can range from around 100 rooms to 1,000 and from two-star to five.

"You can insult someone by saying their hotel is not a boutique and they think it is," said Robert Mandelbaum, director of research with Colliers PKF Hospitality Research.

Schrager, who opened the Morgans Hotel in 1984, is widely credited as the creator of the modern boutique hotel. But the launch of Starwood's W in 1998 was the first attempt to create a brand around the concept.

"The kinds of (hotels) that I got started with about 25 years ago, there are hundreds of versions of them in virtually every city in the world," Schrager said. "Well, they could have been mine."

Boutique evolved : 5 key trends

Maria-Pia Intini
HNN Columnist
Hotel News Now
Boutique hotels first appeared in 1981 with Anouska Hempel’s Blakes Hotel in London, Ian Schrager’s Morgans Hotel in New York and Kimpton Hotel & Restaurant Group’s first operated property, the Bedford Hotel in San Francisco.
Since the 1980s, boutique hotels have registered a continuous expansion on the wave of the rapid advancement of a new generation of design-conscious and technology-savvy customers increasingly seeking a unique experience instead of a cookie-cutter hotel room.
Using psychographics as opposed to demographics, hotels have shifted from a standardised to a personality-based offer. As an example, California-based Joie de Vivre Hotels’ personality is crafted around the reader-base of a specialist magazine, such as Rolling Stone for the Phoenix Hotel and The New Yorker for Rex Hotel, both of which are in San Francisco.

Maria-Pia Intini

The concept of boutique hotels has evolved with the entrance of chains’ brands such as Edition by Marriott International; W, Aloft and Element by Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide; Indigo by InterContinental Hotels Group; and Andaz by Hyatt Hotels Corporation. Mostly associated with the term “lifestyle,” these hotels provide the same unique experience as boutique hotels but tend to be larger and more formulaic.

Initially the hotel industry was dominated by private owner-operators (with the notable exception of Starwood’s W Hotels). Flexibility in site selection and construction, higher margins than similarly priced luxury hotels, and celebrities’ and media’s halo effect on average daily rates represent the main advantages of owning boutique hotels which, on the other side, have limited economies of scale, costly property updates and high affiliation fees.
Since the 2007-2009 recession, independent hotels have been more open to joining a larger entity to gain access to a larger customer base through global reservation systems and marketing campaigns. Established hotel operators have used their “conversion” brands to grow and capture high entry-barrier sites despite restricted debt and stifled new developments.
With independent hotels and international hotel chains aside, the sector has become extremely competitive and the following five key trends have developed:
1. Outsourced F&B facilities
Partnerships and outsourced food-and-beverage facilities to acclaimed chefs and bartenders generate high revenues, free advertising and additional guests encouraged by chefs’ or bartenders’ reputation. Some good examples are Dos Palillos, run by world-famous El Bulli’s former chef Albert Raurich within the restored 19-century gothic tenement Casa Camper in Barcelona and the globally acclaimed Beijing-focused Mr. Chow within the W Hotel in Miami South Beach.
2. Private clubs
Membership programs and guests-only areas within the hotel replicate most private members clubs’ privacy and exclusivity. As an example, the guests-only recognition program clubNYLO by Texas-based NYLO Hotels offers its guests retreats at check in, special rates, exclusive mailings and advance notice of special events. In London, Soho House has seen significant success from this concept.
3. Authenticity
Boutique hotels are particularly suited to conversions of historic or interesting buildings. Malmaison Hotels Group, for example, focuses on converting existing buildings of architectural interest and character to food-and-wine focused high quality boutique hotels, like the converted prison Malmaison Oxford.  
IndustryAnalysis Ad Will Appear Here
4. Sustainability
Boutique hotels can capitalize on the environmentally sensitive customers in a variety of ways from serving local, seasonal food to allowing guests to control their energy usage. Element by Starwood represents a great example of eco-consciousness mixed with a multisensory experience.
5. Affordable luxury
Brands like Citizen M, Yotel, Standard by André Balazs, Aloft by Starwood, Ace Hotels and the new Z Hotels brand represent the next generation of boutique hotels delivering vibrant design and an energetic guest experience at an affordable price for highly self-sufficient travellers. Some of these companies such as Citizen M, Yotel and Qbic have expanded through off-site modular methods of construction, which are faster and more controllable than traditional construction methods and guarantee a high level of comfort, technology and trendy atmosphere at a very competitive rate.
U.K. boutiques
Significant boutique hotels in the United Kingdom include Malmaison and Hotel du Vin, both owned by property group Marylebone Warwick Balfour; Firmdale Hotels, whose new Dorset Square Hotel in Marylebone is scheduled to open next January; Eton Hotels Group; ABode Hotels; Myhotels; and D&D London, which will open its second London property, South Place Hotel, in January 2013. Campbell Gray Hotels, which established the one Aldwych, is looking for a new London project.
London boutique hotels have experienced a steady growth since 2004 even throughout the recession. According to STR Global, the sister company of HotelNewsNow.com, occupancy increased from 2004 to 2007, growing from 74% in 2004 to almost 80% in 2007, when the increased supply slowed demand growth.
In 2008 the segment saw a drop back to 2005 levels, but in 2009 and 2010 occupancy level rose to 75% and 77%, respectively. Revenue per available room for London's boutique hotels in 2009 and 2010 was £150 (US$239) and £170 (US$271) respectively, compared with a RevPAR of £105 (US$168) and £112 (US$179) for the city's hotels overall. By 2013, London’s boutique hotel sector is expected to double in size with more than 2,500 additional rooms, making the category the fastest growing sector in London.
Conclusion
The competition dictated by the dual presence of both independently-run boutique hotels and chain-operated lifestyle hotels has pushed hoteliers towards finding innovative ways to appeal to guests and create the most memorable experiences.
The boutique sector will continue to grow in the future, mainly in the form of both lifestyle hotels owned and/or operated by chain hotels to penetrate markets with high entry-barriers, like London and New York, and cheap chic hotels for the experiential travellers on the go.

Boutique and independent hotels use Guestline technology to aid revenue management

An increasing number of boutique and independent hotels are implementing Guestline's web-based property management and distribution software to enable more streamlined, cost-effective management processes.

With the boutique hotel sector booming, both small independents and larger hotel groups are realizing the need to invest in the latest technology solutions to ensure they maintain their foothold in this exciting market. Hotels tailored to this sector are opening at an ever-increasing rate, defying tough economic conditions. The combination of Guestline solutions offers these properties a collaborative platform that helps drive room occupancy, increase room rates and improves customer service and management processes. Their cloud-based scalable and multi-functional solutions can be tailored to suit the hotel's bespoke needs and budgets.

The rise in popularity in this market is reflected in the Independent Hotel Show which continues to grow year on year. Taking place in October, the exhibition will showcase the latest technological advances for luxury, boutique and independent hotels, including solutions from Guestline.

Some of the customers who have implemented Guestline software include the newly re-launched Laura Ashley boutique hotel, the Belsfield in the Lake District. This hotel is supported by Rezlynx PMS, distribution channel manager and PCI manager to help increase revenue and optimize occupancy rates. Following the £3.5m refurbishment, the 62 bedroom hotel will soon have advanced conference and banqueting manager, a user-friendly event management solution that will help streamline operations and maximise revenue for their meetings, conferences and events. The PMS solutions which incorporate functions such as conference and banqueting, business analysis reporting, sales ledger and rate management, have also been implemented in its sister hotel The Laura Ashley Manor Hotel, Elstree, Hertfordshire.

FJB Hotels, a collection of four stunning and unique hotels located in Sandbanks and Poole have recently implemented a full suite of Guestline web-based solutions including Rezlynx PMS, distribution channel manager and EPoS till system. Didier Di Mario, Group Revenue Manager for FJB Hotels, said 'We needed to upgrade our PMS, CM and EPoS solutions so it met with a fast growing online market, customer expectations and secured technology to achieve level 1 PCI compliancy. We choose Guestline's solutions and within just a few weeks, we have already seen a significant improvement in the management of our rate and inventory online. The distribution channel manager has helped us maintain rate parity across all platforms (including 3rd party agents) and managed our inventory in real-time, faultlessly integrating it into our PMS.'

Ideal for the hotel groups, the Guestline systems help streamline workflows, increase staff productivity, and provide a single overview of the group – important when managing multiple properties offering both accommodation and spa packages.

Duisdale House Hotel on the Isle of Skye, built in 1865 as a hunting lodge, has been completely transformed into a privately owned chic boutique retreat in recent years, and is supported by a full suite of Guestline solutions including Rezlynx PMS, distribution channel manager, EPoS, PCI manager and Facebook Booking Manager. The software enables the hotel to maximize the yield potential of room stock by offering real time availability to all online sales channels and helps them integrate bookings seamlessly and effectively in their PMS.

The hotel has 18 individually designed hotel bedrooms of varying sizes and room types coming in a range of contemporary styles, some with four posters, but all come complete with the luxury amenities one would expect in a four star boutique hotel in Scotland.

Phil Davidson, Managing Director of Guestline, commented on the growth: "We are supporting an increasing number of independent properties and boutique hotels with our suite of multi-functional solutions. With our comprehensive training and support services, the hotels are fully equipped to maximize the full potential of their properties and grow occupancy levels and streamline management processes."

Mature markets a must for boutique hotels

By Patrick Mayock -Editor in Chief-Hotel News Now

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates—Boutique hotels are more popular than ever, but woe to the investor who establishes such a beachhead on uncharted terrain. For these stylized properties, market maturity matters, according to boutique hotel executives.

“You do need a certain level of maturity in the market,” said Adrian Jossa, co-founder and owner of Muse Hotels de Luxe, which counts five properties in its portfolio. That maturity extends to an established base of hotel inventory and a thriving cultural footprint from which boutique hotels can draw inspiration.

“What’s key in lifestyle- and boutique-type hotels is taking the DNA of what you have in the jurisdiction and the location and transcribing that DNA into something that is locally grown,” Jossa said during a panel titled “The next wave” at last month’s Arabian Hotel Investment Conference. 

For Meliá Hotels International, blazing the trail with the company’s more traditional chains is a prerequisite before adding any of its ME by Meliá hotels, said Martin Ostermann, Meliá’s director of development in the Middle East region.

“Introducing the group with our core brand with Meliá was important to set up infrastructure,” he said. 

Dubai is a case in point of a market marching toward maturation, the executives agreed.

“For many years, Dubai seemed totally based around large, extravagant big-brand hotels,” said Gordon Campbell Gray, founder and chairman of CampbellGray Hotels, which operates the Carlisle Bay in Antigua and the Le Gray in Beirut. “I thought it was no place for a niche market … but I feel as though Dubai has matured; it’s more sophisticated; the art scene’s improved. 

“I really now feel Dubai is ready for a smaller boutique hotel.”

Simon Coombs, president and CEO of Shaza Hotels, offered a different take, arguing a great niche hotel can complement any location, regardless of existing hotel footprint.

“I would like to think of us in all markets and not just saturated markets as a first choice,” he said.

Giving him some confidence, Coombs said, is the brand’s backing of Kempinski, which manages a portfolio of 73 5-star hotels in 31 countries. 

Mostly Middle East 

Middle Eastern destinations dominated the executives’ wish lists for expansion.

“We’re very keen on the Middle East,” Campbell Gray said. He and his team are “always keen on Oman and Jordan.” Other opportunities include projects as far afield as the Galápagos Islands, Switzerland and Palm Beach, Florida.

“With the current focus of Dubai being the tourism focus of the Middle East, it was important for us to enter that market successfully and then branch out,” said Ostermann. 

Meliá is discussing projects in Qatar, Jordan, Oman and Saudi Arabia, he added. 

JA Resorts & Hotels, whose seven properties include five in or near Dubai, has another three planned in the emirate, said COO David Thomson. The company’s development team is also looking to the Indian Ocean, he added. 

Muse is primarily a resort play, although “now we’re working on a very urban product,” Jossa said. 

The United Arab Emirates and Qatar top his wish list, he added. 

Coombs said expansion at Shaza is less predicated on locale and more so focused on traveler trends. 

“We will develop wherever our market wishes to travel,” he said. That includes a new project in Oman, which is set to open later this year. 

Key takeaways

The Middle East focus reflected in the executives’ key panel takeaways.

Jossa made a pitch to investors who’ve worked exclusively with more traditional brands. 

“Partnership in this region is essential in the (Middle East, North Africa) region where you have a lot of very large real estate owners or developers that have a big share of the market,” he said. “… We’re here. We want to participate in creating the DNA of the different locations. Give us the opportunity to partner with yourself. We’re building the essence of cities.”

Campbell Gray reiterated that message.

“If you’re an investor, be confident and go for the individual. … Be confident enough to throw away that safety of that big brand and go with your gut instinct,” he said. 

Coombs stressed the importance of a strong working relationship between owners and brand creators. 

“You have to have a very clear vision of who you are building your hotels for,” he said. 

Boutique segment a distinctive set

Chief Operating Officer, STR
brad@smithtravelresearch.com

by Brad Garner

The boutique hotel segment is outpacing national averages in supply growth, demand growth and all three key performance measures.

Whatever adjective you choose to use—hip, alternative, fresh or unique—boutique hotels are a distinctive and interesting group of hotels to analyze.

While the definition of a boutique hotel can vary widely, most agree that product offerings/assets in this space offer and promote a distinctive, urban/metro, contemporary and avant-garde feel. Disagreements about the definition of “boutique hotel” probably exist among both hoteliers and consumers, stemming from personal taste in FF&E packages (décor), atmosphere and architecture, both exterior and interior.

At STR, we objectively define hotels in the segment as having an actual or estimated room rate (ADR) of $175 or higher and a room count of 150 to 300 rooms. We also include major players in the boutique segment such as: Morgans Hotel Group (previously Ian Schrager Hotels), Kimpton Hotels, Joie de Vivre, Starwood’s W Hotels, recent product offerings from InterContinental Hotels Group’s Hotel Indigo brand, John Russell’s NYLO brand, Starwood’s Aloft and a number of independents that meet the definitional and objective criteria for the segment.

The boutique hotel segment is a collection of approximately 450 properties and 55,650 rooms accounting for less than 1.5 percent of all rooms available for rent in the United States. Growing in popularity and becoming a hip alternative place to stay for business and leisure travelers alike, the segment experienced notable supply growth in excess of 5.0 percent, starting in the late ‘90s and peaking at just over 7.0 percent before 9/11 and the resulting industry downturn. Currently, the 3.8-percent growth in room inventory outpaces the national average of 2.3 percent for the 12 months ending September 2008.

 

A tough operating environment has reduced demand for rooms 0.2 percent nationally while demand growth for boutique properties has grown by 2.5 percent in the latest 12-month period ending September 2008. Despite favorable levels of demand for the segment, the aforementioned 3.8 percent growth in supply yields a 70.6 percent absolute level of occupancy, which is a decline of 1.2 percent from a year ago.

Soft demand/occupancy in this current downturn has, in turn, affected rates. While the industry at large increased rates at just over 4.0 percent, hotels in the boutique segment were able to raise rates by 5.5 percent in the 12-month period ending September 2008.  However, this level of growth was markedly off from the 10.0 percent to 11.0 percent level enjoyed by the segment in both 2006 and most of 2007. The US$130 premium in ADR commanded by boutiques is certainly noteworthy and can be attributed to the distribution and density of product in major metro markets.

 

Revenue per available room growth of 4.2 percent came from the heavy contribution of the 5.5-percent growth in ADR and the 1.2-percent decline in occupancy. More importantly, RevPAR growth for the segment outpaced the national average of 1.7 percent. Similar to the ADR premium enjoyed over industry average, boutiques posted a US$100 premium in the absolute level of RevPAR for the 12 months ending September 2008.

 

 

If we look beyond this hopefully short downturn and into the future, the boutique segment appears poised to post favorable levels of performance and continue to be a viable option to the traditional hotel room and stay. New entrants into the competitive landscape like Aloft, Indigo, NYLO, and Edition—the Marriott/Ian Schrager partnership—will certainly shape this dynamic segment for years to come. Retiring baby boomers, Gen Xers, emerging Gen Yers and those consumers looking to escape big brands will certainly seek alternative, hip and unique surroundings, experiences and aspirations perhaps only a boutique hotel can offer.

Boutiques and branding were a big focus

Carlo Wolff

HNN contributor

MIAMI BEACH, Florida—Boutiques and branding were a big focus during the Lifestyle/Boutique Hotel Development Conference last week.

The conference set independent against chain; lifestyle (which canny hotel veteran Richard Kessler suggested was lower-scale than 3- and 4-star boutiques) against boutique; owner-operator against franchisor. The networking was non-stop, but there was no news of deals, let alone a new brand. Sponsored by Lodging Hospitality magazine in association with HVS Hospitality Management, the event drew some 200, approximately 25 fewer than its 2009 debut.

Improving conditions

Panelists during the “Lifestyle/Boutique Leaders Speak Out” session agreed 2010 is turning out far better than 2009; financing for renovation, conversion and acquisition is starting to free up (but not for new-build); and gateway cities—except for Miami, which experienced a supply increase of nearly 16% since 2008—are beginning to reclaim some of the business they lost in the recession.

During the panel, Kessler, chairman and CEO of The Kessler Collection said he expects to end 2010 with 71% occupancy, up 8% from 2009. While rate is still a problem and banquet sales are down, he predicted revenue per available room increases in the double digits in 2011.

Focus on branding

Seven of Kessler’s 10 properties are affiliated with Marriott International’s new Autograph collection, boosting reservations. Kessler said independents entering into such “soft brand franchises” must deal hard to keep their identities, hold onto their websites, control their design and maintain their personality.

“It’s a tricky decision,” he said. “We have to be careful that our marketplace doesn’t see us as a Marriott-branded property.”

Morgans Hotel Group customers buy their “jeans in a small boutique in Soho,” CEO Fred Kleisner said.

“If they see those jeans in Neiman Marcus, they will burn them.” Boutiques have gone mainstream, he suggested, moving from kinky to legitimate.

He added, “Our top corporate customer happens to be Microsoft.”

Janis Cannon, VP of global brand management at InterContinental Hotels Group and leader of Hotel Indigo, was in the hot seat, defending Indigo against the charge that chains couldn’t create boutiques because “chain” and “unique” can’t coexist.

Cannon said Indigos, while sharing design and operations hallmarks, reflect their locale. Indigos run from 44 to 210 rooms and don’t have the operational problems of a larger hotel, she said, adding Indigo has largely outgrown secondary and tertiary markets and plans to focus on gateway cities like Boston, Los Angeles, and Washington, D.C.

Kleisner wants Morgans in D.C. and Chicago. And Raul Leal, president of the imminent new brand Virgin Hotels, is looking for the “right boxes” in various gateway cities starting in the United States and having “constructive” conversations with lenders.

Desires Hotel (http://www.desireshotels.com/) CEO Richard Millard, like Leal, suggested “human capital” is key and training crucial because the U.S. “is not perceived as the leader in the industry.”

Branding a boutique

Economies of scale and brand equity were stressed during the “Should You Brand a Boutique” breakout panel.

Stephen Brandman, co-owner of Thompson Hotels, emphasized the one-on-one relationship Thompson enters into with its owners, some of whom have “emotional interests in the building.”

The larger the number of properties, the more likely a chain infrastructure would help, said Steve Miller, VP of development for Wyndham Hotel Group. “If you hire a brand to manage, the brand comes with the management.”

He and Kevin Lewis, president of extended-stay brands for Choice Hotels International, suggested if a boutique property is in a good location, has iconic status and does bang-up business, chain affiliation isn’t the right way to go.

Küçük Oteller Derneği'nin London School of Economics'ten (LSE) bir grup master öğrencisi ile yaptığı Araştırma

 

Küçük Oteller Derneği Genel Sekreteri Adnan Mordeniz; bu araştırmanın ortaya çıkardığı bulguların otel sektörünün tüm bileşenleri açısından son derece anlamlı olduğunu belirtti. Dernek olarak üniversitelerle yapılan bu tarz çalışmaları her zaman desteklediklerini belirten Mordeniz; bu araştırmanın, müşteri yorumlarının otellerin performansı açısından ne kadar kritik olduğunu ortaya koyduğunu ifade etti. 

İstanbul'da Küçük Oteller Derneği üyesi 52 otelden alınan veriler ile yapılan çalışmada, Booking.com ve TripAdvisor gibi misafirlerin oteller hakkında yorumlar ve puanlamalar yaptığı sitelerin oda fiyatlarını ciddi şekilde etkilediği ortaya çıktı. 6 ay boyunca fiyat üzerindeki diğer değişkenler sabit tutularak yapılan analizler sonucu; otel puanlamalarındaki 5 üzerinden 1 birimlik artışın oda fiyatlamasında %24'lük bir yükselmeye denk düştüğü gözlendi. Bu oran otellerin misafir memnuniyetini arttırmanın ve bu tarz sitelerde güçlü bir profil oluşturmanın otelciler açısından ne kadar önemli olduğunu vurgulamakta.

Araştırmayı yapan LSE öğrencileri grubu sözcüsü Semih Yaşar Boyacı; daha önceki çalışmalarda pozitif misafir yorumlarının otel doluluk oranlarında artışa yol açtığının ortaya konulduğunu, ancak bu yorumların fiyat üzerindeki etkisinin bilimsel olarak ilk defa araştırıldığını belirtti. Araştırmasında lokasyon, fiyatlandırma, ve misafir oranı bakımından benzer skalada bulunan 52 otelle çalıştığını belirten Boyacı; memnuniyet - fiyat ilişkisini net olarak gözlemlemek için oda sayısı, ortalama giderler ve tesis özellikleri gibi dinamiklerin fiyata olan etkisinin kontrol altında tutulduğunu dile getirdi.

Araştırmanın tamamına Küçük Oteller Derneği sitesinden ulaşabilirsiniz:

Araştırmayı görmek için TIKLAYINIZ 

Top ten boutique hotel future trends for 2014

 Top ten boutique hotel future trends for 2014

by Piers Brown 

Hotels will take inspiration from retailers and use their frontage to greater effect

Hotel receptionists will start wearing Google Glass for guest recognition

Hostels will go increasingly upmarket during the next two years

More retailers will open hotels, such as the Bulgari in London

Introduction to the top 5 boutique hotel trends: video interview

Hotel shopfronting
Hotel frontages will become more competitive places for advertising brands. It's not about an increased number parading affiliation plaques, or a multitude of front door or window stickers displaying the latest hotel recommendation or award for a variety of accolades - they're all too numerous, less noticeable and becoming distracting in nature. The majority are non-revenue generating for the hotelier welcoming the pre-booked guest. Even worse, many promote the very OTAs that take heavy booking commissions - why? That's a discussion for another time but we think there will be an increased focus on incremental direct revenue generation from appropriate third-party advertisers who value the space and a captive hotel guest demographic more. Expect to see more engaging hotel front window 'theatre' and digital brand advertising with heightened social media interaction popping up, particularly in high-value advertiser urban locations. Let's not forget, Selfridges, Oxford Street, London's prime retail store windows are amongst the most expensive in the world for brands to secure - tempted?

OTAs get closer to the hotel guest
These online travel agent technology companies are becoming a huge threat to direct hotel bookings, achieving expanding market share with heavy investment and increased customer (guest) loyalty based on price attractiveness. Price will remain a dominating factor. Expect to see OTAs collaborating more and purchasing high-touch service travel agents or similar, as they look to get closer to guests in other ways, based on making the complete travel experience easier - keep an eye out for a splurge of complementing free mobile apps developed by OTAs too.

Hostels create the 'pos(h)tel' experience
The luxury hostel category grows boutique and individual, taking form and design inspiration from the likes of 'boutique chic' Citizen M and Marriott's Moxy hotel brands. Upscale hostels are now a booming business with many urban locations offering flexible lodging pricepoints, safe and friendly accommodation and great value food and beverage options.They're gunning for Generation Y business all day long as increasingly sophisticated young travellers on a budget migrate for the homier comforts of a posh hostel. It won't be long before established hotel groups scoop up the major players in the sector in an effort to understand and retain this future hotel guest.

Mobile no more
The 'year of mobile' has come and gone as smartphone manufacturers show signs that mobile is no longer an emerging technology or media platform with flat revenues and declining average selling price for devices. Despite mobile accounting for 20 per cent of all travel sales, hoteliers battle to convert mobile users who are currently three times less likely to book a hotel room than those using a PC. Hotel marketers who proclaim themselves innovative and disruptive will already be looking elsewhere in the technological sphere for the next big thing.

Tangible technology
Cutting-edge hoteliers focus on 'wearable tech', with Google already pushing, albeit slightly odd looking, Google Glass to the market.  Applications are numerous and hotel marketing innovators envisage what's possible and wonder how and when these technologies will be adopted by business and the average consumer. We're likely to see front of house staff wearing Google glasses for guest facial recognition as early as the first quarter of 2014. Suffice to say hotel websites will place more focus on remote engagement to reflect "what's happening in the hotel right now" with real time applications.

Hotel reviews come clean
Cleanliness is always a top priority for guests, and boutique hoteliers have an obligation to provide their guests with a safe and secure environment. Housekeeping practices vary across brands and properties with little or no standardization industry wide. The current validation method for hotel room cleanliness is a visual assessment, which has been shown to be ineffective in measuring levels of sanitation. Expect more regular and thorough contamination checks by hotel owners with adenosine triphosphate (ATP) measuring devices for instance, that determines microbial contamination on surfaces, and ultraviolet light pens for detecting stains invisible to the naked eye. Don't be surprised to see fanatical hotel reviewers carrying this handy tool!

Luxury leaves the middle-class developed world behind
For the luxury traveller who can still afford the high-end, things are going great.
However, technology and the free flow of information continue to remove middle-class jobs, and those that remain do not pay what they once did. The cost of being middle class has increased out of proportion to the cost of merely living. This has ramifications from a boutique hotel guest booking, spend and hotel management wage perspective. Any middle class is essentially an urban phenomenon. In days past, when a town and its hotel industry fell into decline, its middle class disappeared. But as a new town rose in tandem with hotel development, a new middle class would spring up as if by magic. And that's what is happening now. A new middle class is appearing in Russia, India, China and the Middle East, and it's perhaps no surprise future projected hotel new builds in these areas tower over everywhere else.

The rise and fall of room service creates a new dining experience
Hilton Midtown New York's recent removal of room service sent shockwaves through the hotel industry. If management provide a service which is only marginally valued by the guest at best, then there is a strong motivation to end such a practice, and offer a simple, yet more streamlined approach to guest services. The elimination of room service also eliminates exorbitant service charges and guest complaints about cold food that's supposed to be hot, exorbitantly priced items and late deliveries. Ask yourself, whether removing room service and a food and beverage offering takes the experience out of your boutique hotel stay, or does it just make things a bit more streamlined, cut accommodation expenses and ensure a more "experiential" trip. For example, the recently opened Nadler boutique hotel in Soho, London encourages lodgers to dine in the local area because the offering is so good, liberating guests from the limitations of room service and restaurant fare. A grab and go breakfast offering like from the Aloft select-service brand with rooms designed with an empty fridge (no mini bar) for guests to use is the closest 'halfway house' option we've seen, catering to the ever more individually empowered guest who value their freedom and "no strings" approach. Denihan Hospitality's Affinia Hotels, a small luxury-boutique chain, has taken this approach one step further linking with the online grocer FreshDirect to provide specially packed meals for guests including healthy options. Through this partnership, Affinia Hotels can have guests' rooms fully stocked upon arrival, so that they feel like they're at home during their visit - hotel grocery delivery is not just for select-service, extended-stay or family resorts anymore.

Foodification
There is nothing more personal than food. Consumers today have an amazing personal connection with what they put into their bodies. Dining has become a comprehensive and interactive experience with diners becoming more knowledgeable about their food choice, peppering the waiting staff and chef with questions about sustainability, responsible husbandry, and local chef-prepared ingredients top dining trends. As a result, boutique hotels will focus on the trend of fresh, local and in season, displaying the percentage of locally sourced food or similar on the menu.  Current buzzwords include 'farm to fork' and the SLOW philosophy ( seasonal, local, organic and wild), 'snackification' and 'small-plate movement' - the trend of communal and informal eating. The lure of small portions that encourage diners to purchase additional dishes, therefore increasing revenue. Variations include a healthy eating / low calorie total meal approach. While product is everything, don't underestimate organisational innovation with hotels increasingly taking their food offering to the street. The "Taste by Four Seasons" food trucks for example.

More luxury retailers move into hospitality
With Millennials defining themselves more by what they do than what they own, luxury brands continue to dare to remain relevant with consumers whose appetite for luxury and definition of luxury is constantly changing. Luxury retailers are already expanding beyond fashion and accessories as they aim to keep their customers interested with a 360 degree experience, based on what they are buying, what they are eating, where they are staying and who they are listening to. Boutique hotel guests are looking for information not only from their family and friends, but also from brand experts - balancing professional and shareable opinions with personal advice.

There are undoubtably more boutique hotel trends that haven't made the list.