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."