Boutique hotels are small, trendy properties marketed on bringing unique, location-specific experiences to travelers. They are also called lifestyle or design hotels. They started to spring up in the early 1980s in London, New York and San Francisco, and now can be found in most major cities, as well as popular resorts. The term itself is a little murky, particularly as major hotel brands have adopted it as a marketing term, and the hotel industry does not recognize a clear-cut definition. Most boutique hotels, however, do share some common attributes in their design, style and appeal.
Most boutique hotels have no more than 150 rooms. They emphasize personalized service, and keep the guest-to-staff ratio low. Some require the staff to address each guest by name. There are a few exceptions. Boutique hotelier Ian Schrager often bucked the trend, as with the 594-room Paramount Hotel in New York, which is now owned by Sol Melia Hotels and Resorts. (Schrager is the Studio 54 cofounder who is considered one of the fathers of the boutique hotel and now is partnering with Marriott International to open a chain of boutique hotels.)
Boutique hotels out-of-the-box in their design. Most chain hotels have a number of design standards, so that each room is the same box containing the same amenities, and the hotels' exteriors all fit a mold. Boutique hotels take on an architecture fitting to the city or region in which they are located, and each room often has its own unique touch. The Emperor Hotel in Beijing labels each of its rooms and suites after the name of a Chinese emperor. Guests get to have a new experience each time they return.
Boutique hotels are found in business and entertainment capitals that provide enough traffic to keep them profitable: New York, Chicago, London, San Francisco, Paris and Los Angeles. Smaller hip markets like Austin, Texas, that attract younger travelers are also attractive. Boutique hoteliers also target popular resort destinations, generally building far off the populous beach areas. These properties offer a more intimate experience, with private pool access, private excursion opportunities and activities such as painting classes.
The target demographic for most boutique hotels is young, affluent, adventurous travelers. Guests are mostly in their twenties to early fifties. Boutique hotels have recently become popular options for business travelers as well. Utell Hotels & Resorts, which represents more than 3,000 properties in 130 countries, reports that corporate use of independent, small hotels jumped by 89 percent from 2007 to 2008. Corporations use the hotels to appeal to their younger employees who like to combine business trips with personal vacation time.
Although many boutique hotels are, by definition, independent, a number of chains have incorporated the concept. Most prominent is Starwood Hotels & Resorts, which launched the boutique-themed W brand in 1999 and later launched a mid-price version of the brand, Aloft. Kimpton Hotel and Restaurant Group operates a few dozen boutique hotels around the United States, many marketed by their own names, like the Hotel George in Washington, D.C., and the Hotel Allegro in Chicago. The Schrager-founded Morgans Hotel Group also manages about a dozen boutique hotels in the United States and London, including the namesake Morgans Hotel in New York.
