Custom essays on Boutique Hotels: The Rising Trend in Hospitality

Difference between Boutique Hotels and Hotels

That is true, that the majority of population has already got used to the term of “hospitality industry”, and the contemporary hotel business is really a powerful industry. But the question is if the contemporary “industrial” approach compatible to the very notion of “hospitality”, the warmth which is so necessary for the guest exhausted by the current stressful life and willing to feel the same comfort and convenience far from home. And though the competitors accuse “boutiques” in the aggressive behavior on the market and even give them the nickname “boutique terrorists” (the term belongs to John Jarvis, the Head of “Jarvis Hotels”), the secret of their success is rather in their capacity to revive the forgotten “art of hospitality” (Keeps, 2006).
A little more than a decade passed since the time when the American hotelier Ian Schrager first formulated the concept of the “boutique” hotels, and now “boutique” hotels can be found in major business centers in the world – New York, London, Paris, Sydney, Los Angeles. In the vast metropolis, where life is humming 24 hours a day, they are the oasis of peace and comfort (McGinnis 2004).
Generally, boutique hotel differ from the dull monotony of branded hotels with their creativity and imagination both in interior design and style of service. But returning to the previously given distinctive features of the boutique hotels, it is worth noting that sometimes everything regarding them is mistakenly reduces only to the design, but boutique hotels are not only design. Surely, exclusive design primarily determines the individuality of the hotel, but it is designed to help sell the hotel once or twice; later the guests will need something more. And this “something more” is individuality, distinguishing these hotels from just branded ones (Lea).
Saying “boutique hotel”, one always involves the notion of individuality in everything: not only and not so much in service and personification of the customer, but rather in architecture, staff, and atmosphere. According to Ian Schrager, boutique hotels are “subversive. The idea is to do something contrary, something that violates the status quo, and as long as it is well executed it works. If it’s not well executed, then it’s just trendy” (Boutique Hotel Resort Trends).
Compared with other hotels, boutique hotels have one more difference, but rather an advantage in terms of economy. Sometimes, boutique hotels may not spent money on the creation and maintenance of such expensive components, as a restaurant or conference hall. Despite the fact that the boutique hotel may successfully exist without them, the establishment of such services can bring significant additional income to the hotel. So the hotels sometimes rent such premises themselves or provide rent to some other organization (Yanos, 2008).
Besides, the statistics of visits of boutique hotels shows that they have a considerably higher percentage of customers’ return, compared with industry averages. This allows them to better survive in the hard times of economic crises and recessions. Nevertheless, boutique hotels have to constantly monitor the changing market, consumer tastes, fashion trends in the field of hospitality, in order to maintain their competitive advantage and continue to be in the forefront of the market (O’Neill & Mattila, 2010).

Reasons for growing popularity of Boutique Hotels

Experts believe that one reason for the stunning success of boutique hotels are the changes in the customer base of hotels: with the rising living standards the number of rich young clients who travel a lot has increased; they get bored of the monotony proposed by standard hotels and are looking for hotels, which would give them a sense of not only physical but also spiritual comfort (Boutique Hotels Magazine, 2009).
Of course, all of the above does not mean at all that the era of large branded hotel is coming to an end. This is evidenced by the success of giant companies like, for example, “Hilton London Metropole”, which focuses on the congress market, having 1,073 rooms and 39 halls, 2 of which can accommodate 1900 people each, and another – 1300. Its competitor for the title of Europe’s largest hotel is Berlin “Estrel Residence & Congress Hotel”. These hotels, built in the late 1990’s, in no way resemble a “conveyor for sleeping”. Elegantly eclectic, they are different in functional comfort and technological perfection. And the results are explicit – their load rarely falls below 90% (Bender 2009).
The success of such hotels suggests that the needs of the people are changing, and those who want to succeed in the hospitality business of the 21st century, must take into account that the marketing approach to identification of potential customers by demographic characteristics (age, sex, nationality, socio-economic status) is out-of-date now, since these characteristics do not determine the person’s inner world, his desires and needs (McKinney, 2008).
Psychography, which studies the values a certain person is committed to, the feelings that he experiences, his vital interests, and all the things that truly characterize a person, must now form the basis of marketing strategy.
According to Chip Conley, the president the chain of 16 boutique hotels “Joie de Vivre Hospitaliry”, hotel owners should realize that their task is not just to provide people a place to sleep, but to help them implement their dreams. Three days stay in our hotel makes a customer feel a bit more refined, artistic, and intelligent; it even changes one’s manner of speaking. And we win the competition, because we give our guests a unique opportunity to experience their personal uniqueness (Bell, 2008).
The growth of supply always, including the hospitality market, leads to increased competition. The ruined hotels have been acquired by more successful competitors; some of them have themselves asked for that. Surely, in sharp competition for independent hotels it has been more difficult to survive. Life has pushed hoteliers to “chain reaction” (Bender 2009).
Today, fans of the world’s most famous chains can find their favorite hotel in any corner of the world and be at the same time sure that the facilities and furnishings, a set of services, the food, and even the staff uniforms are almost identical in all the hotels of the chain – whether in New York or London, Mexico City or Paris, Moscow or Singapore (Bender 2009).
The unification surely gives the brands significant advantages in the fight for the customer compared to independent hotels, which keep their individuality. Many people are afraid of the unknown. Using the services of a hotel with a famous name, the client having lived in the hotel of the chain is quite aware of what awaits him, and as a consequence, the choice of the hotel is based on the previous positive experience (Bell, 2008).
Originating as small independent companies, managed by private entrepreneurs or small companies, boutique hotels have changed over time and are now represented among the major hotel operators. First separate chains appeared consisting solely of boutique hotels (for example, “Bvlgari Hotels and Resorts”, created with the participation of Luxury Group, a division of Marriott International Company that also managers hotels “Ritz-Carlton”; networks of “SLS Hotels” and “Joie De Vivre” hotels), and then the majors of hospitality market, seeing the success of these hotels and noting the faster growth of income, including rate RevPAR, as compared to conventional network hotels, decided to enter the market of boutique hotels and recapture market share themselves. Among the most striking examples of the recent period are “W Hotels” managed by the well-known international operator “Starwood Hotels and Resorts” (McIntosh & Siggs 2005).
Design Hotel, originally conceived as an alternative to the standard objects of classical hotel chains, today themselves unite in networks: “Boutique Hotels & Resorts International”, “Small Luxury Hotels of the World”, “Select Hotels & Resorts International”, “Relais & Chateaux” are just some of them (Lea).