A new chapter to be written in the story of boutique hotels?

There has been much research documented which has indicated that bespoke boutique hotels will see a new period of high popularity emerge as many turn away from large hotels as they seek a more personalised, bespoke experience; something which can not be found easily and which makes the guest feel they are part of a secret.

Boutique hotels are not a new phenomenon but they are trusted. Often their success lies in design and architecture which can mark them out as being different and standing apart from the mainstream industry.

Boutique hotels have enjoyed a strong history over the past forty years but many believe a new chapter will now begin to meet the rise in demand for bespoke, personlaised experiences. It does all mark a change from the days of brands being so dominant but maybe the increased drive for new bespoke experiences can only be good news for a hospitality industry constantly evolving?

In discussions last week with an investor, they noted how they had moved away from looking at the High Street as it seemed so hard to forecast how the consumer will behave and moved towards hotel assets which tap into the new need for experiences. Their question, which was left hanging in the air, was: “How do hotels evolve their experience?”

Boutique hotels have long enjoyed a strong place in the market. Many will argue that the boutique hotel was launched with Blakes in London, One Devonshire Gardens in Glasgow and The Bedford in San Francisco; and they built on when Steve Rubell and Ian Schrager launched Morgans. Boutiques suddenly took off and the industry grew, mainly built off word of mouth marketing.

However, as the world became more connected, booking sites took off so it became harder for the boutique hotel. OTAs emerged, stronger corporate travel policies and suddenly the branded hotel was once again in a strong position.

Now the wheel seems to be turning once again but the interesting evolution will be how the overall experience evolves to match demand. It could well be that the new battleground between boutiques and brands will lie in how services do develop?

It is widely agreed that guests today purchases are strongly influenced by their emotions. Consumers want to feel more connected to a property or brand than was the case previously. It is an interesting trend and one of the reasons why so many brands today are seeking to find routes to connect directly with their customer.

Emotions dictate loyalty and retention. There has been a lot of work invested in how hotels can connect more strongly with their guests, with many new techniques tried. However, the answer always seems to come back to the core basics; the welcome and recognition, service, design, architecture, SMART technology and the culinary offer.

This is what does make this period of time potentially so exciting. It is not because the world is evolving so fast but the fcat that so many hoteliers are priding themselves on improving their offer and service level. Even in spite of all the issues being faced, service levels do seem to be constantly improving.

Research does suggest that hotels with strong offers will emerge, relatively unscathed this year. There are many who are interested in owning or investing in hotels and of course the consumer is seeking more; so the ground does seem to be laid for what could be an exciting new chapter to be written.