If the buzzword for smaller hotels in the last two decades of the 20th century was “boutique,” the hospitality industry’s equivalent in this century is “lifestyle.”
A seemingly endless launching of new lifestyle designer brands has been under way, sometimes with the boutique word mixed in. After all the hype, they are beginning to emerge, widening the choices for small meetings.
The earlier wave of upscale boutiques broke the hotel cookie-cutter mold, initially cropping up in gateway city centers, often part of conversion projects in revitalized downtown cores.
Many of the new lifestyle properties, however, are fanning out to suburbs and airports where it is less expensive to build. But like the earlier crop of boutique properties, their mantra is personalized service.
Tapping into Gen X and Millennial needs, this new generation of accommodations is characterized by chic decor, plenty of natural light and lobbies and bar areas designed as enticing gathering places.
Oversized guest rooms, often loft-style, sport modular furniture and plug-and-play accessibility for electronic gadgets. Some brands are without front desks or traditional restaurants, but they all tout the informal comforts of home, as well as fitness centers and healthy menus for guests on the go.
Last year, PricewaterhouseCoopers reported that 24 new hotel brands were announced in 2005 and 2006, the largest number in a two-year period since 1989, and many of them in the lifestyle category.
Meanwhile, the performance of boutique/lifestyle hotels continues to outpace the industry, with revenue per available room averaging an 11 percent increase per year since 2004, according to Smith Travel Research (STR).
Also according to STR, boutique hotels, which had an average occupancy of 63.3 percent in 2001, steadily moved up to 73.2 percent for the first 11 months of last year, with the average daily rate increasing from $170 to $228 during the same period.
NYLO Hotels
Typical of much of the new breed is NYLO Hotels’ 173-room NYLO Plano at Legacy unveiled in December in North Dallas. The Atlanta-based company, which intends to have 50 properties by 2010, claims it as the country’s first loft-style hotel.
“Dallas has lots of boutique hotels. We’re a high-design affordable alternative. We’re very service-oriented and offer a unique experience that’s casual and informal. Lifestyle is about how the guest feels. That’s the difference,” says Elaine Gamer, the hotel’s director of sales and marketing.
Without the bell or room service of a full-service property, the hotel is a showcase for local artists whose work is for sale, and has staffers dressed in apparel designed by Project Runway finalist Daniel Vosovic. It serves up loft guest rooms with 10-foot-high ceilings and 32-inch flat-screen TVs. Open 24/7 is the “healthy-alternative global cuisine” restaurant and bar, business center and gym.
Five meeting rooms with large windows and retractable walls total 1,800 square feet, the largest holding 48 people.
“Meetings are very important to us. There are lots of Fortune 500 companies here and lots of demand for meetings of 20 to 30 people,” Gamer says, adding that the hotel can be flexible: Lunch can be in the 4,000-square foot Library, and a 6,000-square-foot courtyard with a barbecue and stage is equipped for outdoor events.
A goal, Gamer adds, is not to nickel and dime guests. There is no charge for bottled water, computer use, printouts, faxes, or local and domestic long-distance calls. Parking and the hotel’s area shuttle are free, as is Wi-Fi throughout the property and guest room Wi-Fi and wired Internet access.
A second NYLO opens in July in Warwick, R.I., and two other NYLOs, outside Denver and in Irving, Texas, are slated to open next year.
Indigo
InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) opened its first Hotel Indigo in Atlanta in October 2004, billed as the “first branded boutique experience.”
Of the 11 Indigos, most have meeting space, which ranges from 700 to 7,000 square feet. Last year, hotels opened in Scottsdale, Ariz.; Ottawa, Ontario; Buffalo, N.Y.; and Nashville, Tenn.
In January, the first of 17 Indigos expected to open this year debuted, Hotel Indigo Boston–Newton Riverside. The new 2008 crop will also include hotels in Baltimore; Miami, Fort Myers, Fla.; San Antonio, Texas; Nashville, Tenn.; and Savannah, Ga.
Almost all are hotel and historic building conversions. Hotel Indigo Sarasota [Fla.] was the first new-build property, and others being built from scratch include those in Fort Myers and Savannah.
“We’ve seen an increase in new construction properties fueled by the recent introduction of the Hotel Indigo new-build design concept, which was created to meet the demand of developers eager to build where conversions were not an option,” says Caroline Sanfilippo, Hotel Indigo’s spokeswoman.
Andaz
In April last year, Global Hyatt Corp. announced the Andaz brand.
In this concept, “The Living Room” replaces a traditional lobby and there is no front desk, receptionist or concierge desk. Instead, an Andaz “team member” welcomes guests, who check in via tablet PCs. Breakfast, Internet, local calls, and laundry are included in the room rates.
In announcing the “boutique-inspired” brand, Mark Hoplamazian, Global Hyatt president and CEO, said it would emphasize “personal style and independence, casual luxury and service that is attentive but not pretentious and without ‘attitude.’”
Two Andaz hotels are scheduled to open in New York City in 2009 and another in Austin, Texas, in 2010
Hyatt Place
Hyatt capped 2007 by opening its 100th Hyatt Place on Dec. 27 and announcing that it was “securing its place as the clear frontrunner in the lifestyle hotel category.” Another 20 are expected to open in the first quarter of this year.
The company acquired AmeriSuites with 146 properties in 2004 and began converting them to the new brand, the first opening in June 2006. More than 80 properties are in development.
According to Hyatt spokeswoman Amy Patti, soon all properties under development will be new-builds.
All Hyatt Place hotels have meeting space, the average totaling 1,200 square feet, she says. And all offer an “all-inclusive” meeting package that features the services of a meetings host, audiovisual equipment and food and beverage.
A brand hallmark is the Gallery, an open area with a check-in kiosk, beverage cafe, TV den, and an e-room with free computer and printer use. There is a complimentary fitness center and free Wi-Fi throughout. Rooms have 42-inch flat-panel televisions, and guests can order food 24/7 through a touch-screen menu at the cashless food center.
The 100th property, the Hyatt Place Memphis/Wolfchase Galleria, with 126 renovated guest rooms and a newly designed public area, has 1,200 square feet of meeting space. Unveiled earlier, and also an AmeriSuites conversion, is Hyatt Place Memphis/Primacy Parkway, with 1,100 square feet. The new-build Hyatt Place Memphis/Germantown will open in 2009.
Cambria Suites
Choice Hotels last year opened the first four properties of its Cambria Suites lifestyle brand—in Boise, Idaho, in April; Appleton and Green Bay, Wis., in October; and Bloomington, Minn., in November, each with 100 to 127 suites.
More than 60 are under development in 26 states and Canada.
All Cambria Suites feature three meeting rooms usually totaling 1,000 square feet, the largest accommodating 60 or more attendees.
“Our locations will include major markets such as Brooklyn, Chicago, Los Angeles, and Toronto, and major airports like Denver and Atlanta,” says spokeswoman Heather Soule.
Openings were set for Akron-Canton Airport in Ohio April 1, and Savannah-Hilton Head Airport April 14. Others, including Fort Collins, Colo.; Indianapolis; and Baton Rouge, La., are expected to open during the first half of the year.
Features include a two-story lobby; Reflect, a dining, bar and gathering area; Refresh, a fitness center with an indoor pool and hot tub; and Refill, a 24/7 convenience store. Free high-speed wired and wireless Internet access is available throughout the property. Suites feature separate work and living areas with ergonomic chairs, movable desks and two flat-screen televisions.
1 Hotels
The W Hotels brand was developed during Barry Sternlicht’s 10-year tenure as CEO of Starwood Hotels. Now, as CEO of Starwood Capital Group, he’s the man behind 1 Hotel, what Starwood Capital describes as “the world’s first luxury, eco-friendly global hotel brand.”
The first 1 Hotel & Residences, under construction in Seattle, is expected to open in 2009. Part of a $200 million, 23-story mixed-use project, it will include 176 hotel suites and seven floors of condo residences, a restaurant and the 35,000-square-foot Equinox health club.
A second property, with an anticipated 2010 opening, is planned for New York City across from Bryant Park. Others are planned for Scottsdale, Az.; California’s Mammoth Mountain; Fort Lauderdale, Fla.; Atlanta; and Washington, D.C.
aloft and Element
Starwood expects to open its long-awaited first aloft (a brand spun off from W Hotels) and Element (an extended-stay brand with the DNA of a Westin) in July. The two company-owned hotels share a land parcel in Lexington, Mass.
The 123-room Element Lexington will have 800 square feet of meeting space and the 136-room aloft Lexington will have 600 square feet, which, according to Starwood spokeswoman Roxanne Rabasco, will be pretty much standard for the brands. An aloft slated to open in 2009 in Las Vegas, however, will have 4,000 square feet of meeting space.
Launched in 2005, the aloft brand will have loft guest rooms with nine-foot ceilings that Starwood says will be a combination of high-tech office and entertainment center. Public spaces are designed to draw guests to socialize, and there will be an indoor or outdoor pool and a 24-hour, one-stop food and beverage area.
Rabasco says there were 20 aloft groundbreakings last year.
