Why do people refer to hotels as "boutique"?
It is believed that boutique hotels were invented in the early 1890's, with two of the first boutique hotels in the world opened their doors to the public in 1981: The Blakes Hotel in South Kensington, London (designed by celebrity stylist Anouska Hempel) and the Bedford in Union Square, San Francisco (the first in a series of 34 boutique hotels currently operated under the flag of one of the most eminent players in the boutique hotel world today, the Kimpton Group). Recently they have become much more popular and seem to be taking over the hospitality industry. But what does boutique actually mean?
To really find out why people refer to hotels as "boutique" I have looked at the origins of the word to help find out the real meaning.
Boutique is defined in the dictionary as a small luxury hotel offering premium services, often in a fashionable location, another definition explains that the word is said to have originated from USA and is used to describe hotels which provide a luxurious and unique environment for guests. They typically offer the guest a more intimate and bespoke experience compared to the the larger less personal chain hotels.
Although there are many different variations of the definition, there are a set of qualities that are repeated in most definitions. These qualities are:
Having between 100-150 rooms, as the word boutique suggests these hotels are very small. The size of the hotel helps to encourage some of the other attributes, such as the level of personal service.
Boutique hotels are independent or part of a small chain, so the Hiltons and the Marriotts cannot be included. They also have standalone restaurants attached to themselves. This is very different from traditional hotel restaurants by being chef driven and serving high quality food within the unique surroundings so that even the locals will go to them.
Stylish, boutique hotels often have a quirky design and have more distinctive personality. Sometimes they will have a theme running throughout the hotel. Also they are often decorated to reflect where they are located, for example they might have artwork from local artists or food that is well known in that area.
Higher level of personalised service, they often know their customers names and most try to have a distinctive service feature to stand out from the larger chain hotels.
Most boutique hotels are geared toward middle to upper income travellers who are in their early 20's to their mid 50's.
The number of boutique hotels is only going to increase, as many traveler are starting to seek out and prefer staying in boutique hotels. It has been said that they are the fastest growing category within the hospitality industry. As they are doing so well, the larger more well known chains are all rushing to create their own boutique brands.
To really find out why people refer to hotels as "boutique" I have looked at the origins of the word to help find out the real meaning.
Boutique is defined in the dictionary as a small luxury hotel offering premium services, often in a fashionable location, another definition explains that the word is said to have originated from USA and is used to describe hotels which provide a luxurious and unique environment for guests. They typically offer the guest a more intimate and bespoke experience compared to the the larger less personal chain hotels.
Although there are many different variations of the definition, there are a set of qualities that are repeated in most definitions. These qualities are:
Having between 100-150 rooms, as the word boutique suggests these hotels are very small. The size of the hotel helps to encourage some of the other attributes, such as the level of personal service.
Boutique hotels are independent or part of a small chain, so the Hiltons and the Marriotts cannot be included. They also have standalone restaurants attached to themselves. This is very different from traditional hotel restaurants by being chef driven and serving high quality food within the unique surroundings so that even the locals will go to them.
Stylish, boutique hotels often have a quirky design and have more distinctive personality. Sometimes they will have a theme running throughout the hotel. Also they are often decorated to reflect where they are located, for example they might have artwork from local artists or food that is well known in that area.
Higher level of personalised service, they often know their customers names and most try to have a distinctive service feature to stand out from the larger chain hotels.
Most boutique hotels are geared toward middle to upper income travellers who are in their early 20's to their mid 50's.
The number of boutique hotels is only going to increase, as many traveler are starting to seek out and prefer staying in boutique hotels. It has been said that they are the fastest growing category within the hospitality industry. As they are doing so well, the larger more well known chains are all rushing to create their own boutique brands.
