Boutique Hotel - What does it mean?
Industry Leaders Share their Stories
To me, 'boutique' implies a distinctive property that emphasizes style, service and personality on an intimate scale with 150 rooms or less. These are hotels that create a connection with the traveler. Often the property itself is more of an experience than the destination they were visiting and each property has a unique story to tell. The boutique sector has captured the imagination of the traveling public and with the help of the internet we are witnessing a dramatic increase in travel intelligence. The result is a much savvier traveler, today, who wants an experience that is largely undefined.
It was for these savvy travelers that in June 2005, we launched Preferred Boutique, the newest brand within the Preferred Hotel Group. It resulted from personal passion for the smaller, unique property; an awareness of the growing trend within the boutique sector and the opportunity to define the luxury boutique experience; and the chance to provide really valuable sales and marketing support to smaller properties thanks to the force of the entire group.
The difference between Boutique and the main Preferred brand is led by size, plus distinctive style and the ability to create memorable experiences in intimate surroundings with the highest level of service. Boutique has four categories of property: Design, Classic, Resort and Adventure to give you one trusted source whether on business or vacation. Examples are:
Design: The Regent South Beach- a contemporary, all-suite property.
Classic: 41, London England – a five-star with only 20 rooms.
Resort: Fregate Island Private, Seychelles - a private island.
Adventure: Clayoquot Wilderness Resort, B.C. - this is a 'Four Seasons' of the Canadian wilderness.
So how are we finding these hidden gems? I personally have spent a good portion of the last year traveling around the world blitzing cities, islands and remote places trying to familiarize myself with what is out there. Once I have visited as many hotels as humanly possible I will then zero in on the top three that I feel would fit into the brand. The goal is to find the best properties in the best locations, keeping integrity within the brand and without over saturating a market. We want to find the right properties to partner with and at the same time we want to be sure we can support them from a sales and marketing standpoint. Keep your eye out for some spectacular properties in Asia and South America coming onboard soon!
THE AUTHOR
Lindsey Ueberroth's travel love was partly instilled by climbing Mt Kilimanjaro when she was 12 (her guide, all of ten years old, kept on saying “pole pole” the Swahili for “slowly, slowly'). She graduated from Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem NC, and joined Anderson Consulting as a change management consultant. Following that she was at Ambassadors International, a publicly-traded events, meetings and specialty travel company, working her way up to be Managing Director of the Ambassadors Golf customized high-end division. She joined the Preferred Hotel Group in early 2004.
www.preferred-boutique.com
Source:
By: Lindsey Ueberroth
Kiwi Collection
An example of some boutique hotels in Vancouver:
Opus Hotel, Loden, Wedgewood
To me, 'boutique' implies a distinctive property that emphasizes style, service and personality on an intimate scale with 150 rooms or less. These are hotels that create a connection with the traveler. Often the property itself is more of an experience than the destination they were visiting and each property has a unique story to tell. The boutique sector has captured the imagination of the traveling public and with the help of the internet we are witnessing a dramatic increase in travel intelligence. The result is a much savvier traveler, today, who wants an experience that is largely undefined.
It was for these savvy travelers that in June 2005, we launched Preferred Boutique, the newest brand within the Preferred Hotel Group. It resulted from personal passion for the smaller, unique property; an awareness of the growing trend within the boutique sector and the opportunity to define the luxury boutique experience; and the chance to provide really valuable sales and marketing support to smaller properties thanks to the force of the entire group.
The difference between Boutique and the main Preferred brand is led by size, plus distinctive style and the ability to create memorable experiences in intimate surroundings with the highest level of service. Boutique has four categories of property: Design, Classic, Resort and Adventure to give you one trusted source whether on business or vacation. Examples are:
Design: The Regent South Beach- a contemporary, all-suite property.
Classic: 41, London England – a five-star with only 20 rooms.
Resort: Fregate Island Private, Seychelles - a private island.
Adventure: Clayoquot Wilderness Resort, B.C. - this is a 'Four Seasons' of the Canadian wilderness.
So how are we finding these hidden gems? I personally have spent a good portion of the last year traveling around the world blitzing cities, islands and remote places trying to familiarize myself with what is out there. Once I have visited as many hotels as humanly possible I will then zero in on the top three that I feel would fit into the brand. The goal is to find the best properties in the best locations, keeping integrity within the brand and without over saturating a market. We want to find the right properties to partner with and at the same time we want to be sure we can support them from a sales and marketing standpoint. Keep your eye out for some spectacular properties in Asia and South America coming onboard soon!
THE AUTHOR
Lindsey Ueberroth's travel love was partly instilled by climbing Mt Kilimanjaro when she was 12 (her guide, all of ten years old, kept on saying “pole pole” the Swahili for “slowly, slowly'). She graduated from Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem NC, and joined Anderson Consulting as a change management consultant. Following that she was at Ambassadors International, a publicly-traded events, meetings and specialty travel company, working her way up to be Managing Director of the Ambassadors Golf customized high-end division. She joined the Preferred Hotel Group in early 2004.
www.preferred-boutique.com
Source:
By: Lindsey Ueberroth
Kiwi Collection
An example of some boutique hotels in Vancouver:
Opus Hotel, Loden, Wedgewood
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