Author : Migle Aliukeviciute

Supervisor : Senior lecturer Dr. Raminta Andreja Ligeikiene

Boutique hotels evolution

Abstract
Recent studies in the hospitality management field illustrate that small hotels,
boutique type are increasing their market share. The increasing popularity of boutique
hotels satisfies a need for more sophisticated, personalized and intimate hospitality
services. The innovative and diverse nature of these hotels makes their identification
difficult.
Purpose This paper aims to identify boutique hotels and describe their evolution.
The study methods included a review of literature.

Anotacija
Vartotoj poreiki pokyiai lemia ir vartotoj poreiki tenkinimo pokyius. Viena i i pokyi
tendencij populiarjantys boutique viebuiai. Straipsnyje analizuojama boutique viebuio samprata,
aptariama raida bei atsiradimo prielaidos.
Straipsnio tikslas: pateikti boutique viebuio samprat ir j raid.
Darbo metodai: literatros ir internetini altini analiz.

Introduction
Since 1980 cultural tourism has been growing as a direct result of the rising interest
for art, culture and history. This shift in demand can be explained by demographic,
social and cultural changes. One aspect of cultural tourism development is the new
forms of hospitality industry called boutique hotels. As recent studies in the field
illustrate, the hotel market has undergone a transformation in favour of small hotels,
boutique type.

Concept and features of a Boutique hotel
Rabontu and Niculescu (2009) in order to define the concept of boutique hotel, one
has to define these two separate terms. Thus, boutique is the name given to the small
and luxurious stores that sell goods on small series and the hotel is the building with
furnished rooms that offer the possibility of hiring on short-term, especially to
travellers.
The concept of boutique hotel is strongly opposed to big chain hotels as it describes
hotels reduced in size, located in prestigious areas, furnished with unusual furniture,
and designed to offer an intimate and/or family atmosphere. Unlike big chain hotels,
boutique hotels offer a unique experience. Certainly their small size can offer privacy
and discretion to customers. Boutique hotels are able get to know customers very
well and offer services tailored to their needs and preferences that large hotels cannot.
In another attempt to define boutique hotel, Hartesvelt (2006) distinguishes common
features which are found in today's modern version of boutique hotels. These features
are illustrated in Table 1.
Table 1
Features of boutique hotels
Size Boutiques typically range from 20 to 150 rooms. The ability to provide the intense personal service
required of a boutique becomes exponentially more difficult above 200 rooms.
Upscale It is almost impossible to offer a boutique experience below the upscale level of at least four stars.
Restaurant Boutique hotels usually have high-class restaurants.
Not for large
groups
Boutiques should have limited meeting space. When a boutique depends on the group meeting
segment for more than 10%-15% of its weekday demand, the hotel begins to lose its unique
personality.
Building Boutiques typically are housed in older, unique structures that have been converted from another use.
These structures help the property exude a unique personality and often bring tax-credits that will
help the project pencil out.
Location Location for a boutique is not as important as for a branded hotel.
Lobbies Boutique lobbies generally are much smaller than conventional hotels, which make the guest
experience much more intimate
Profit Properly run boutiques will have lower operating costs and higher margins than branded hotels.
Agget (2007) states a difficulty in determining the number of boutique hotels, partly
due to a difficulty in defining these hotels. Table 2 illustrates the definitions found in
the review of the literature.
2 Table
Definitions of a boutique hotels ( International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management)
Therefore, with the reference to the definitions in Table 2, we are able to identify the
following features of boutique hotel, which can describe most boutique hotels: unique
design, up to 50 rooms and high level of quality and customized service.
Boutique hotels evolution
As it was mentioned before, Freund de Klumbis and Munsters ( 2005) explain that
based on demographic, social and cultural changes, the fast growth cultural tourism
has undergone since 1980 and is a direct result of the rising interest for art, culture
and history. These changes influenced the choice of the hospitality product as a factor
of the guests cultural experience. With regard to the demographic factors, the strong
increase of senior citizens in the Western world has significantly extended the market
for boutique hotels since the interest for culture grows with ones age. Furthermore
the customer of luxury hospitality industry consists of a growing number of retired,
active, moneyed people in excellent health. All this makes this market segment an
interesting target group for the luxury hospitality industry.
The expansion of the international hotel chains, in their vast majority, was
accompanied and made possible by a process of standardization and
commoditization. This process generated the birth of the box hotel concept,
characterized by the uniformity of the core and facilitating products. The lack of
differentiation between the hospitality products and services resulted finally in a
McDonaldisation of the global hotel industry. This systematic standardization of
the hospitality product provoked a counter-movement inspired by consumers
searching for hotels with unique or sophisticated and innovative characteristics,
called boutique, design or lifestyle hotels. Sophistication and innovation explain the
growth of the boutique, design and lifestyle hotel niches. In order to employ a generic
term for these new niches, it is referred to the boutique, design and lifestyle concepts
expressing these by the term - lifestyle hotels.
Freund de Klumbis and Munsters ( 2005) identify that the first features of boutique
hotels appeared in Las Vegas, because various hotels in Las Vegas base their design
philosophy on the idea of replicating places and cities (e.g. The Venetian Hotel and
Casino, The Paris Hotel and Casino).
Anhar ( 2001) prescribes that Boutique hotels are believed to have been invented in
the early 1980s. 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 Hotel in San Francisco.
1983 the first boutique hotel with a theme Hotel Vintage Court in San Francisco
establishes wine-related focus.
Freund de Klumbis and Munsters ( 2005) explain that the most important and subtle
turning point in the development of interior design trends for the contemporary hotel
was the introduction of the narrative into design brought by Ian Schrager and
followed by Jean Nouvel.
1994 "Boutique Hotel" concept receives first public recognition as a travel
"Accommodations" category by Kuoni Travel.
McIntosh and Siggs (2005) investigate the reasons of the boutique hotel customers in
New Zeland for choosing to stay in these hotels rather than in more traditional
accommodation. This study concludes that there are five key dimensions setting the
boutique sector apart from the traditional offerings. These are the unique character,
the personalized or personal touch, the homely feel of the accommodation, the
high quality standards offered and the value-added nature of the physical
location, knowledge and culture of the hosts.
Keeps ( 2006) explains that the boutique hotel is trying to grow up, and historical
referents - architectural and decorative - serve as a convenient shorthand for maturity,
and a mark of glamour.
Table 3 illustrates Top 10 Boutique Hotels Worldwide published by Gayot.com
3 Table
Top 10 Boutique Hotels Worlwide
Nr Name Country Rooms Features
1. Maison 140 United
States,
California
43 Four-poster beds, vintage furniture with vibrant colours, unique
decorative touches. Deluxe Italian linen. Redesigned by Kelly
Wearstler.
2. Glenmere United
States, New
York
19 Marble staircases, ornamental metalwork, murals and elaborate
gardens. All rooms are decorated differently, but each of the
nineteen rooms boast slick Carrara marble in the bathrooms. .
3. Royce
Hotel
Australia,
Melbourne
100 Italian marble, SPA, sophisticated upholstery.

4. Hotel France, 48 This six-story stone-clad, late-nineteenth-century building boasts
Franklin D.
Roosevelt
Paris fully soundproofed rooms, a patio garden for breakfast or tea.
5. Amandari Indonesia,
Bali
30 Designed in the same style as the nearby villages and offers a
glimpse of the indigenous lifestyle combined with a luxurious spa,
pool and tennis court. Each thatched suite features a garden
courtyard, outdoor sunken marble tub, local teak and coconut wood.
6. Relais
Santa Croce
Italy,
Florence
24 Parquet floors and frescoed ceilings, Rooms boast period furniture,
elegant upholstery and marble-tiled bathrooms complete with rain
showerheads and built-in Turkish baths.
7. Quinta da
Bela Vista
Portugal,
Funchal
32 Marble bathrooms, fine paintings and antique furniture.
8. The Upper
House
China, Honk
Kong
117 Stylish furnishings, limestone floors, harbour or island views, as
well as bathrooms complete with panoramic windows, walk-in rain
showers and free-standing bathtubs.
9. Berns Hotel Sweden,
Stockholm
65 Unique touches abound here, including the lobby, which doubles as
a living art gallery, displaying works by local and international
artists.
10. Kensington
House
Hotel
United
Kingdom,
London
41 The hotel has been restored to its 19th-Century elegance and offers
just 41 sleek rooms, all with large windows and modern furniture
and fittings.
To sum up, with reference to Table 3, we can determine that usually boutique hotels
are characterized with a sophisticated furniture and design. Also, this type of hotel
usually is situated in the city centre and approximately has 50 rooms.
Conclusion
Demand of boutique hotels have undergone since 1980, because of cultural tourism
intensification and the appearance of target group for the luxury hospitality industry.
There is no certain definition of boutique hotels. In spite of this it is well known that
the boutique hotels should characterize with three common features. This is the
contemporary, sophisticated and unique design. Secondly, the room number in the
boutique hotels usually does not exceed 50 rooms in order to offer the customers
privacy and discretion. Finally, another boutique hotels feature is the unique level of
service.
References
1. Cecilia Irina Rabontu, George Niculencu (2009) Boutique hotels New
appearances in hotel industry in Romania. Annals of University of Petrosani,
Economics, 9(2), 209 214. Available at: http://www.upet.ro/en/annals/pdf/annals-
2009-part2.pdf
2. Daniela Freund de Klumbi, Wil Munster (2005) Developments in the hotel
industry: design meets historic properties. Available at:
http://fama2.us.es:8080/turismo/turismonet1/economia%20del%20turismo/hosteleria/
development%20in%20the%20hotel%20industry.pdf
3. Daviv. A. Keeps (2006) Historic Boutique Hotels. Available at:
http://www.travelandleisure.com/articles/the-next-boutique-hotel-history-lesson
4. Gayot guide. Top 10 Boutique Hotels worldwide. Available at:
http://www.gayot.com/hotels/bestof/bestboutiquehotels_intheworld.html
5. Lucienne Anhar (2001) The definition of boutique hotels. Available at:
http://www.hospitalitynet.org/news/4010409.search?query=lucienne+anhar+boutique
+hotel
6. Mandy Aggett (2007) International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality
Management. Vol.19, No.2 169 177. What has influenced growth in the UKs
boutique hotel sector?
7. Mark van Hartesvelt ( 2006) Lodging Hospitality, 62(14). Building a better
boutique hotel. Available at: http://lhonline.com/mag/building_better_boutique/
8. McIntosh A.J. And Siggs A. (2005) Journal of travel research, Vol. 44. An
exploration of the experiental nature of boutique accommodation. Prieiga per
internet : http://jtr.sagepub.com