Chains Diversify Offerings With Expanded Boutique Hotel Collections

In the first year of its Autograph Collection, announced in 2009, Marriott International added more than a dozen boutique, independent hotels and aims to have 40 signed contracts by year-end, said Kip Vreeland, Marriott's vice president in charge of the collection. Marriott's initial focus was on hotels in the United States and Canada, but in May it added to the collection its first four hotels in Europe. It intended to expand the portfolio to other regions. Choice Hotels International, which in October 2008 launched its Ascend Collection of upscale boutique hotels, also has global aspirations, according to brand vice president Stacy Ragland. The Ascend Collection now comprises 61 properties in the United States, Canada and the Caribbean. Ragland said Choice is exploring Latin America and further global growth is not out of the question. Other collections already have a global footprint. Accor launched MGallery a few months prior to Ascend Collection's debut, and it now includes 35 hotels across five continents, including its first property in London, added this year. Accor plans for the collection to reach 100 properties by 2015. Starwood's Luxury Collection, launched back in 1995, counts more than 80 hotels across six continents. Brand leaders noted increasing use of these collections' properties within corporate programs. Once properties become part of the Autograph Collection, for example, their business traveler ratios generally increase from about one in 10 guests to about one in three, Vreeland said. "If one independent hotel wants to go in and meet with the company, that company is going to be really careful about their time," he added. "When they're a part of Marriott, we can load rates into our system and right off the bat expose them to these companies through our sales engines." For buyers, the collections present an alternative to somewhat cookie-cutter rooms in line with rigid brand standards. While Marriott monitors Autograph Collection properties through guest satisfaction surveys and occasional site checks, the properties do not have to conform to specific brand standards and are identified as Marriott properties only by an exterior plaque and, for 90 days after they join, a welcome letter inside guest rooms, Vreeland said. Naturally, boutique collections are much easier for hotel companies to build than their own boutique brands.

Boutique Hotel Luxury - News


Chains Diversify Offerings With Expanded Boutique Hotel Collections

June 23, 2011 - Several multibrand hotel companies are growing their upscale and luxury boutique collections with an increasingly global eye, a strategy they say is funneling more of those hotels into corporate programs.



New York Hotels Fetch Luxury Price
New York Hotels Fetch Luxury Price

Pebblebrook Hotel Trust is purchasing a 49% share in six Manhattan boutique hotels for $152 million in the latest sign of the rising heat of New York's hotel market. The Affinia Manhattan Hotel is one of six New York properties in which



A look inside London's new luxury boutique hotel

Exclusive hotel chain the Dorchester Collection has promised that its new London boutique property will open later this year, the latest in a series of new luxury hotels to hit the British capital. 45 Park Lane is set to officially open in September in



Cotton Tree: Boutique Caymanian Resort and Purveyor of Fine Jewels Announce ...

GEORGE TOWN, CAYMAN ISLANDS--(Marketwire - Jun 24, 2011) - Renew your vows, pop the question, or celebrate your anniversary at Cotton Tree, the Cayman Islands' first traditional cottage boutique hotel, and receive a complimentary $100 gift certificate



UK hotel is centre court attraction
UK hotel is centre court attraction

Cannizaro House, built in the 18th Century with an alluring aristocratic background, is the only luxury boutique hotel in Wimbledon making it the perfect place to base yourself during the tennis season. With its stunning terrace overlooking the 34




Why Stay in a Boutique Hotel in France? - Traval in France

Why Stay in a Boutique Hotel in France?

In today's world it seems that star ratings can be misleading; three and four star hotels sometimes provide similar services to five star hotels. This can be very aggravating when travelling overseas on holiday as opposed to a business trip; there's nothing worse than looking forward to an especially luxurious, relaxing and well earned break in a luxury hotel, only to find the service and facilities bland and sub par. The answer is to stay in boutique hotels, designed with luxury in mind and service as their number one priority. We look in detail at boutique hotels (taking France as an example) and find out why, if you want true luxury, you have to choose a boutique hotel for your stay. Boutique hotels are usually small, offer tailor made experiences and cater to your every need. They are varied and interesting; they defy definition in many respects, as they are similar to each other only in their very high level of guest services and opulence. Choosing to stay in a boutique hotel in France can mean, for example, staying in a cosy hotel close to Mont Blanc, wrapped up with hot drinks, watching the crackling fire after a days skiing. Alternatively, it can mean staying in an 800 year old chateau and sampling the delights of a well stocked wine cellar, exploring vintages with a master wine taster. The choice is yours. The first point to clarify here is that boutique hotels are luxury hotels. They offer the best possible services, suites, amenities and facilities. However, whereas some hotels bandy about the word luxury as a selling point, boutique hotels (especially in precision and style conscious France) earn the title of luxury in every way. They are the very peak of luxurious living, and exude sumptuous lavishness in every aspect of their design and maintenance. In addition to this, the small size of boutique hotels means that you have the one aspect that run of the mill luxury hotels don't offer - exclusivity. There are guaranteed to be no ravening hordes of guests glaring at you over breakfast, no throngs of people queuing at the concierge desk. Most boutique hotels have a maximum of 40 guests, with the average boutique hotel catering for about 10 to 25 guests in total. The simple answer is no. While the idea of a small, luxury hotels often lends itself to more rural and secluded regions, there are many incredible boutique hotels in major towns and cities. With boutique hotels (especially in France) you have the choice of complete seclusion in the country, or an equally high level of service and relaxation in the centre of a city. Paris - for example - is well know for its boutique hotels, many of which are only metres from the city's centre and main sights. Boutique hotels are the very last word in luxury, and whether you are staying in France, elsewhere on the continent, or anywhere in the world, they represent the very best in holiday accommodation and service.


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