Boutique hotels focus on the experiential nature of service delivery. Factors helping to deliver upon the experience include a cap on the number of rooms, a design or cultural aspect to the property and attention to the location of the property. The subsector however, lacks a singular definition. This is in part due to structural changes undergone by the subsector since conception of the concept. The subsector evolved from comprising of independently owned properties to establishment of dedicated boutique hotel chains and more recently, involvement of large international hotel chains looking to diversify their operations. Problems facing boutique hotels encompasses increasing competition for real estate and financing …show more content…

City destinations are chosen for the “trendiness” of the area, whereas resort locations are exotic, small and intimate
(van Keulen, Viriot & Koh, 2002); however, generally, most properties are in urban or city centers (Lin & Endean, 2007). Location provides the context for which the unique experience of staying at a boutique hotel occurs by contributing to the ambience at the property. 4
Lastly, HVS consulting group compiled a list of terms that does and does not describe boutique hotels. The research identified additional concepts such as trendy, hip and cool, inspiring and aspirational to be part of what makes up a boutique hotel and its related experiences there. Some terms identified as not being correlated to boutique hotels include old fashioned, conformist, allinclusive, bland and mainstream (Balekjian & Sarheim, 2011). An emotional connection between guests and the property is also mentioned throughout literature related to defining a boutique hotel, indicative of its importance to boutique operations (McIntosh & Siggs, 2005; van
Hartesvelt, 2006).
Segments of boutique hotels
Based on the common characteristic definitive of a boutique hotel, the Boutique and Lifestyle
Lodging Association defines boutique hotels as “an intimate, usually luxurious or quirky environment and upscale hotel environments for a very particular clientele (Boutique and
Lifestyle Lodging Assocation, n.d.)”. Based on