Business travelers have several accommodation options available to them. Most companies opt for hotel chains.
Hotel chains provide consistent, high-quality experiences across the United States. Thus, corporate travel managers don’t need to spend a lot of time guessing or wondering if they picked solid options.
Plus, hotel chains understand the benefits of catering to corporate guests. They provide the standard amenities that all business guests need such as access to WiFi, a workspace in the room, and competitive prices.
However, another option exists that provides attractive benefits too.
Boutique hotels provide personalized experiences, local color, and a less corporate vibe.
Let’s look at the seven benefits of staying in a boutique hotel.
1. Personalized Service
Boutique hotel properties have 10 to 100 rooms. On the other hand, chain hotels average 313 rooms per property.
Most business travelers want a quick check-in, clean room, and amenities that cater to their needs. Those who travel once or twice a year, might not notice when they receive a cookie-cutter experience or a personalized one.
It’s different for road warriors and executives who travel more often.
Corporate travelers who seek a customized experience benefit from staying at the boutique version without paying extra.
You might find a mint on your pillow or other customized touches.
To understand the definition of a boutique hotel further, take a look at this guide provided by Hotel Engine.
2. Unique Clientele
The boutique hotels cater to the unique clientele. Even though you find yourself traveling for business, you might also have a passion for the food, music, or art scene. Therefore, you’ll enjoy properties that focus on one of them.
For example, The George in Montclair, New Jersey, has become a hipster favorite; it might have something to do with its ownership. Makeup guru Bobbi Brown opened it in 2018 with her husband.
The George features 32 rooms and aficionados of the Bobbi Brown makeup line enjoy exclusive access to her Jones Road products.
3. Culinary Excellence
Most boutique hotels have independent ownership. Thus, they have the freedom to focus on nurturing their unique cultures. Part of the attraction is the food.
If you stay at the Pendry West Hollywood in Los Angeles, California, you’ll eat meals curated by Wolfgang Puck.
Boutiques source the best ingredients and hire the most celebrated chefs to cook for their guests. The effort takes the food experience up a level.
4. Luxury Setting
Several boutique accommodations have celebrity owners. In some ways, celebrities purchase and maintain properties that they can enjoy with their friends and peers.
Among the celebrity hoteliers are:
- Francis Coppola
- Robert Redford
- Clint Eastwood
- Dolly Parton
Some use the properties as investments. Others take the opportunity to restore properties to their former glory such as Odette Myrtil Logan did with River House at Odette’s in New Hope, Pennsylvania.
5. Celebrates Local Culture
Boutique properties must have an attachment to local history. The Foundry Hotel in Asheville, North Carolina, started as a steel factory. Now it features 87 rooms and a soul food restaurant.
More impressively, The Foundry employs an on-site historian and offers guests local tours.
6. Less Corporate Vibe
These hotels focus on an artistic, musical, or culinary vibe instead of a corporate ambiance. They use decor, lighting, and infrastructure to reflect it.
At the boutiques, you can indulge your passion for music or enjoy culinary masterpieces even though you find yourself on a business trip.
7. One-on-One Experience with Staff
Sometimes hotel chains own boutique hotels. However, the brands allow them to keep running independently. Thus, the staff becomes acquainted with their repeat guests.
Guests receive a one-on-one experience since they usually return to the property when they find themselves in the area.
Although the Sunset Marquis Hotel in West Hollywood, California, doesn’t qualify as a boutique, it has a rich history of catering to musicians. Bob Marley and The Wailers stayed there when they performed at the Roxy.
More recently, Justin Bieber has stayed there since the property has a recording studio on-site.
As staff becomes acquainted with their guests, they provide amenities specific to their needs. An added benefit is that they don’t charge extra for them. The boutiques only ask for loyalty.
Conclusion
When business travelers can pick their accommodations, boutique hotels provide a viable option. Guests enjoy personalized benefits that often don’t increase the prices.