Timeshare and Fractional
Boutique hotels have become very popular with those seeking a chic stay and many boutique features are being mixed into timeshare and fractional properties. Companies like Baglioni have charged the likes of Jade Jagger with bringing boutique hotel style to their fractional residence club in Marrakesh and Banyan Tree joining The Hideaways Club to broaden their residence club offering.
But what trends will we be seeing in boutique hotels in the near future? And what areas are timeshare and fractional developers likely to offer owners?
Heads of boutique hotels around the world gave their views at the recent Boutique Hotel Summit in London. Watch out for these trends at a resort near you soon:
- Although many boutiques are design-focused, there is an acknowledgement that guests are looking for more than the “cookie cutter” approach. So resorts will be aiming to offer an experience guests will remember fondly.
- Look out for a proliferation of members’ clubs being incorporated into boutique hotels, particularly in key urban areas such as London and New York.
- Boutique hotels will cater for what is seen as a small but growing band of environmentally-aware travellers from serving locally-sourced, seasonal food to allowing guests to control their energy usage. But they believe it’s also important not to force the green agenda onto visitors.
- Until now boutique hotels have been at the upper end of the price scale, but you can expect to see budget hotels offering a more distinctive, less homogenised experience.
- Boutique hotels will be offering technology at least as good as the guest would expect in their home, ensuring it’s user-friendly and practical.
- Expect an authentic experience with hotels using historic or striking buildings with sensitivity to the materials used and the original structure, to be among the most sustainable and authentic in the built environment.
- With more individually-designed guestrooms rather than standardised offerings boutiques will capitalise on their flexibility and independence.
- Acknowledging that guests are looking to interact with the hotel, its location, the passionate people who drive it and great service, there will be more focus on this rather than the company behind it.
- There’s a significant trend towards offering bed and breakfast in distinctive, design-led properties with a range of added services and experiences such as visiting chefs, wine tastings and more.
- While the multinationals will struggle to replicate the true boutique experience, they will increasingly focus on the lifestyle hotel model offering 100- to 200-room boutique hotels.
What would you like to see in boutique hotels in the future? Which timeshare and fractional resorts do you think best do ’boutique’? Share your comments below…
