Articles tagged “boutique hotels”

U.S. boutique hotels showed strong financial results in 2024 but face a softening in demand in 2025 due to economic uncertainty.

"People think this is some sort of property game," says Robin Hutson, founder of The Pig brand of boutique hotels. "It's not a property game. ... This is a people game."

In 2025, Belmond is rolling out offerings with old-school opulance that feels ripped from the pages of an Agatha Christie novel — if Christie's characters had wellness spas and farm-to-table dining. Think of Belmond as an anti-Aman: less minimalist zen, more maximalist glamour.

Today's podcast looks at Booking Holding's B2B changes, Hyatt's unique branding strategy, and junk fees and the U.S. Senate.

Hotel legend Richard Kessler is still willing to take risks when creating hotels. Think putting dinosaur fossils in hotel lobbies, or displaying modern art in a converted power plant. So far, travelers and Marriott like it.

Tamara Lohan, who founded Mr & Mrs Smith, says Hyatt kept its word so far not to mess with the brand's "curation standards." She also says listings growth is ramping up.

Viceroy, a collection of hotels and resorts, has rebranded. It now promises to curate luxury experiences that will be consistently top-tier and locally immersive, from Portuguese beekeeping to glassblowing in Los Cabos.

The latest acquisition by India's largest hotel group suggests that "experiential leisure" is becoming popular. "Experiential leisure" means "hotels with small room counts and home-like architecture, so vacationers can pretend they're not at hotels."

Design Hotels is a Marriott brand that isn't quite a Marriott brand. It's more like an exclusive hotel club where 60% of owners have never run a boutique before. New boss Stijn Oyen is fine-tuning its strategy.

Last year, overseas travel spend by Indians hit an all-time high. The trend this is year is consistent with 2023, indicating a sustained interest in overseas travel by Indians.