The unstoppable rise of independent hotels

Call them “boutique”, “small” or “designer”, but properties owned by individual hoteliers and companies that woo travellers with unique offerings and authentic destination experiences are certainly having their moment right now.

Think The Fullerton Hotel and Fullerton Bay Hotel, which occupy grand heritage buildings, the Morgans Hotel in New York, just down the street from Grand Central Station, which was designed by the acclaimed French interior designer Andree Putman.

As travellers respond enthusiastically to independent, or “indie”, hotels, a slew of changes took place in the past few months. Mega-chain AccorHotels announced last month that it would open its online booking services to include selected independent hotels, a move that would give travellers more choices and increase the number of rooms available on its website. The news comes at the heels of InterContinental Hotels Group’s acquisition of American boutique hotel group Kimpton last December, as well as Starwood’s launch of its 10th brand in April — the Tribute Portfolio which consists of independent four-star hotels.

Meanwhile, independent hotel groups are ramping up efforts in order to better cater to guests. Alila Hotels and Resorts merged with United States-based Commune Hotels and Resorts (the fourth brand under the boutique hotel operator); Design Hotels unveiled Brand Lab for member hotels and partners to seed new ideas; and Preferred Hotels Group rebranded itself to become Preferred Hotels and Resorts.

REBRAND AND REGROUP

The people behind Preferred Hotels and Resorts aren’t surprised about the interest in independent hotels. After all, the brand has been specialising in them since it was founded in 1968. It now provides travellers with a selection of more than 650 autonomous hotels across the world. And it’s a number that’s increasing: The group has added to its list high-profile names such as The Temple House in Chengdu, Palazzo Versace Dubai and South Beach Hotel right here in Singapore.

Josephine Lim, Preferred Hotels and Resorts’ managing director for South-east Asia, said: “Travellers have become savvier. They’re more willing to learn, explore and experience a destination with passion. There’s a growing movement of travellers who believe in independent hotels and prefer them.”

The very nature of independent hotels, which embraces different visions because they’re owned by different hoteliers, is a natural draw for travellers, added Lim. Preferred’s recent rebranding, which categorises its properties into five distinct collections (Legend, LVX, Lifestyle, Connect and Residences), is meant to help travellers find what they want for their next vacation more effectively.

Lim said the company’s new “horizontal experience collections” are created with the end-users in mind, compared with its previous business-to-business model, where it relied more on travel agents. “Travellers can now search under different collections for different needs — whether it’s mood, budget or experience — for what they’re looking for in different destinations. There may be days when they feel one way and days when they feel another.”

For example, the revamped website allows travellers to search by experiences, for those who want to commemorate events such as anniversaries or family reunions, and includes options that allow them to choose a setting, whether it’s the beach or a mountain.

Lim pointed out that hoteliers have realised the importance and attractiveness of staying independent, now that travellers are less reliant on brands when it comes to where they stay. Because of this, some brands have opted to go indie. In 2013, the Mandarin Oriental Dhara Dhevi Chiang Mai simply became The Dhara Dhevi Chiang Mai and the Hilton San Francisco Fisherman’s Wharf was renamed Pier 2620 Hotel Fisherman’s Wharf.

“It’s important to elevate these hotels where the owners have invested heavily,” said Lim. “A lot of them have their own stories to tell and we provide a platform for them to leverage on.”

BIGGER, BOLDER, BETTER

When Alila Hotels and Resorts’ partnership with Commune Hotels and Resorts was announced last month, a mini panic ensued among fans on social media, who thought the Singaporean boutique luxury hotel group was sold.

“I was so touched to hear that so many fans and friends expressed concern and dismay about the news, thinking Alila Hotels was swallowed up. It’s not the case,” said chief marketing officer Doris Goh, who’s also CMO of Commune Hotels and Resorts Asia.

Instead, Commune’s owner, John Pritzker, entered a strategic partnership with Alila last year and formally made Alila part of the Commune group, joining famed boutique hotel brands in the US, such as Joie de Vivre and Thompson, as well Thompson’s spin-off brand, Tommie, which opens its first property in New York in December.

“Each brand remains separate and independent. Commune is the holding company,” explained Goh. “We will still be operating according to the values and principles (that define) Alila properties.”

This partnership, Goh said, would allow for the expansion of all brands. For example, Commune could pursue Alila in Europe and America, while Alila’s office in Singapore would function as Commune’s Asian headquarters and spearhead Thompson, Joie de Vivre and Tommie projects in the region. In fact, the very first Joie de Vivre in Asia will be opening in Manila soon. Meanwhile, Alila’s developments in Asia continue unperturbed. There are three openings this year — in Solo, Bali’s Seminyak and Zhejiang in China.

Goh said that while there have always been offers for Alila, the partnership with Commune made sense because it had similar values. “We’re, at heart, an innkeeper — we look after guests as if they’re coming home,” Goh said. “We’ll stay true to that. Nothing will change in Alila.”

THE CHAIN EFFECT

Starwood’s new Tribute Portfolio carries the tagline, “Stay independent”, which could be considered somewhat ironic as the Starwood group owns some of the world’s biggest and most popular hotel chains — Westin, St Regis, Le Meridien and W. But that’s overlooking the fact that the group has had an independent collection of hotels, the Luxury Collection, in its stable since 1994.

“Starwood is a pioneer for independent hotels. We were the first among the hotel chains to have an independent collection, which now has close to 100 properties,” said Rajit Sukumaran, Starwood’s senior vice-president for acquisitions and development in the Asia-Pacific. “Given the success of the Luxury Collection, we saw a wide space within the upper-upscale hotel sector to launch Tribute.”

Tribute thus sits alongside Starwood’s other brands — Sheraton, Westin and Le Meridien — in a sector that Sukumaran feels has a lot of room for growth, given that Starwood Preferred Guest members are used to enjoying upscale hotels and have expressed a desire to stay in independent properties if they were given the option. For hoteliers, being part of Tribute gives them the opportunity to stay independent, while benefiting from being part of Starwood’s distribution system, sales platform and loyalty programme.

The fact that there are already groups such as Small Luxury Hotels, Leading Hotels of the World and Preferred Hotels and Resorts representing independent hotels didn’t faze Starwood. For one thing, more than 50 per cent of independent hotels worldwide don’t belong to any of these groups, Sukumaran said. “We have nine brands offering individual, unique propositions. Ultimately, we’re giving more choices to our guests, and Tribute meets that objective,” he explained.

Since its launch, there have been four hotels under Tribute in the US. Sukuman said Asia is definitely a key region and there would be Tribute hotels in gateway cities and resort markets.

The rise of indie hotels is a definite sign of demand for more diverse experiences by travellers. Just how much more will they evolve? Watch this space.