It goes without saying that the hospitality industry has a lot of trends. At times there might not actually be much substance to these trends, but the idea is that executives in the industry think certain things are “hot,” and they perceive it to reflect consumer demand.
Along those lines, if you look at trends among the major hotel groups, the concept of “lifestyle hotels” has become incredibly popular. There are an endless number of brands like these that have emerged. I think one logical question is what the term actually means. What makes a property a lifestyle hotel, rather than an… umm, not lifestyle hotel?
How lifestyle hotels are defined, broadly
I know I’m generally pretty verbose and use a fairly limited vocabulary when it comes to describing things, but that’s intentional. In part, my issue is that many of the descriptors used in marketing, particularly in the travel industry, are so beyond meaningless:
- You’ll be at an airport Sheraton, and the generic restaurant will market how it offers “locally sourced, farm to table” cuisine; dude, the Sysco truck is outside right now
- I love how airlines markets how “seasonal” their fruit plates are; I didn’t realize the same cantaloupe and pineapple being served year-round on this airline is seasonal to Chicago in January
- Yesterday I saw an Instagram video someone did about Turkish business class, talking about how they had a “private” chef; you’re sharing the chef with 48 other people, the chef isn’t actually cooking anything, and he’s a “private” chef in contrast to, what, exactly (I don’t think there are many public chefs just standing on the street offering to cook things for people for free)?
- I love when airline meals are described as Michelin dining; restaurants (not chefs) are given Michelin stars, but even if you want to make that leap, you’d be hard pressed to claim that a chef behind a Michelin star restaurant simply signing off a menu, and it then being mass produced in a catering facility, makes it a Michelin dining experience
My point is, we’re completely desensitized to useless descriptions of every aspect of the travel experience… unless you’re currently enjoying a seasonal fruit plate served by a private Michelin star chef on a plane, in which case I can’t save you. 😉
Anyway, that brings us to lifestyle hotels, one of the hottest trends in the hotel industry. It’s easy to name brands that claim to be lifestyle hotels — we’re talking Hilton’s Canopy and Curio Collection, Hyatt’s Andaz and Thompson, IHG’s Kimpton and voco, Marriott’s W Hotels and Autograph Collection, etc.
I guess the best way to define a lifestyle hotel would be to step back for a moment, and separate out the two words. Generally a lifestyle brand is a company that sells products by associating them with a specific way of living, set of values, or identities, that customers want to adopt.
A lifestyle hotel is generally defined as a property offering the personalization of an independent boutique hotel, with the attributes of a chain hotel (meaning loyalty, distribution power, etc.). Generally (but not always) these properties have a strong food & beverage or social concept as a core pillar, since that’s a large attribute that can make a hotel popular with a certain guest profile.
Why “lifestyle hotels” is a meaningless term to me
The issue with the concept of lifestyle hotels is that hotels can choose how they want to market themselves, and I think some hotels take a “fake it till you make it” approach. If you ask me, the concept of a lifestyle hotel should come down to two factors:
- It should be a hotel with character and unique design, so that it’s not cookie cutter
- It should be a hotel with bustling outlets (presumably primarily restaurants and bars), which are popular with not just hotel guests, but also with locals
We can of course create all kinds of more specific distinctions, but I think it’s unnecessary. I’ve already written in the past about the concept of “boutique” hotels, another term that means so little. As far as I’m concerned, a lifestyle hotel could be small or big, as the big question is how bustling it is relative to its size.
But this also gets at the issue of how hotel groups choose to label their brands. For example, Marriott labels AC Hotels, Aloft, Autograph Collection, Element, Moxy, Tribute Portfolio, and W Hotels, all as lifestyle brands. From my perspective:
- I can see how Autograph Collection and Tribute Portfolio could be lifestyle, in terms of having unique design, and often having bustling food & beverage outlets
- EDITION and W Hotels are two brands that sometimes have busy outlets and a social scene, but I’d hardly consider the design ethos of either brand to be unique, as it’s quite cookie cutter (but I’ll forgive it)
- But then you throw in brands like AC Hotels, Aloft, and Moxy, and I just instantly get confused
Nothing against Aloft, Moxy, and AC Hotels — I actually quite like all three brands, specifically for their consistency across properties. But to me, that’s also exactly what makes these properties not lifestyle brands. They’re incredibly cookie cutter, and they’re by no means social scenes.
I mean, I live pretty close to a Moxy, and I’ve never thought to myself “hey family, maybe we should go to the Moxy for dinner tonight” (as much as my older son would probably love going somewhere and being able to microwave his own dinner).
So to me, these are the hotels that very much fit into the “fake it until you make it” camp. Like, the major hotel groups want to convince investors and customers that these are somehow something they aren’t. I mean, I’ve also had pleasant stays at AC Hotels properties, and that’s described as “a lifestyle brand that celebrates a new modern aesthetic complemented by a European soul and Spanish roots.” I mean… really?
Bottom line
Hotel groups love to grow and market their lifestyle hotel brands, but I feel like they take a lot of liberties with how they define these. On the most basic level, the idea is supposed to be that lifestyle hotels offer a boutique hotel-style experience, while being associated with one of the major brands.
However, I’d say more accurately, it’s about how much of a “destination” a property is, as that also determines the vibe of the place. I’d love if someone could help me understand just how hotel groups can in good conscience categorize some brands as being lifestyle hotels. Like, how does Marriott include AC Hotels, Autograph Collection, EDITION, and Moxy, all under that same umbrella?
How do you define the lifestyle hotel concept?
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