Industry observers note that the boutique hotel sector “suffers from a lack of clarity and definition”
(Mintel, 2011). In some ways, this assessment is not surprising as each boutique hotel is unique.
Nevertheless, there have been attempts to define boutique hotels. In recent studies, researchers
including McIntosh and Siggs (2005) and Aggett (2007) identified similar attributes – location, quality,
personalized service, and the uniqueness of the hotel – as important to boutique hotel visitors.
Expanding on this basic set of attributes a review of the research shows additional characteristics of
boutique hotels include:
Focus on the Hotel Experience. Pine and Gilmore (2002), authors of the groundbreaking book
‘The Experience Economy: Work is Theater and Every Business is a Stage”, note that boutique
and lifestyle hotels have been differentiating their products on the experience for a long time.
Boutique hotels are small to medium size operations. While it is clear that there are many hotels
with less than 200 rooms that are not boutique hotels, it is also clear that boutique hotels are
generally considered to be small to medium sized operations.
Design is a defining feature of boutique hotels. Lim and Endean (2009) noted that while most
boutique hotel guests had mixed feelings about the importance of the buildings themselves, the
internal design features were important in defining the boutique hotel experience.