This annual hospitality event by SCDF (Southern California Development Forum) focused on the increased popularity of the boutique hotel industry – defined as independent, lifestyle and soft-brand collections.

We sponsored this breakfast meeting at the City Club Los Angeles on August 13th moderated by Bruce Baltin, managing director of CBRE Hotels, the world's leading hotel consulting firm. The explosion of digital content and social media has given rise to the idea of authenticity and experiential travel. With this, there is a greater demand for experience-based accommodation that reflect the fabric of a local community, personalized service and attention to detail.

In addition to CBRE Hotels, hospitality leaders/developers including the Sydell Group, Relevant Group, and BLVD Hospitality, spoke about key trends in independent hotel development and explained why this has become the fastest growing segment in the industry.  Several key take-away's from the conference:

• Soft branded hotels are offshoots of boutique brands for the same consumer profiles; soft brands by Marriott, Hilton and Hyatt continue to develop in response to the authentic and local experience of boutique hotels as a market segment


• Part of what makes boutique hotels is unpredictability


• The growth of boutique hotel brands has at times blurred the lines between themselves and lifestyle or select service brands, but given the strong market for hospitality in general this appears to be a rising tide lifting all boats


• The trend of co-working spaces continues to grow in many boutique properties; there's a focus on the guest experience in public areas for a sense of community; rooms are becoming smaller


• While social clubs are growing in popularity, the overhead required to operate these clubs does not lend itself particularly to boutique hotels but instead to a more limited lifestyle brand


• The boutique hotel trend is here to stay with key components influencing market segments throughout hotel ownership portfolios