More and more over the years, I've developed a habit of asking hotel executives how they define lifestyle hotels.
Often this question pops up during interviews with lifestyle- and boutique hotel-focused companies or executives in charge of that particular vertical at larger groups.
The reactions I get are varied. Sometimes I get a thorough and thoughtful response of how their company views lifestyle, but that does seem to always boil down to how they're approaching a white space open for growth. Sometimes they seem confused by the very question, like the definitely of lifestyle is so well established that it's silly I'm even wondering. And sometimes, I get a sort of lazy half answer that hints at either they know they don't really know or they're more eager to talk about something else.
But I've still yet to land on anything I'd consider an applicable, broad definition for the industry at large.
Some aspects that seem to be recurring include:
- the idea that lifestyle hotels can't be cookie-cutter and generic — they have to have some uniqueness
- food and beverage offerings need to be elevated compared to traditional branded hotels
- they are not the same as luxury hotels because that's more about a price point than an ethos.
Beyond that, it's anyone's guess. The follow-up question I often ask is somewhat helpful, and that's "How do you scale lifestyle if it's about unique experience?" The answers to that typically veer more toward discussing what guests desire than actual best practices.
Part of my problem in fully conceptualizing what a lifestyle hotel is relates back to the fact that "lifestyle" as a term is so unbelievably generic, which once again the hotels are not supposed to be.
Now I'm going to commit the column-writing cardinal sin and share the dictionary definition of lifestyle, to try to elevate the discourse just a little here.
Merriam-Webster defines the "lifestyle" as "the typical way of life of an individual, group or culture" and the adjective in this wonderfully enlightening, not at all recursive way: "associated with, reflecting, or promoting an enhanced or more desirable lifestyle."
So maybe that last bit is it, despite the fact that its logic is completely circular. Is a lifestyle hotel supposed to express to the guest the life they want to be living in an aspirational kind of way?
That concept at least makes some level of sense to me. Giving people a moment to experience their desired life outside of their regular day to day sounds good.
Unless I hear something better, maybe I'll just go with that.
Let me know what you think on LinkedIn or via email.
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