The Internet has also made it easier to research other travelers’ experiences ahead of time, easing the fear of the unknown that vacationers may have had in decades past.<\/span><\/p>\n As a result, growth in boutique hotels<\/strong>, defined as upscale, smaller properties focused on design<\/strong>, technology<\/strong>, local culture and standing out from the cookie-cutter hotel crowd<\/strong>, has exploded<\/strong> in the last decade. According to research firm\u00a0IBISWorld<\/a>, the boutique hotel industry, which comprises about five percent of the market, has grown 6.1 percent per year since 2009, and it expects that growth to accelerate through 2019.<\/p>\n \u201cStarting in the 1950s, standardization became a plus in hotels. Travelers would know what to expect when they would visit a city they had never been to before,\u201d said Bjorn Hanson, professor at NYU\u2019s Center for Hospitality and Tourism. \u201cIn the last decade, that trend has reversed. All of a sudden, standardization has become a negative. Guests are looking for experiential travel — something that will look cool in an Instagram photo.\u201d<\/p>\n It\u2019s no surprise then that giant hotel chains such as Marriott, Hilton and Hyatt want a piece of the boutique hotel action, whether it\u2019s by acquiring existing properties or developing new ones of their own. Earlier this month, InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG), the world\u2019s largest hotel brand, finalized its acquisition of Kimpton, a beloved chain of boutique hotels with a fiercely loyal following. Backlash against the merger from Kimpton fans was swift:\u00a0Many worried<\/a>\u00a0that the deal would result in a homogenization of the quirky, stylish hotels guests have come to love.<\/p>\n \u201cThe Kimpton customer is worried, because it\u2019s a beloved brand,\u201d Sean Murphy, editor of members-only luxury travel website Jetsetter, said. \u201cBut IHG is smart enough to realize: Don\u2019t mess with the formula. They\u2019re interested in growth and can offer Kimpton opportunities expand in more locations while maintaining its distinct style.\u201d<\/p>\n Whether IHG is successful in its venture with Kimpton remains to be seen, but it\u2019s just one more in a long list of attempts by the big hotel corporations to create \u201cbranded boutiques\u201d and capture younger, savvier travelers who value style over standardization. Starwood Hotels was the first to get in on the trend, and its launch of W Hotels in the late 1990s has been a resounding success. Later, Hyatt\u00a0launched Andaz<\/a>\u00a0in 2007, and Hilton\u00a0announced Canopy<\/a>\u00a0in 2014. Marriott\u00a0went all the way<\/a>\u00a0with several collections, including\u00a0Autograph<\/a>,\u00a0Moxy<\/a>\u00a0and the most recent Edition chain of hotels that\u2019s the result of\u00a0Marriott\u2019s unlikely partnership with Ian Schrager<\/a>, the entrepreneur and hotel impresario who is credited as the pioneer of boutique hotels.<\/p>\n But are branded boutiques antithetical to the concept of boutique hotels themselves? \u201cThe brands haven\u2019t been very good at doing boutique because their whole DNA has been about consistency, scale and saving on cost,\u201d Murphy said. \u201cBoutique hotels have a specific mindset — they\u2019re not mass produced. But everyone can\u2019t stay at a boutique hotel because of room capacity and also because not everyone has the luxury to afford boutique hotel prices. That\u2019s where big brands can carve out a space.\u201d That can also include travelers who want the advantage of earning loyalty points with their preferred brands.<\/p>\n Murphy says that to be successful in the boutique space, they will have to approach their projects with sincerity about offering guests a unique experience. \u201cSome of the brands are just checking off boxes, hoping the cosmetics will attract a customer,\u201d he said. Those are the ones that are likely to flounder in the long run. \u201cOther brands do it well, like Hyatt with Andaz. It gets the details correct. The brand understands the importance of design and space, and even though it\u2019s scalable, it\u2019s attractive to an audience that\u2019s interested in design.\u201d<\/p>\n Still, some critics say the trend is watering down the boutique experience itself. Avi Brosh, founder of Paligroup hotels, addressed the issue at a Skift travel industry conference in October. \u201cWhat does boutique even mean today? I don\u2019t really know,\u201d\u00a0he said<\/a>. \u201cI would suggest that boutique hotels, as they\u2019re known in asset-class capacity, have become spiritually bankrupt.\u201d<\/p>\n