Luxury Travel & Lifestyle Trends

Some luxury hotels are embracing the idea and letting guests rent rooms by the hour, giving hotels the chance to take better advantage of the daytime hours; it promote sampling, and fills up some rooms that would otherwise be vacant. These posh rooms-by-the-hour aren’t just targeted at couples planning a clandestine tryst but also shoppers who want to rest their weary feet, guests in need or a power nap or travelers in search of a quiet place to wait for a late plane or cruise ship boarding.

Speaking to the New York Times, “Standing apart on an attraction other than price is important,” said Leonard M. Lodish, vice dean of the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania. “If competitors continually undercut each other’s prices, it’s a race to the bottom,” he said.

We’re just back from the Hospitality Design Boutique Exposition & Conference in the heart of Miami’s South Beach. Most interesting was a panel “Affordable hotels 2.0- Hybrids, New brands and fresh ideas” where the industry’s latest pioneers (Paul Priestman of Priestmangoode, Micheal Levie of CitizenM hotels, Bill Lanting of Stay Hotels, and Enrique Sarasola of Room Mate hotels) discussed the next generation of hotels, design and the newest consumer.

There’s a new model for independent travelers: DIY (do it yourself) hotels, a latest trend in hospitality. Also, David Bouley’s recently announced that he’ll be launching BYO nights in the fall.