Launching a Boutique Hotel

[Thierry Van Roy]

So in my regular job I'm a freelancer. Right now, I have been contracted to help in launching a boutique hotel somewhere in Europe. I work under one of the partners as a copy writer, junior marketing expert, web expert and so on.

The hotel is still in the location scouting phase, but things are set to move quickly.

At the moment, I'm writing a marketing proposal, which includes pretty much every real estate & marketing aspect except for the hotel management part (fortunately, because I know nothing about that).

Do you guys have any resources on launching hotels? Specifically Boutique Hotels? I have found a few websites, but the information is very sparse and I'm totally unfamiliar with the sector.

[Chris Winterhalter]

@Thierry Van Roy

My business partner & I have a hotel construction business along with our real estate business. We have been looking at getting into the hotel investment side of the business for the past few months. We did a boutique hotel construction project in Manhattan (SoHo) earlier this year so I am somewhat familiar with these types of projects. I also tried to pick ownerships brain on the investment side.

I am a little confused by your question though...what are you specifically asking for help with? Are you looking for advice on the investment side? I would think the developer/investor would be well versed in this? Boutique hotels can be difficult depending on room size, REVPAR, area etc. It's more difficult to run a hotel that won't support a good salary for a full time GM and supporting staff. You have a certain amount of payroll that can affect profitability if you don't hold to a certain REVPAR number.

Or are you asking about design? Is the hotel going to be an independent non branded hotel or is it going to be a boutique hotel under a certain brand? For example Choice Hotels has what they call the Ascend Collection which is basically for boutique hotels that want to be a part of a larger brand.

Any information would help including but not limited to:

-Proposed area (or general area ) or desired type of area

-Size of hotel - including # of keys (rooms)

-Limited service or full? Bar/Restaurant owned by hotel or leased

-New construction or redevelopment project?

-Any other info you can give would be great