21. A View From The Summit

I had the opportunity to speak on the topic of design trends as a panellist at the recent Boutique Hotel Summit at The Montcalm in London. Throughout the day the assembled great and good attempted to define a boutique hotel, and more than once. Let’s just say there wasn’t a consensus!

What did filter through in my session as well as the extremely interesting talk by Hotel Analyst Andrew Sangster is the importance of ‘the experience’ for guests. In particular Mr. Sangster spoke of the need for active social spaces and personality driven design. The word most often referred to was ‘quirkiness.’ Getting the balance correct between a unique boutique offering and simply the owner’s personal taste is one of the skills an experienced professional design team will bring to your project.

Return to the academy tips.