A boutique hotel is nothing without a “love mark,” that essence of the property that creates an emotional connection to guests. So said Douglas Carrillo, partner and senior vice president of sales and marketing for Desires Hotels, during a panel discussion at last week’s Lifestyle/Boutique Hotel Development Conference in Miami. Carrillo said this emotional connection should be the building block of all marketing efforts for boutique and lifestyle hotels. 

“Every guest is different,” agreed Jeff McIntyre, a partner with Gemstone Resorts. “As a marketer, you’ve got to find what it is that can link each potential customer to your property.”

Not surprisingly, the panel stressed the importance of social media as a key to boutique hotel marketing. They believe traditional advertising, especially in print media, has faded as a hotel marketing tool, mostly due to high costs and difficulties in measuring effectiveness. While well-designed and fully featured websites are important tools for all hotels, they’re especially critical for boutique properties, many of which aren’t affiliated with brand companies and their marketing machines.

“There are four elements to good website design,” said McIntyre. “The site must be distinctive. It needs to be highly visual, but also functional and easy to use. And, finally, it must speak directly to the hotel’s target audiences.”

Marketers are always searching for the next big thing, and the panel had their opinions on what that will be for the boutique and lifestyle segments.

Carrillo believes it will be an emphasis on mobile marketing as smart phones become ubiquitous and more sophisticated. Aleck Schleider, a vice president at TravelCLICK, says it will be enhancements to website design, including 3D imagery and video chat capabilities. McIntyre says it will be more cause marketing, some of it related to the green movement. He also believes microsegmentation of guests into smaller affinity groups will create new opportunities for hotel marketers.

 “A year or so ago, one of my younger staff members told me Twitter would be the next big thing, and it was,” said Brigette Breitenbach, principal of Company B Brand Marketing and a partner in Milwaukee’s Iron Horse Hotel. “However, he recently told me Twitter is dead. The lesson is to trust your instincts, but listen to the younger people you know and work with. When trends emerge, jump in quickly and ride the wave.”

Lodging Hospitality produced the conference in association with HVS Hotel Management.