If design is where a boutique or lifestyle property starts, service is often where it ends. Service is the critical infrastructure that gives a property its vibe and culture, according to panelists at last week’s Lifestyle/Boutique Hotel Development Conference at the Fontainebleau in Miami Beach. “We’re selling experiences, not rooms,” said Raul Leal, president and a partner at Tecton Hospitality and Desires Hotels.

“Design is the backdrop to vibe,” said Phil Belke, Cambria Suites’ senior director of brand management, “but the culture inside those four walls is the key.” Paul O’Reilly, the president and CEO of Newport Harbor Corporation, explained it as “systemic anticipation, the anticipating of every guest need.”

Certainly that’s the goal at any property, but it takes on an even greater significance at a boutique hotel where guests expect first-rate service, but with an attitude. Leal said that attitude must be intended, but not contrived. “Service with a soul,” Leal said. Belke added that although training is critical, hiring for heart and soul is more important. “It’s about being genuine, not scripted,” he said.

All the panelists agreed TripAdvisor was a tool that couldn’t be overlooked when it comes to a property’s service culture. It is just another set of metrics that operators need to understand, O’Reilly said. “You have to embrace TripAdvisor,” he said. “You have to want to be No. 1. It comes down to learning from it and getting better.” 

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