Boutique Hotel Group Accelerates Expansion Plans, Working To Build Brand Awareness

NEW YORK— After focusing its management efforts solely on the New York City market, Boutique Hotel Group (BHG) has made a foray outside of the Big Apple. Its newest property is Salt Lake City’s 73-room Peery Hotel, which brings its portfolio count to six boutique properties. Plans are to add a possible five new management contracts within the next six months, including its first Caribbean and Canadian locations. This small hotel group, which consists of New York boutique properties such as the Mansfield, the Roger Williams, the Shoreham, the Franklin, and the Hotel Wales, is moving full-speed ahead with expansion plans designed to create “a true boutique brand,” said Christopher Perry, vp/sales and marketing for BHG. “There are a lot of companies marketing themselves as a boutique brand that aren’t,” said Perry, noting that he defines a boutique hotel as having fewer than 200 rooms, with a service-oriented staff creating an intimate experience. “There are 600-room hotels claiming they’re boutique hotels. They’re not,” he stated. So, BHG has set out to define itself as not just a collection of small hotels, but as a competitive boutique brand. And to build brand awareness, the group is first going to build the size of its brand. Under the direction of its new President/COO, Steve Marx, BHG has set its sights on doubling its size in the coming year with expansion reaching far beyond its New York concentration and possibly including its first ownership project. “We’re looking at management and ownership contracts,” said Perry, who declined to comment as to where the group is obtaining its financing. To kick off its expansion efforts, the group recently acquired a management contract for the historic Peery Hotel in Salt Lake City just in time for the Winter Olympic Games, which are currently underway there. Built in 1910, the Peery hotel was completely renovated in 1999 and upgraded again in 2001. BHG will bringing some additional highlights to the property including the brand’s signature amenities, which include: a check-in cocktail, uniquely selected to represent the flavor of the individual hotels; 24-hour complimentary cappuccino and espresso; a free CD library to compliment the in-room CD players; and free in-room bathrobes and bottled water. These amenities, as well as the brand’s personalized service, are designed to emphasize a coherent theme between all of BHG’s properties, and will be standard features at its hotels going forward. Boutique Hotel Group is not only branching into other U.S. markets, but the brand is also planning to manage its first international hotels. “We’re locked into this project in Montreal. It’s a solid, four-star hotel that will open a year from now,” said Perry In addition, the brand is planning to add an exclusive, villa-style Caribbean hotel within the next 60 days, which is currently in its pre-opening stages, he stated. To boost its expansion plans even further, the company has hired a new evp/general counsel, Michael Murphy, who is in charge of sourcing and structuring new acquisition, management, and advisory opportunities. Three new sales members have also been added to aggressively sell the company’s entire portfolio of hotels, which replace the on-property sales representatives that previously only sold rooms for their respective hotels. BHG is currently looking to add a fourth sales member, which will concentrate on securing small group meetings. Meanwhile, Kerry Club Hotels has recently been hired by BHG to conduct outside sales calls for its properties using the Kerry’s extensive contacts in the entertainment, fashion, and corporate communities. “They’re getting us in doors that we couldn’t get into on our own,” said Perry.