Luxury on a budget

Boutique is going frugal and going everywhere.

At $150 (Dh551) or so per night, you'll soon enjoy cool design, cutting-edge technology and hip social scenarios from Boise, Idaho, to Boston.

For this you can thank half a dozen new hotel chains, some with enigmatic names such as Element and NYLO.

Although the hipness quotient varies, their common feature is a casual, multi-purpose lobby, where guests work, socialise, drink, eat and relax. Food service is mostly grab-and-go at all hours.

Target

Geared to young business travellers, these hotels, typically 300 rooms or fewer, pair affordable rates with stylish rooms, free wireless access, breakfast and fitness centres.

Cross a Comfort Inn with the Mondrian and you'll get the idea: inexpensive chic with a twist of business.

Some experts say they're the beginning of a wave of lower-priced so-called "lifestyle chains" that appeal to the big aspirations and small budgets of people in their 30s and younger.

Aloft Hotels, one of the new brands, hopes to attract "trendsetters and tech-savvy entrepreneurs, regardless of age", said vice-president Brian McGuinness.

For the new lifestyle brands, key age groups are Generation X — born between 1965 and 1979 and people born between 1980 and 1997, pegged as Generation Y, and who will soon rival Baby Boomers as the biggest consumer group in US history.

As hotel customers, Generation Y hates commercialism and has little loyalty to brands, said Jonathan Barsky, a University of San Francisco marketing professor.

But they're also the most emotional, and words like "inspired" and "extravagant" turn them on, according to a new Market Metrix study based on quarterly surveys of 35,000 guests.

High style at low prices

How will hoteliers provide high style at low prices? One way is to combine the functions of a lobby, lounge, restaurant, bar and business centre into one space, leaving more square feet for revenue-generating guest rooms.

Another is to build in mid-size towns and on fringes of big cities, where land is cheaper.

It sounds like a workable model. But Peter Yesawich, president and chief executive of Yesawich, Pepperdine, Brown & Russell — a Florida-based marketing concern, has some doubts.

With big corporations bankrolling most of these new hotels and preparing to "stamp them out all over the country [America]", Yesawich wondered about their fate in the long run. "It's difficult to manufacture ‘hip'," he said.

Affordable options you can explore

Aloft Hotels
The pitch: "Stylish design, accessible technology and a hip, urban attitude" with the "DNA of W Hotels".
Openings: Initially in Toronto and Montreal, Canada, and Chantilly, Vancouver early next year. Plans for 500 hotels by 2012.
Features: Loft-style rooms with 9ft ceilings and central plug-in console, linked to a flat-screen TV, for the BlackBerry, MP3 and laptops. Communal social areas. 24-hour snack bar. Fitness centre. Pool.
Rates: About $100 to $200 (Dh367 to Dh735).
Operator: Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide; www.alofthotels.com

NYLO Hotels
The pitch: "Upscale hotels at mid-scale rates", with innovative design.
Openings: Plano, Texas this year; Warwick, Rhode Island next year. Plans for more than 50 hotels by 2010
Features: Loft-style rooms with walls of exposed brick and polished concrete. "Ultra-social" common area with 24-hour restaurant, bar, business centre, library, game room. Staff outfits by Daniel Vosovic from Project Runway reality TV show.
Rates: $120-$140 (Dh441-Dh515)
Operator: NYLO Hotels, Atlanta; www.nylohotels.com

Element
The pitch: "A space to live your life ... a dramatic innovation in the extended-stay category"
Openings: Lexington, Massachusetts next year. Plans for 500 hotels.
Features: Rooms with Westin's Heavenly Bed, gourmet pantry. Lobby with multistorey "window wall", laptop ports, wireless access. Courtyard with fire pit and barbecue. 24-hour "grab-and-go" pantry
Rates: Expected above $125 (Dh459)
Operator: Starwood Hotels & Resorts; www.elementhotels.com

Cambria Suites
The pitch: "Hip, stylish ... more intimate and less institutional"
Openings: In Boise, Idaho this year; more than 30 future sites
Features: Large rooms with divided work, living and sleep areas, flat-screen TVs, refrigerator, microwave. Multi-use lobby with large-screen TV, breakfast buffet, coffee lounge that converts to a bar at night, evening menu (but no formal restaurant), 24-hour convenience store. Gym and pool with hot tub.
Rates: Vary; recently $139 (Dh511) and up for Boise in March
Operator: Choice Hotels; www.cambriasuites.com

Hyatt Place
The pitch: "Stylish design, purposeful amenities and forward-thinking technology"
Openings: Lombard, Illinois; Scottsdale, Arizona; Atlanta and College Park, Georgia this year; more than 100 next year. Initial openings will be conversions of the AmeriSuites chain acquired by Hyatt last year.
Features: Spacious rooms with Hyatt Grand Bed, sectional sofa, flat-screen TV. Lobby area with personal greeting from host, self-registration kiosk, coffee and drinks café, TV den, free wireless and free access to public computer and printer. Free breakfast. Cafe with touch-screen kiosks for ordering food using room key card.
Rates: Vary; recently started at $169 (Dh620) in Scottsdale for December, $109 (Dh400) for June.
Operator: Global Hyatt Corp;
www.hyattplace.com