Some Random Thoughts On "Lifestyle Hotels"

Alright, so generally I’m sort of a blog addict. I have over 100 blogs in my favorites list that I try to read at least weekly. Most of them are religious in nature and most of those are what many would label “emergent” or “missional”. But, sometimes I wander away from those and read some other types of blogs - blogs on personal finance, blogs on economics, blogs on random things that I have no involvement in – like the hotel industry – haha J That’s right, a while back some friends of mine who own a few hostels in Prague told me about Daniel Craig’s blog. He’s been in the hotel industry for years and that’s what he writes about but he’s got a great writing style and so I enjoy occasionally checking out what he’s talking about…

So, a while back I read this article by him and it got me thinking. So, this is something I wrote a while back but figured I’d share now…

So, we’ve all heard of hotels, hostels, and even boutique hotels but have you ever heard of a lifestyle hotel? Supposedly that’s the new thing. Daniel Craig describes lifestyle hotels as hotels that “cater to the traveler who wants to pack more than his PJs when going on the road, he wants to take his entire lifestyle: technology, health and wellbeing, social life, the dog and even eco-friendly practices.”  So, here’s what got me thinking… What is my lifestyle? What would my ideal lifestyle be? If I were to choose a “lifestyle hotel” to stay in what would I want it to be like? Bryan and I got to talking about these things and it was interesting to me.

So, here’s what we said we’d love to have in a “lifestyle hotel”:

-          Ipod docking station in the room

-          Tv (preferably flat screen) with ability to hook up the computer to them (cords for hooking up computer provided)

-          Free wifi internet

-          That they use only all natural bio-degradable fragrance free cleaning products and detergents and provide all natural shampoos and soaps in the rooms instead of those heavily scented chemically stuff that is usually in hotels

-          Have a restaurant that serves dishes using all organic, natural, locally grown ingredients and does special orders for allergies and other diet specifications

-          Low energy appliances and lights

-          Large library for the use of hotel patrons

-          Lots of little sitting areas and public places to sit and talk or sit and read a book

-          A cool bar with a variety of drink options

-          We’d want the style to be warm and inviting but also clean and not cluttered – elegant and classy but also comfortable and unobtrusive

-          Options for various educational classes/lections available (i.e. art classes, cooking classes, poker lessons, lectures on the local culture, lectures on the latest book, etc, etc)

-          Gym at the hotel with options for yoga classes and a spa with massages available

-          Options for giving back available through the hotel – one idea was that a percentage of the cost of each room goes towards building homes for those in need in a developing nation or goes towards some good cause in that specific community facials

-          Options available to guests to get involved in service projects in the community if they desire while they are staying at the hotel

-          Great public transportation near by

-          A game room, complete with pool table, where guests could hang out and play cards, or pool, or board games provided by the hotel

-          Oh, and it should all be reasonably inexpensive! :)

Ok, so I know that this post is totally random and not a topic I normally write about, but I hope you enjoyed it anyway :-)

So, what are some things that your lifestyle hotel would have and incorporate?

Rejoicing in the journey - Beth Stedman