Independent Properties: When the Hotel Becomes the Experience

When people describe independent boutique hotels, they usually emphasize the small touches: The wildflower bookmark they got when they checked out a book from the library at The Betsy in South Beach, or the vast vinyl collection at The Verb in Boston.

To win over event planners, many independent hotels pitch features that can’t be found elsewhere, like the garden venue at Lake Nona Wave Hotel in Orlando, which boasts sculptures from The Lewis Collection – including by Henry Moore and Fernando Botero. Attendees can enjoy their cocktails and hors d’oeuvres by Arturo di Modica's Charging Bull (a sibling of the Wall Street icon), beneath a canopy of palm trees. 

In this era of chains and consolidation, many planners are on the lookout for independent hotels that pride themselves on their flexibility, creativity and authenticity.

For a planner from the automotive product company Moxi, Big Sky Resort in Montana was able to do what most hotels couldn’t – change the flooring from carpet to hardwood for its meeting. “Some of our stakeholders like to push the boundaries,” she said. “Without debating the request, the service team understood the importance and impact and responded quickly, even welcoming an outside vendor.

“Chain properties can get caught up in approvals or simply refuse to accommodate you,” she added. “Because Big Sky was not bound by brand standards that can crush creativity, they can offer the flexibility that demanding clients require.” 

Local Inspiration

New England is a bastion of small independently owned hotels and inns, and meeting groups choose the region for its beauty and charm.

At The Groton Inn, a small boutique hotel north of Boston, the owners have made it their mission to embrace the community’s burgeoning local art scene. They added a locally run gallery in the lobby, and the curator offers guided tours of the artwork and, for meeting groups, a menu of art-related activities, from sip and paint team building sessions to painting classes held outdoors.

At the Cape Cod classic, Ocean Edge Resort in Brewster, the chef creates New England-style clambakes using custom crates to bury the lobsters in the sand, and attendees can take private tours of the adjacent Brewster Flats, the biggest oyster flats in the U.S.

It’s these types of experiences, where hotel event and culinary teams use the destination as their inspiration and are not reigned in by corporate menus and purchasing constraints, that are defining the independent hotel landscape for groups. The hotel becomes the experience.

“We’re hearing from meeting planners that their stakeholders are increasingly seeking immersive experiences, where the hotel is an integral part of the event rather than just a backdrop,” said Amy Butterfield, senior vice president, global sales – group, Preferred Hotels & Resorts (of which Big Sky is a member).

Pricing and Service

None of this has to break the bank, say planners, who report having more negotiating power with independents than with chain hotels with standardized pricing.

“Independent properties are not subject to the same boilerplate clauses that you’ll see in the big chains,” said Bonni Scepkowski, president, Stellar Meetings & Events. “The go-to answer for redlining anything at many chain properties is ‘We are not allowed.’ Those decisions are made at a corporate level, and often the property teams themselves are unable to override them.

“Of course, if the business is deemed valuable enough, it can be escalated and changed – but it’s a game I prefer not to play.”