Source: TOPHOTELPROJECTS

The hospitality industry is changing at a fast pace, and hoteliers are constantly having to come up with new and innovative solutions to appeal to the demands of their clients. Recent trends in lifestyle and experiential hotels are changing the face of what hotels are offering, and more and more travelers are opting to stay in what Airbnb is calling "non-traditional" accommodation.

Traditional lodging open to interpretation

What would typically have been defined as a "traditional" hotel is becoming more and more obscure. The standard bricks-and-mortar hotel, with guest rooms, a restaurant and perhaps a swimming pool, is no longer cutting the mustard when it comes to what guests want. One way of judging what travelers are looking for in holiday accommodation is to look at what the popular searches are on Airbnb. The sharing platform's booking data reveals that customers are increasingly searching for lodgings in the site's "non-traditional" section, which lists everything from treehouses to yurts, yachts and nature lodges. This points to a desire to be closer to nature, something which seems to be more important than ever to people looking to get away from the daily grind and reconnect with their surroundings.

A luxury take on tradition

Many of these new types of "non-traditional" holiday rentals are not new at all. Some, such as the yurt or the "ryokan", a type of Japanese inn, have been around for centuries, but hoteliers are taking advantage of this upsurge in demand to reinvent these traditional types of lodgings. Given a luxury makeover, a yurt in the middle of a forest can become an upscale version of camping, and this has been put into play at festivals in the form of "glamping" for a few years now. Airstream RVs are popular in the Californian desert, and Instagram is full of young, attractive millennials living their dream with the hashtag #vanlife, where they sleep in the back of a van and do yoga in different, idyllic destinations around the world. The popularity of these kinds of getaways could in large part be down to the social media aesthetic of the isolated retreat, and hotels are taking advantage of this. The new Lakedale Yurt Village will be a collection of seven luxury yurts with a starting price of $325 a night, located on the site of the Lakedale Resort at Three Lakes, Washington state. Ryokans are being seen in all shapes and forms from California to Tokyo andShizuoka in Japan.

Desire for design

Another sector that is seeing an increase in demand is that of famous architectural landmarks, or buildings designed by world-renowned architects. Infamous American architect Frank Lloyd Wright would have celebrated his 150th birthday last year, and there was lots of renewed buzz about him on the internet. This perhaps prompted a resurgence in interest in his buildings, but travelers are also wishing to stay in houses of architectural significance, as evidenced by the rental site PlansMatter. This site lists hotels and residences that are architecturally-focused and even lists rentals by the architects that have designed them. There are a number of Wright houses listed on the site, as well as design-led hotels that will appeal to architecture buffs.

Let's take a look at a few other unusual hotel projects currently underway:

Bangkok Boutique Edition Hotel

The luxury mixed-use retail project Maha-Nahkon, a 77-storey building …[READ MORE]

Sarani Resort

Slated for completion in the first quarter of 2018, Sarani Resort and Spa will be a four star boutique hotel with the service of a five star VIP resort. It will span one third of the idyllic island of Isla Pastor in the Bocas Del Toro Province of Panama. The islands' warm Caribbean waters, white sand beaches and abundant rain forest are untouched, making this a breathtakingly beautiful escape for guests. [MORE INFO…]

Art'otel London Battersea Power Station

The luxury lifestyle hotel will offer incredible guest amenities with a number of show-stopping skyline floors boasting panoramic views leading up to the stunning Roof Garden …[READ MORE]

More information on unusual hotels can be found on TOPHOTELPROJECTS, the specialized service provider of cutting-edge information of the hospitality industry.

Jule Grass
Marketing Manager
+49 4261 4140 309
TOPHOTELPROJECTS