Lifestyle Hotels – New Paradigm of Modern Hotel Industry

The practice of modern hotel industry introduced to professional community the term “lifestyle” hotel. The paper deals with the essential meaning of this term. This raises the question of the difference between the lifestyle and boutique hotels which are in practice often identified. The paper aims to resolve the basic dilemma – whether lifestyle hotel can be treated as a special type of hotel, or all types of hotels under certain conditions can fit into a group called “lifestyle”. Closer defining of the term “lifestyle” is a starting point for further discussion. This paper makes an attempt to overcome the uncritical use of the term “lifestyle” in tourism and hospitality practice. Providing a clearer definition is necessary to establish standards for the typology of lifestyle hotels. These standards are primarily based on the criteria of market segmentation. Among them, psychographic criteria occupy a special place. To make lifestyle hotel more than a promotional slogan, it is necessary to confirm its market position. This means identifying specific target groups differentiated according to the main features of the lifestyle.