Morgans Hotel Group enjoys the "boutique" hotel label. The word boutique describes its hotels' individualized look and feel, demonstrated by this lobby at the Clift Hotel in San Francisco.

NATIONAL REPORT–You can't say the word "boutique" with a sneer.

That's because the word has a nice, open sound, said Scott Williams, EVP and chief marketing officer for Morgans Hotel Group. "It has a great connotation, great vibration. 'Chain' has a hard sound," he said.

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Apparently, a lot of people agree, because boutique has become a favored descriptor for independent hotels and entire new brand launches alike. But has the word become so watered down that no one actually knows what it means anymore? Consistency of service still prevails. But no one seems to want a "cookie cutter" hotel, so the term boutique gets adopted.

"What else are you going to call it?" said Mike Depatie, CEO and president of Kimpton Hotels & Restaurants. "'Boutique' reminds me a little bit of 'extended-stay.' When I was one of the early guys at Residence Inn, we started using the term extended-stay, and it used to be that extended-stay meant Residence Inn. But today, there's all kinds of extended-stay players."

In addition to Kimpton, the boutique concept is traced to Ian Schrager and Steve Rubell, who opened Morgans Hotel in New York in 1984, followed by the Royalton Hotel and Paramount Hotel. The hotels centered on lobby socializing and cheap chic.

The Hotel Palomar in San Francisco is an example of Kimpton's drive to make its name synonymous with boutique hotels.

"Where boutique probably 10 years ago meant a little hotel in a less desirable area in a city, likely to be of three-star quality or lesser quality, the term boutique today often means a luxury hotel in a prime location," Depatie said.

Kimpton, which was founded in 1981, calls itself the first collection of boutique hotels.

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"We're really trying to replace the word boutique with Kimpton and we'd like Kimpton to be synonymous with boutique, much like Kleenex is synonymous with those little white things you blow your nose with," he said.

Depatie admitted the word is used a lot and has some confusion surrounding it, but, "When you modify boutique with Kimpton, it really means something to our customers."

Joie de Vivre Hotels keeps its hotels under 225-250 rooms to ensure service remains personalized, like at the Hotel Vitale in San Francisco.

It's not about size (Kimpton has a couple of hotels with 400 rooms, although most are smaller), but rather a mindset and customer service, Depatie said.

Ingrid Summerfield, EVP and COO for Joie de Vivre Hotels, said anything over 225-250 rooms becomes too large because of the lack of personalized service.

"It's no longer personalized when there is a line at check-in and a people-mover system," she said.