"A small steady migration is taking place toward privatizing hotels. Hotels that have been part of a chain are breaking off and new ones are being put up without a franchise. These small private hotels are sought after mostly for something they offer that is different. It could be a mystical offering or just something romantic or representing the environment of the area in which they are located. The franchise hotels, on the other hand, deliver consistency no matter where you stay across the globe."

"Surprisingly, no one had ever aggregated my peer group for travel marketing. Fundraisers alone spend millions on hotel rooms per year. Add to that admissions counselors, museum curators, visiting lecturers, social services administrators, recruiting coaches...and you have a very large market indeed."

"The small boutique hotels, which are the model partners for this service, have limited ad/marketing budgets. They rely on word of mouth and favorable PR. What I have provided is expedited (electronically) word-of-mouth marketing for them (for free!).

They love the exclusivity of this arrangement as there are now more boutique hotels than ever with still more in the planning stages."

"You will start to see the filling of the gaps to avoid competition and increase notice. It does take some vision, however, to see Knoxville as the next profit center.

With the success of the boutique hotel you are also seeing the big chains get into the act. The "W" hotels, for example, reflect the funky style originated by the Kimpton Chains and others. They do this on a very large scale, however. And something is lost."