Select Service Hotels

Starbucks did it for coffee. Target, with an assist from designer Michael Graves, did it for toilet brushes. And now, some mega lodging chains are doing it for hotel rooms. Hotel chains are developing new brands to attract the young, hip, 30-something traveler.

The concept was invented by Marriott Courtyard and followed by the Hilton Garden Inn. Known in the trade as “select service” lodging, the hotels offer food and beverage in hip bars and boutique lobbies. A step above their “limited service” cousins, select service hotels offer more than a free cold breakfast.

With room rates at over $100 a night, the new brands are focused on professionals in their 20s and 30s looking for a midprice business hotel designed for them instead of their parents. That means edgy design, stylish decor, fun hangouts outside the guest rooms and flat-screen TVs.

New brands include names like Hyatt Place, Cambria Suites, Nylo and Aloft. InterContinental Hotel Group once known for the Holiday Inn is now offering a new brand named Hotel Indigo. With chains planning about 1,500 select service hotels over the next five years, consumers will start to see the new brands popping up in urban and suburban markets around the country.