Full House

Corporate buyouts are on the rise at boutique properties

- Leandra Beabout

FOR A LONG time, hotel takeovers belonged to the realm of conferences. But the popularity of boutique hotels, combined with pandemic-fueled demand for privacy and control, has led to an uptick in small-group buyouts. In the leisure sector, buyouts typically involve destination weddings and reunions. As for business travelers? Goodbye, room blocks; hello, retreat buyouts.

"Requests for full property buyouts are trending upward post-Covid," says Mia Giobbi Thomas, vice president of sales and marketing at Foley Entertainment Group, whose portfolio includes the Farmhouse Inn in California’s Sonoma County. In addition to reinforcing team dynamics with pizza-making sessions, the staff at Farmhouse Inn arrange off-property outings such as hiking or biking through the vineyards.

In the last two years, Alexandra Farrington, a luxury travel advisor at Acera Travel, has recorded a 35-percent increase in hotel buyouts for corporate retreats. “These buyouts have evolved into the new boardrooms for forward-thinking organizations, mirroring the leisure sector’s demand for privacy and controlled environments,” she says.