Are hotels going out of fashion?

If you read Hotel Chatter, Hotel Hotsheet or Happy Hotelier, you'd hardly think hotels were going out of style, however, I'm starting to see evidence to suggest otherwise. As much as I love browsing i-escape, tablet hotels and Mr & Mrs Smith, checking in to a design hotel or lolling about at a luxury resort, I'm beginning to think hotels might be going out of fashion. For starters, all of the other sleeping alternatives are on the rise, whether it's apartment and villa rentals (including renting direct from owners), B&Bs, agriturismo, 'cool camping'/glamping, RVing or caravanning. An increasingly devalued US dollar has made European hotels too expensive for Americans, leading US travellers to look for other accommodation options on the Continent this summer. As a result, the apartment rental business is booming, with help from the US travel media's ongoing coverage of 'Affordable Europe'. Those not feeling the pain of the diminishing dollar seem simply to want more interesting and intimate hotel experiences. We're seeing the shift as we travel around and see how others are travelling. More and more people are opting for longer stays in one place while another growing trend seems to be driving holidays where one night travellers might check in to a locanda (a charming little country inn or rooms above a restaurant), the next night opt for a farmstay or pensione, and then they'll do a hotel. People seem to be mixing it up a lot more. Then there's the increasing popularity of couchsurfing, a phenomenon The Guardian's Vicky Baker has been exploring in her series Going Local; Vicky has been sleeping on friendly sofas all over South America and loving it. The guidebook briefs we're getting are also reflecting changing trends, with less emphasis on hotels and hostels and more directives to source greater accommodation alternatives. So what do you think? Are hotels going out of fashion? I'd love to hear your thoughts - leave a comment or answer my poll (top right).

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