What is an anti-hotel, and why is it winning over travellers?

Imagine a place that feels less like a conventional hotel and more like a compelling story unfolding around you — every corner whispers the secrets of its surroundings, and every experience becomes a personal chapter in your journey. This is the idea behind the anti-hotel: a new approach to hospitality that challenges familiar conventions. An anti-hotel rejects the standards of hotel chains, with their identical rooms and predictable lobbies, and offers a distinctive, authentic immersion in a place instead. Today, more and more travellers value authenticity over luxury, and experiences over a hotel’s star rating. That is why anti-hotels are steadily winning guests away from traditional formats.

Key ideas

• Distinctive experiences instead of a template. An anti-hotel is a hospitality model that rejects the “production line” approach of conventional hotels. Instead of standard rooms and predictable service, guests stay in unusual spaces: designer chalets, historic villas, geodesic domes or cosy cabins in the forest. Each place has its own atmosphere and story. Guests feel like someone special in a special place, rather than one of a hundred anonymous visitors. That sense of discovery and individuality is what makes anti-hotels appealing. A well-known example is Canada’s Fogo Island Inn, where each room is furnished by island craftspeople and tells a story about local culture; guests love the way the hotel is woven into the island’s community.
• Emotion and guest involvement. An anti-hotel aims to create powerful feelings and memories. A typical hotel may aspire to be “like home, only better”, while an anti-hotel offers something you do not have at home: adventure, romance or a connection with nature and local culture. A treehouse in the Carpathians or a tent in a lavender field, for example, can awaken a childlike sense of wonder and romance. Staff in such places often act as welcoming storytellers and guides to the local world. They arrange unusual activities, from cooking local dishes together to walks into hidden corners of the surrounding area, creating personal experiences that do not appear on a conventional hotel’s list of services.
• A deep connection with the local setting. Anti-hotels are usually closely connected to their surroundings, both geographically and culturally. They are often found outside the usual tourist areas: in remote locations, in nature or in historic neighbourhoods. Their architecture and design reflect local character, using local materials, traditional motifs and the skills of local craftspeople. Each anti-hotel therefore has its own identity, rooted in its location. Guests experience the real atmosphere of a region rather than a generic “international style”. An anti-hotel might occupy a restored mill or barn that retains its original character, giving guests the feeling of travelling through time. Traditional chains, by contrast, often smooth away differences: their rooms in New York and Dubai may look much the same. Today’s travellers increasingly want to escape the predictable and feel part of the place they visit. An anti-hotel meets that need.
• The “less is more” principle. Many anti-hotels follow a philosophy of minimalism and conscious consumption. This is reflected in both design — simple, stylish aesthetics instead of extravagant luxury — and service. Rather than twenty different services, they offer a handful that are thoughtful and exceptionally well delivered. Rooms may be small, but every detail is considered, with an emphasis on comfort, sustainability and the beauty of nature. This “minimalist chic” appeals to guests who prefer Scandinavian cosiness to marble floors. A limited number of rooms, often 5–20, also offers quiet and privacy, qualities that can be difficult to find in high-rise hotels. Guests value the intimate scale: the chance to feel they have found a little refuge of their own, away from the tourist crowds.
• Environmental responsibility and sustainability. Anti-hotels generally focus on sustainable tourism. They seek to reduce their environmental impact through alternative energy, local produce and waste sorting. Many such projects begin with the wish to protect nature and share its beauty with guests. Canada’s Hinter, for example, plants 10 trees for every booking and builds its cabins according to ecological design principles. This resonates with travellers who are increasingly concerned about the environment. An anti-hotel that demonstrates responsibility, from rooftop solar panels to support for local communities, earns the loyalty of environmentally conscious guests. While large conventional hotels are often associated with heavy resource consumption and detachment from local life, an anti-hotel is seen as a harmonious part of the ecosystem. That reputation encourages guests to choose it.

Examples

Piaule Catskill, a boutique resort in the mountains of New York State, is a striking example of an anti-hotel. Its separate minimalist timber cabins blend into the forest landscape. The design is simple and natural: large windows looking onto trees, and terraces that seem to extend the forest paths. Guests stay close to the wilderness without giving up comfort, enjoying a deep sense of connection with nature. Nothing suggests a standard hotel: every detail, from the wooden façades to the terrace fireplaces, contributes to the distinctive atmosphere of a forest retreat.

Examples around the world demonstrate the success of the anti-hotel approach. The US company Getaway (now Postcard Cabins) focused on tiny cabins in forests near major cities and promoted a “digital detox”: its cabins have no televisions, and mobile reception is weak. Demand was enormous, with average occupancy of approximately 93% in 2021, well above the hotel industry average. Within a few years, Getaway had expanded to 29 locations, with around 1,200 cabins, welcoming more than 2.4 million guests who together spent over 40 million hours in nature. This success came without the usual trappings of luxury: guests valued the simplicity and authenticity of an anti-hotel stay. The project became so successful that Marriott International acquired it in late 2024, recognising the potential of the format.

Another example is Hinterhouse in Canada: two designer cabins deep in the forests of Quebec, built around minimalist principles, with light interiors, panoramic windows and only the essential furniture. Hinter’s founders presented the project as an art retreat for city dwellers, ideal for solitude and creative inspiration. Its success has been impressive: bookings fill up months in advance, and the average rate reaches $700 per night in season. Guests are willing to pay for the distinctive emotional experience of “living inside a picture”, where nature and design come together. Hinter has become a brand associated with architectural beauty and peace of mind — an experience a conventional hotel cannot replicate.

Anti-hotels are appearing in Ukraine too. The Minimalist glamping park in Kyiv’s Hydropark, for example, offers just two converted camper cabins on the banks of the Dnipro. Each has a bedroom, living area and compact bathroom, with river views from the terrace. It is close to camping in formal terms, but an anti-hotel in spirit: no reception desks, just nature and a creative use of space. Its popularity has exceeded expectations, making advance booking essential. Another example is Mandra Lavandia glamping in the Odesa region: five tents in a lavender field, with a pool and an open-air sauna. Guests pay around UAH 5,000 per night to stay in this little Provençal-style idyll. It is a clear anti-hotel experience, placing closeness to nature and visual beauty ahead of conventional service. At sunset, the field turns pink and purple and guests take dozens of photographs — the sense of wonder is assured. Reviews report high levels of satisfaction, despite there being no conventional hotel anywhere nearby.

Trends and analysis

The popularity of anti-hotels reflects global changes in travellers’ preferences. We are seeing a shift from possessions towards experiences: people are less interested in status objects and more interested in memorable moments. A Knight Frank report notes that spending on “experiential luxury” travel, even among the wealthiest consumers, grew by 5% in 2022 despite economic difficulties. This underlines a wider trend: today’s travellers, especially Millennials and Generation Z, tend to invest in distinctive journeys that offer personal fulfilment and emotional experiences, rather than material comfort alone. Anti-hotels are at the forefront of this trend because they put the experience first.

The COVID-19 pandemic also played a significant role. After lockdowns, people began looking for secluded stays in nature, away from crowds and large hotels. Small resorts, glamping sites and eco-cabins offered an ideal solution for a safe holiday. In Ukraine, the number of glamping sites multiplied in 2020–2021. Demand was so high that, according to Glamping UA co-founder Andrii Rodkin, by February 2022 orders for new tents had reached the total for the previous two years combined. The micro-hotel market received a strong boost and continues to grow. Travellers have discovered the format and do not want to return to anonymous mass tourism.

Anti-hotels also often become viral sensations on social media. Today, 75% of travellers choose a destination after being inspired by social media posts. Photographs of unusual places — transparent domes beneath the stars, jungle treehouses and floating bungalows — attract thousands of shares. Airbnb even created an “OMG!” category for its most extraordinary properties, which became one of the platform’s most popular categories. This excitement around unusual places benefits anti-hotels: guests effectively advertise them by sharing their enthusiasm online. Around 48% of travellers admit that they deliberately visit places so they can show them off on social media. This photogenic appeal is another reason anti-hotels are moving ahead of traditional formats, which rarely produce images capable of attracting millions of likes.

Conclusions

The anti-hotel is winning over traditional formats because it resonates with the values and wishes of today’s travellers. It offers what a standard hotel cannot: authenticity, a distinctive experience and emotional enrichment. In a world of copy-and-paste hotel chains, the anti-hotel stands out as a place with a personality — and guests are choosing it.

Conventional hotels still have their role, of course: business trips, mass tourism and holidays without surprises. But the most interesting developments are happening among individual, intimate properties. Major operators have already recognised this change: Marriott, Hilton, Hyatt and others have begun investing in small resorts and glamping to retain a forward-looking audience. Marriott’s acquisition of Getaway’s 1,200 cabins served that very purpose. Luxury hotel brands such as Aman and Four Seasons are also opening safari camps and boutique lodges with 10–20 rooms, effectively entering the anti-hotel’s territory.

For Ukraine, the growth of the anti-hotel sector is a chance to reveal the country’s tourism potential in a new way. Our natural landscapes and authentic culture provide an ideal setting for such projects. Even during the war, the number of small eco-hotels is growing, and they are finding their guests. The reason is understandable: people want meaningful experiences and a holiday with soul. An anti-hotel can give guests exactly that while supporting the local community and nature. Anti-hotels can therefore be seen as more than a passing fashion: they are becoming a new norm in the industry. They will win over traditional formats wherever the focus is on emotion, individuality and a human touch — the qualities today’s travellers value most in a journey.