HOUSTON-Hotel industry professionals and tourists alike are used to the litany of segments: upper-upscale, select service, upscale and so on. These terms are comfortable. Trusted. And they certainly require little explanation. However, John Keeling executive vice president at Valencia Hotel Group (with whom GlobeSt.com caught up at the recent Lodging Conference) thinks it’s possible to blur the thus-far regimented lines a little and maintain a wide consumer appeal – while also presenting something a little different.

“We see our hotels as the 21^st century reinterpretation of the grand old hotels of the 40s and 50s,” he said, citing the portfolio that includes the Hotel Sorella based here and the Hotel Valencia on the River Walk in San Antonio. The latter is, according to the website, “inspired by the namesake Mediterrenan community in Spain.” This is not to say that the hotel property has an international feel, but it – and Valencia – are striving to reinvent what an upscale hotel means.

“The great hotels were about hospitality,” he said, “our goal is not to create something that is not in your face hip, but create a hotel that addresses the contemporary culture with a sense of being timeless and classic.”