Chicago is the country’s fourth-largest hotel market behind Las Vegas, New York and Orlando, Fla., with a downtown total of about 37,000 rooms. In the past, the industry has depended on the city’s lakefront McCormick Place convention complex to spur growth. What makes this boom different is that it is being driven largely by smaller lifestyle hotels that appeal to leisure and international travelers

John Rutledge, chief executive of locally-based Oxford Capital Partners and a leading downtown hotel developer, pointed to the attractive features of the neighborhood that lend themselves to hotels. For one, he said, old classic buildings there can be adapted to intimate hotel spaces. Another asset is its proximity to popular areas, like the Loop business district, Millennium Park, Navy Pier, and the North Michigan Avenue shopping district.