I’ve written a piece for the April 2007 issue of FastCompany on the expansion of boutique hotels (or “small luxury hotels,” as some prefer to be called) into mini-chains.

The article (or “charticle,” more accurately) covers the Gansevoort, Thompson, James, and Magnolia brands, each of which is expanding their model beyond their initial home base.

You’ll need a code from page 10 of the issue in order to access it online for the next few weeks. It’ll be freely available next month.

My contribution to the magazine last month, on changes and improvements to the experience of renting a car, is now accessible free to non-subscribers, by the way.