Meet Design Hotels, Marriott's collection of one-of-a-kind hotels you can book with points

It's a common misconception that trendy, boutique hotels don't live in the points, miles and loyalty ecosystem. However, there are actually hundreds — and hundreds! — of incredible, independent hotels that are the opposite of cookie-cutter (think: small room counts, art-filled lobbies and a distinct sense of place).A lot of these stylish, boutique hotels enter the points world through curated hotel collections that participate in loyalty programs, giving hotels a wider reach of potential guests without having to adhere to strict brand standards that change the spirit of the property.One of the pioneers in this space is Design Hotels, a collection of hundreds of independently-owned hotels and resorts dotting the globe, each with its own identity, personality and approach to hospitality."Every hotel is picked for its originality [and] the vision that's behind it," Stijn Oyen, managing director at Design Hotels, told TPG, adding that each property has "a strong point of view and cultural connection."And it's not necessarily easy to make the cut for this collection: According to Oyen, only about 5% of the hotels that apply to join Design Hotels are accepted in an effort to "stay true t...