Hotel bars are shifting gear from being "night-time watering holes" into all-purpose hangouts targeting younger customers and boosting profits.

Michel Morauw, general manager of the newly restored Park Hyatt in Washington told USA Today, "People's lifestyles have changed...Not everybody wants to have a scotch and cigar at 11 p.m. in the bar."

Lodging consultant Bjorn Hanson of PricewaterhouseCoopers says that hotel chains are responding to changes in customer taste. Hanson says, when compared to the baby boomers, the under-40 prefer to do things as a group rather than spending time in guest rooms. Moreover, their taste in drinks are more exotic - for instance, an elderflower martini.

Toni Chi redesigned Morauw's Park Hyatt and it now has an adjoining tearoom offering tea from $5 to $300. Tea "sommeliers" help customers pick out tea as they would with wines.

Robert Mandelbaum at PKF Consulting told USA Today, "It's not as simple as hiring a mixologist and putting on some music and having lights and dim candles."

He added, "There's a certain balance that is created between music, crowd, celebrity, drinks and mood."