The FINANCIAL — Aloft Hotels, the innovative hotel brand for today’s hyper-connected global traveler, on September 28 announced the 100th hotel milestone worldwide, with the opening of Aloft College Station in Texas.
Currently operating in 16 countries across the globe, Aloft has experienced incredible growth since it emerged onto the scene in 2008. With the recent openings of Aloft Manhattan Downtown – Financial District in New York City, Aloft Santa Clara (CA), Aloft Stuttgart and Aloft Munich in Germany, Aloft continues to expand in key global markets, with eight more hotels set to open by year’s end, according to Starwood.
“Aloft has been one of the fastest growing hotel brands , successfully opening 18 hotels in three countries within the first six months of launch, and now boasts Starwood’s second largest development pipeline,” said Brian McGuinness, Global Brand Leader, Specialty Select Brands for Starwood. “Aloft continues to be set apart from the competition, filling a white space we identified long ago in the marketplace: the need for an innovative and design-forward option for travelers on the road for either business or pleasure. When we think about development, we look for places where today’s – and tomorrow’s – travelers not only want to be, but need to be.”
Aloft hotels now operate in nearly every corner of the world, with properties in North America, Mexico, Belgium, Germany, UK, Turkey, UAE, India, Korea, Malaysia, Thailand, Costa Rica, Colombia, Panama, and more. Development is booming. Aloft signed as many hotel deals in the first half of 2015 as in all of 2014, and is in its fifth consecutive year of market share gain. The brand will expand its portfolio in Greater China to 10 hotels by year’s end and will continue to penetrate new markets globally, with additional 2015 openings planned for Aloft Raleigh, Aloft Louisville Downtown, Aloft Taipei Zhongshan, Aloft Greenville Downtown, Aloft Raleigh – Durham Airport Brier Creek, Aloft El Segundo – Los Angeles Airport, and Aloft Dongguan Dynamic Town.
Launched in 2008 as Starwood’s tech-forward incubator brand, Aloft is designed with a futuristic lens. Built on an agile platform, the Aloft brand’s innovation team works to develop and pilot new technologies to enhance the guest experience and cater to the lifestyle and needs of today’s emerging traveler. In addition to milestone technological breakthroughs including the world’s first robotic butler, Botlr, as well as the introduction of Smart Check-In, which has now evolved into SPG Keyless— the hospitality industry’s first mobile, keyless entry system allowing guests to use their smart phone as a key— Aloft will soon pilot other innovations such as Virtual Reality, 3-D Food Printing and Smart Wake-Up, dreamt up from the brand’s Concept Rooms at its global Headquarters in Stamford, CT. Dynamic lifestyle programming is also in the brand’s DNA, as Aloft offers a buzzing social scene for the early adopter including its renowned global music series, Live At Aloft Hotels, offering guests and locals free access to the hottest emerging artists at every Aloft Hotel around the world.
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