(via view from the wing) Starwood has announced the launch of its mid-range brand- interesting 1.) that they are officially branding them as a W subbrand, and 2.) that the announcement comes a few days after the WSJ documented the alledged struggles between current CEO Heyer and gone-but-not-forgotten CEO Sternlicht.
W Hotels is Going aloft: New Starwood Brand
to Reach New Heights with Breakthrough Concept in Select Service
Category; Stylish Design, Technology and a Hip Urban Attitude to
Transform Outdated Hotel Business Segment
WHITE PLAINS, N.Y.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sept. 28, 2005--
Aloft; adverb: in or into a high place; high or higher up
Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc. (NYSE:HOT) and its
stylish W Hotels division revealed today at the Phoenix Lodging
Conference, the official name and concept details for its
much-anticipated new brand in the select-service hotel category: aloft.
Conceived by the same W Hotels team that is widely regarded as creators
of one of the most successful new brands in decades, the aloft brand
will bring this tired, stagnant travel segment to new heights.
In the same way W Hotels broke through the clutter of conformity in the
upscale hotel arena, aloft will raise the bar in the select-service
category, offering urban-inspired, loft-like guest rooms, enhanced
technology services, landscaped outdoor spaces for socializing day and
night, and an energetic lounge scene.
...
Starwood further announced that five company-owned sites are now in
various stages of entitlements or development for aloft. These first
aloft properties will be located in Lexington, Massachusetts, Tucson,
Arizona, San Francisco Airport, Philadelphia Airport, and Cherry Creek,
Colorado. The company also stated that its UFOC, or franchise offering
circular, was effective as of today and that it would begin to offer
aloft licenses to qualified hotel owners and operators. Starwood
anticipates the first hotels to break ground in early 2006 and open in
early 2007, with 500 properties worldwide expected by 2012.
...
The aloft hotels brand will revamp the staid same-old, polyester
scenario with stylish accommodations for business and leisure
travelers. Design visionary David Rockwell and the Rockwell Group,
whose award-winning projects include the Kodak Theater, Nobu and the W
Union Square, are collaborating on the brand's design.
With
generous nine-foot ceilings and oversized windows, guest rooms will
have a decidedly loft-like feel. In addition to the guest room
centerpiece -- a signature, ultra-comfortable bed for which Starwood's
brands are well known -- a well-designed workspace, an mp3 docking
station and a flat panel television will further differentiate the
aloft guest room. Large stylish bathrooms will feature oversized
walk-in showers and amenities created by Bliss.
