PHOENIX—Waylaid by the downturn, Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide’s Aloft brand has a new focus as an urban conversion brand.
Aloft also is driving forward with growth following two years when development capital was not easily attainable. The brand last month announced its 75th opening with the 139-room Aloft Panama in Panama City, its fourth property in Latin America. Operating in 14 countries worldwide, officials expect Aloft to be in an additional 10 countries by 2016.
During a break at the 19th annual Lodging Conference last month, Brian McGuinness, senior VP of specialty select brands for Starwood Hotels, said development conditions until recently were not conducive to development. The brand launched five years ago, on the cusp of the global downturn, with a strategy of targeting new-build opportunities in secondary markets.
“The last two years, the markets were freezing up,” he said.
But as conditions have improved, so, too, have prospects for Aloft’s growth, McGuinness said. It’s possible the brand could have 100 hotels in operation by the end of next year, he added. Also, with the brand’s existing pipeline, Starwood could open between 20 to 30 Aloft properties per year.
“Ultimately, it has to be the right owner, the right operator, the right location,” he said.
One example of the newfound conversions mindset: the 180-room Aloft Tulsa Downtown in Oklahoma, which is a former City Hall building.
McGuinness said Aloft officials are taking close looks at such places as power plants to convert to Aloft hotels.
“We’re doing more adaptive re-use in urban locations. … If we can give an old building back its beauty, that’s awesome,” he said. He said the company still would be willing to look at secondary locations if the right opportunities arise.
The conversion story is even more prominent in Europe, McGuinness said. As much as 75% of Aloft’s development there is expected to come via conversions.
“We can be nimble and adjust as we go,” he said.
While the United States is Aloft’s top market, with 55 hotels and an additional 20 in the pipeline, the Asia/Pacific region is the brand’s No. 2 market, with 12 hotels open and an additional five scheduled to open during the next 12 months in China and India.
Millennials
Like many brands, Aloft values the up-and-coming millennial generation as a strong source of business. Keeping up with that generation, however, can be a challenge, he said.
“It’s a psychographic, not a demographic,” McGuinness said of millennials. There’s an expectation that the services they want be rendered immediately, he said.
And tastes have changed considerably, he said. “We’ve gone from Second Life to Instagram.”
The brand relies heavily on its contemporary styling, as well as other offerings, including its “Live at Aloft” program, which features live, emerging musical acts that perform on property.
Also, like many other hoteliers, brand executives have turned to social media as a way to market the brand to millennials. Aloft has a heavy presence on social media to ensure it is in front of this guest group, he said.
“Now, we’re marketing 24/7/365 in social media channels, and they’re always changing,” he said.