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Aloft Hotels

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Aloft Hotels
Company typeFranchise
Industryhospitality
Founded2005
FounderW Hotels
Number of locations
233[1] (April 2023)
Area served
United States, Canada, Europe, Asia
OwnerMarriott International
ParentMarriott International
Websitealoft-hotels.marriott.com

Aloft Hotels is an American hotel chain based in North America, owned by Marriott International. The first hotel opened at the Trudeau International Airport in Montreal in 2008.[2] Aloft Hotels have since opened across North America and internationally. Most Aloft hotels are located in city centers or in close proximity to airports. As of April 9, 2023, the chain had 233 hotels.[1]

The brand is most notable for its modern architecture design style.[2] Another characteristic of Aloft hotels is the naming of basic hotel amenities. For example, in each hotel, the swimming pool is referred to as "splash".[3]

History

Aloft Hotels was conceived in 2005 by Amal Abdullah. The hotel chain already had several brands, including Sheraton, Westin, and W Hotels, but was looking to expand into a market of more contemporary hotels. To reflect its relationship with Starwood Hotels, the Aloft brand was dubbed "A Vision of W Hotels". Starwood worked with the architectural company Rockwell Group and its founder David Rockwell to come up with the design.[2][dead link]

To generate interest in the brand before its 2008 opening, Starwood launched a virtual tour of the hotels using Second Life,[4] which enables visitors to move through a typical Aloft Hotel and explore its aspects in detail. Starwood monitored statistics from the site, gauged public reception based upon visitors' opinions, and incorporated this information into the design of future Aloft Hotels.[4][dead link] Aloft became part of Marriott International in 2016 when Marriott acquired Starwood.[5]

Accommodations

Aloft Hotel in Providence
Aloft Hotel in Aberdeen
North
America		  Europe  Middle E.
& Africa		 Asia &
Pacific		 Caribbean
Latin Am.		 Total
2016[6] Properties 81 6 3 20 6 116
Rooms 12,096 1,000 956 4,629 1,034 19,715
2017[7] Properties 97 6 4 24 7 138
Rooms 14,565 1,000 1,131 5,558 1,145 23,399
2018[8] Properties 108 7 8 27 9 159
Rooms 16,296 1,310 2,012 6,240 1,494 27,352
2019[9] Properties 119 10 8 29 10 176
Rooms 17,647 1,801 2,012 6,598 1,644 29,702
2020[10] Properties 134 10 8 30 10 192
Rooms 19,619 1,614 2,006 6,732 1,679 31,650
2021[11] Properties 148 10 11 31 12 212
Rooms 21,507 1,676 2,559 6,816 1,971 34,529
2022[12] Properties 156 10 11 31 14 222
Rooms 22,582 1,676 2,555 6,790 2,313 35,916
2023[13] Properties 162 10 12 31 17 232
Rooms 23,457 1,669 2,744 7,531 2,769 38,170

Locations

Since its first hotel opened in 2008, the Aloft brand has grown rapidly. The hotel originally started in North America and expanded to include international locations. According to the Aloft website, in the United States there are current locations in 27 states. There are also open locations in Australia, Belgium, Canada, China, Colombia, Costa Rica, England, Germany, India, Malaysia, Mexico, Panama, Paraguay, Saudi Arabia, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, Uruguay, and Nepal.[3]

In 2011 and 2012, 20 proposed locations were to open, including in Mexico, Thailand, Colombia, and England,[3] for a total of 66 Aloft locations. While positive for the hotel brand, this number was well short of an original anticipation to have 500 locations by 2012.[4] In early 2013, the brand opened a 482-room property in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, making it the largest Aloft hotel in the world. The hotel includes a ballroom that can accommodate up to 1,000 people in a theatre setting.[14] In 2013, the chain opened a new hotel at the Ernst & Young Tower in Cleveland, Ohio.[15]

In September 2016, Aloft entered the Saudi Arabian market with a new hotel near the center of Riyadh.[16] In December 2016, Aloft Long Island City-Manhattan View opened.[17] In 2018, the new Mag Mile Hotel in Chicago, the largest with 435 rooms, updated the Aloft template, by integrating modern art, cutting-edge design, and floor-to-ceiling windows in the lobby.[18]

In October 2023, Aloft announced plans for a new property near Fort Lauderdale–Hollywood International Airport and Port Everglades.[19]

Reception

Public reception of Aloft Hotels has been mixed. The majority of opinions revolve around the two main aspects of the hotel brand: room prices, and the contemporary style. One critic has decried that Aloft Hotels have too much of a "cookie cutter" feel and use colors, shapes, and lingo to an overwhelming degree.[20]

References

  1. ^ a b "Aloft Hotel Locations". marriott.com.
  2. ^ a b c aloft Montreal Airport Opens, Making Global Lifestyle Debut. BusinessWire.com, June 5, 2008, Accessed November 8, 2010.
  3. ^ a b c Alofthotels.com. Accessed November 8, 2010.
  4. ^ a b c Starwood Hotels Explore Second Life First Archived 2011-03-14 at the Wayback Machine. Jana, Reena. Bloomberg Businessweek, August 23, 2010, Accessed November 8, 2010.
  5. ^ "CNBC, 23 Sep 2016". www.cnbc.com.
  6. ^ "2016 Annual Report". www.marriott.gcs-web.com. p. 8.
  7. ^ "2017 Annual Report". www.marriott.gcs-web.com. p. 8.
  8. ^ "2018 Annual Report". www.marriott.gcs-web.com. p. 7.
  9. ^ "2019 Annual Report". www.marriott.gcs-web.com. p. 7.
  10. ^ "2020 Annual Report". www.marriott.gcs-web.com. p. 9.
  11. ^ "2021 Annual Report". www.marriott.gcs-web.com. p. 7.
  12. ^ "2022 Annual Report". www.marriott.gcs-web.com. p. 7.
  13. ^ "2023 Annual Report". www.marriott.gcs-web.com. p. 7.
  14. ^ "Aloft opens its largest property in Malaysia". TTGmice. Retrieved 28 March 2013.
  15. ^ "Aloft Cleveland Downtown". Aloft Hotels. Retrieved January 31, 2018.
  16. ^ "Aloft Riyadh Hotel Opens in Saudi Arabia". Hotel News Resource Mobile Edition. September 6, 2016. Retrieved January 12, 2018.
  17. ^ "Aloft Long Island City-Manhattan View". Aloft Hotels. Retrieved January 31, 2018.
  18. ^ "TravelMarket, 21 Dec 2018". www.travelmarketreport.com.
  19. ^ "Aloft Planning New Hotel Near Ft. Lauderdale Airport and Port Everglades Cruise Port". www.travelmarketreport.com. 2023-10-02. Retrieved 2023-10-03.
  20. ^ The adrift Aloft Hotel. Schumacher, Mary Louise. Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel, January 12, 2010, Accessed November 9, 2010.

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