LAS VEGAS, Jun
16, 2011 --
Three of the biggest success stories at the 2011 AAHOA Annual
Convention come from Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc.
(NYSE: HOT), whose innovative Specialty Select Brand group continues to
redefine its category. With distinct personalities and offerings that
have reinvented and reinvigorated the select-service space, Starwood's
three brands - Aloft, Element, and Four Points by Sheraton - are
reaping awards and top rankings from travelers, developers and the
media.
"Our Specialty Select Brands continue to exceed the expectations of our
guests and our partners, and their global growth reflects that," said
Simon Turner, President of Global Development for Starwood. "The
distinct positioning of Aloft, Element, and Four Points continues to
attract a loyal and growing fan base of global travelers which makes
them highly sought after brands for developers."
Starwood's Specialty Select portfolio has grown 67 percent in the last
three years. With 1,051 Starwood properties now open in nearly 100
countries, Starwood's select-service brands are a significant part of
Starwood's growth momentum. The portfolio will add over 30 new hotels
in 2011.
Aloft: Aimed at the
digital generation, the design-led, social-experience Aloft brand has
enjoyed the first global brand launch in hotel history and will
celebrate its 50th opening next month. With a pipeline of over 25
hotels and growing, Aloft will open six more hotels by the end of 2011,
including two in China, two in India, one in Thailand and one in South
America.
With its "style-at-a-steal" brand position, Aloft won coveted multiple
spots on TripAdvisor's 2011 "Top 10
Trendiest Hotels in the World" list. According to TripAdvisor, the "very cool"
Aloft Portland Airport (#5) and "hip" Aloft Nashville Cool Springs (#9)
now belong in the rarefied company of independent buzz-worthy hotels
like New York's Crosby Street Hotel (#3), Ace (#3) and Seattle's
Maxwell (#10).
Tech-savvy Aloft also made headlines this month by expanding its
pioneering, automatic Smart Check-In program to five more hotels after
a successful pilot. Based on RFID technology, Smart Check-In will let
guests zoom to their rooms at Aloft Harlem, Aloft Brooklyn, Aloft
Dallas Downtown, Aloft Jacksonville Tapestry Park, and Aloft London by
the end of 2011. Smart Check-In made its debut at Aloft Lexington (MA)
last year.
Element: Designed to be
"green from the ground up," Element seamlessly blends sustainable smart
design, inspiring public spaces, chic, spacious suites and modern
amenities for a compelling, no-compromise experience. Element's
much-anticipated planned openings include Element Miami Airport and
Element Vancouver Metrotown.
In 2010, Element earned some of the highest Overall Satisfaction scores
of any brand in the Starwood family. All
nine Element hotels in North America have ranked in TripAdvisor's Top
20 2011 in their respective markets: Element Lexington (MA), Element Denver Park
Meadows (CO), and Element
Dallas Fort Worth Airport North (TX) were rated #1 among all hotels in
their markets.
Starwood's green trailblazer, Element made history as the first major
hotel brand to mandate that all properties pursue LEED certification
for high-performance buildings. Last year, electric-vehicle charging
stations were installed at all Element hotels.
Four Points by Sheraton,
one of Starwood's fastest-growing brands with a pipeline of almost 40
hotels, will continue to launch in the world's most dynamic business
and travel hubs. Four Points by Sheraton will add 20 hotels in 2011,
including properties in China, Malaysia, Ukraine, and India. A $1
billion investment in renovations, conversions, and new-build hotels
has made the brand stronger than ever.
Four Points' comfort, style, and value have proved a huge hit with
travelers around the world. This year Four
Points by Sheraton earned the #1 ranking in its category from industry
authority Business Travel News in its much-anticipated annual
survey. The beloved brand also won "Most
Improved" accolades in JD Power & Associates'2010 North
America Hotel Guest Satisfaction Index Study among mid scale
full-service hotels.
"It's a testament to the strength of our Specialty Select Brands that
ratings from travelers have been so outstanding," said Brian
McGuinness, Starwood's Senior Vice President, Specialty Select Brands.
"Aloft, Element, and Four Points marry unique brand personalities with
outstanding guest experiences, and that portends very well for
continued and consistent growth."
In 2009, Starwood created a dedicated Specialty Select Brand group to
optimize support for franchise owners and hotels. A separate unit
remains fully dedicated to Starwood's Full Service franchise hotels,
including Le Méridien, The Luxury Collection, Sheraton and
Westin.
About Starwood Hotels &
Resorts Worldwide, Inc.
Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc. is one of the leading
hotel and leisure companies in the world with 1051 properties in 100
countries and territories with 145,000 employees at its owned and
managed properties. Starwood Hotels is a fully integrated owner,
operator and franchisor of hotels, resorts and residences with the
following internationally renowned brands: St. Regis(R), The Luxury
Collection(R), W(R), Westin(R), Le Méridien(R), Sheraton(R),
Four Points(R) by Sheraton, and the recently launched Aloft(R), and
Element SM. The company boasts one of the industry's leading loyalty
programs, Starwood Preferred Guest (SPG), allowing members to earn and
redeem points for room stays, room upgrades and flights, with no
blackout dates. Starwood Hotels also owns Starwood Vacation Ownership,
Inc., one of the premier developers and operators of high quality
vacation interval ownership resorts. For more information, please visit
www.starwoodhotels.com
.
(Note: This press release contains forward-looking statements within
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statements are not guarantees of future performance or events and
involve risks and uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual
results or events to differ materially from those anticipated at the
time the forward-looking statements are made. These risks and
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