WHITE PLAINS,
N.Y., May 11, 2011
- After a smashingly successful pilot, Aloft Hotels will roll out its
pioneering automatic check-in at five more hotels worldwide, it was
announced today.
Aloft's Smart Check-In, the hotel industry's first such program, 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.
Tech-savvy Aloft is the sizzling style-at-a-steal brand from Starwood
Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc. (NYSE: HOT) that's rocked the
hotel industry since launching in 2008. With nearly 50 properties now
open worldwide, the brand has enjoyed the fastest ramp-up in
hospitality-industry history. Designed to appeal to the digital
generation, Aloft brings urban-influenced, modern, open, and vibrant
design at an affordable price point.
Running on radio frequency identification (RFID) technology, Smart
Check-In caters to a new generation of guests on the go who are more
interested in high-tech than high-touch service. Technology has been a
vital component of the Aloft brand's DNA from day one, when the "first"
Aloft hotel made its debut in virtual reality on Second Life.
Here's how Smart Check-In works: Select Starwood Preferred Guest(R)
(SPG) members who opt to participate receive a new enhanced SPG /
Aloft-branded RFID keycard. On the day of a planned stay, a text
message is sent to the guest's mobile device with their room number.
Once at the hotel, guests can skip the check-in line and go straight to
their room, where their keycard will unlock the door - giving guests
control of their check-in experience in the palms of their hands.
A video tour of Smart Check-In is available for viewing at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7iCSAsm7DGs&feature=channel_video_title
.
"Aloft guests never settle for a traditional hotel experience, and
they've embraced the Smart Check-In revolution with tremendous
enthusiasm," said Brian McGuinness, Senior Vice President, Specialty
Select Brands for Starwood. "For our associates, freedom from
traditional check-in procedures means they can spend more time engaging
with guests and enhancing the social atmosphere that's made Aloft such
a huge hit."
The SPG / Aloft-branded RFID keycard may eventually act as an
all-access pass throughout the Aloft stay, allowing guests to purchase
cocktails and bites at the hotel's buzzing w xyz(R) bar, sundries at
the re:stock retail kiosk and snacks at re:fuel by aloftSM, the Aloft
brand's deli-style, grab-and-go pantry. The pilot program partner is
VingCard Elsafe, a cutting-edge security technology leader for the
hospitality industry.
Smart signature features have made Aloft one of the most successful
launches in hospitality industry history. Savvy guests can surf their
tablets, work on laptops via fast and free hotel-wide wireless Internet
access, shoot a game of pool, or grab a drink with friends in the
always-happening re:mix lobby
and lounge. The re:chargeSM
fitness center and splash,
the indoor pool, give travelers options to de-stress and re-energize,
while re:fuel offers sweet,
savory and healthy food, snacks and beverages 24 hours a day.
Aloft features intuitive, high-tech features throughout its public
spaces and guest rooms, ensuring guests are always plugged in and
connected. All Aloft hotels feature CAT-6 high thru-put wires which
means that all hotels are wired to accommodate tomorrow's technologies.
Guest rooms provide a calm oasis that is combination high-tech office
and entertainment center, thanks to the plug & play, a one-stop
connectivity solution that links multiple electronic gadgets at once
such as PDAs, cell phones, mp3 players and laptops, to a 42" flat-panel
HDTV-ready television for optimal sound and viewing.
About Aloft Hotels
Created to shake up the staid, traditional select service segment of
the hotel industry, the Aloft brand delivers style at a steal with
urban-influenced, modern, open and vibrant design - and a social guest
experience - at an affordable price point. In the same way that W
Hotels broke through the clutter of conformity in the upscale hotel
arena more than a decade ago, Aloft is shaking up the industry for the
next generation of traveler. Aloft hotels are geared toward savvy,
design-conscious consumers who grew up with the democratization of
design. Building on its tech-savvy DNA, the brand recently pioneered
the industry's first "keyless entry" automatic check-in program at
Aloft Lexington in Massachusetts. With nearly 50 hotels open in the two
years since Aloft first arrived on the scene and nine more opening in
2011, Aloft can be found everywhere from Abu Dhabi and Baltimore to
Dallas and Beijing and everywhere in between. For more information,
please visit www.alofthotels.com
Aloft Hotels, like all brands within Starwood's portfolio, is proud to
offer the Starwood Preferred Guest(R) program, which offers a
breakthrough policy of no blackout dates on Free Night Awards. To
hlearn more, please visit www.spg.com
.
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.