MIAMI (February 27, 2013) – International hotelier Claudio Bono has been named the General Manager of Aloft Miami Doral, the first of the rapidly expanding Aloft ® brand hotels in the Miami metropolitan area.

The hotel opens March 7, 2013. Bono, who has worked extensively in hospitality throughout South Florida, the Caribbean and Europe, brings 20 years of expertise in opening new hotels and managing boutique properties to Aloft Miami Doral.

Prior to Aloft Miami Doral, Bono was General Manager of The Congress Hotel Ocean Drive.  Originally The Strand Hotel Ocean Drive, Bono was in charge of re-branding and re-opening the 87 suite hotel.

Bono began his career with the Sheraton Brussels in 1993 as a customer service agent, working his way up to Assistant Front Office Manager.   Then, after spending significant time internationally with City Hotels in sales, managerial and guest relations positions, Bono entered the South Florida hospitality scene in 2003 where he worked with leading brands including Conrad Hotels and Wyndham.

Fluent in French, Dutch, Spanish, Italian and English, Bono was educated in Brussels, Belgium.

He can be contacted at Aloft Miami Doral, (t) 786.272.7200 or via e-mail at [email protected].

About Aloft Hotels
With more than 60 hotels in 10 countries, Aloft has changed the hotel landscape by offering ‘style at a steal’ everywhere from Baltimore to Beijing to Bogota to Brussels – and everywhere in between. For more information, please visit www.alofthotels.com

Aloft, 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 learn 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 1,128 properties in nearly 100 countries and 154,000 employees at its owned and managed properties. Starwood is a fully integrated owner, operator and franchisor of hotels, resorts and residences with the following internationally renowned brands: St. Regis®, The Luxury Collection®, W®, Westin®, Le Méridien®, Sheraton®, Four Points® by Sheraton, Aloft®, and ElementSM. 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 also owns Starwood Vacation Ownership, Inc., a premier provider of world-class vacation experiences through villa-style resorts and privileged access to Starwood brands. For more information, please visit www.starwoodhotels.com