User:Ryan.altemare/Aloft Hotels

Aloft Hotels

Company type	Franchise
Industry	Hotel
Founded	2005
Founder	W Hotels
Number of locations	46 hotels
Area served	United States, Canada, Europe, Asia
Parent	Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide
Website	www.alofthotels.com

Aloft Hotels is a brand of hotels based out of North America. Its parent company is Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, although it is referred to as "a vision of W Hotels". The concept was developed in 2005, with the first hotel opening at the Trudeau International Airport in Montreal in 2008. Aloft Hotels have since appeared all over North America and around the world. Much like the first Aloft launched in Montreal, the majority of its hotels are located at or near major airports.

The brand is most notable for its style, which is quite different from the majority of hotel brands. The hotels offer a very urban design, with many unique technical aspects, as well as a very social atmosphere. Another interesting characteristic of the hotel is the names it applies to otherwise basic hotel amenities. For example, in each hotel, the swimming pool is referred to as "splash" . In addition, the staff of Aloft Hotels reflects the style of the building itself, not only using all of the same lingo, but greeting its guests by saying "Aloha!". The hotel brand has grown significantly since its inception, receiving both good reviews as well as some criticism.

History

The idea for Aloft Hotels was conceived in 2005 by Starwood Hotels. The hotel chain already had a large selection of brands, including Sheraton, Westin, and W Hotels, but was looking to expand into a market of more contemporary hotels, which would eventually become known as boutique hotels. To reflect its relationship with Starwood Hotels, the Aloft brand was dubbed as "A Vision of W Hotels". Starwood worked together with the architectural company Rockwell Group, and specifically their founder David Rockwell to come up with the design. The efforts to create a more modern option of hotels, as well as the early success of such ideas, was a large influence on many hotel chains, as well as Starwood. The InterContinental Hotels Group and Hyatt created similar concepts, Hotel Indigo and Hyatt Place, respectively, around the same time that Aloft Hotels were being developed. Hotel Indigo was actually the first of these boutique hotel brands, with its first hotel opening in Atlanta in 2004.

One of the keys to Aloft's early success was an idea Starwood Hotels had for the brand after its 2005 conception. The first hotel did not actually open until 2008, but in order to generate interest in the brand before then, Starwood launched a virtual tour of the hotels using Second Life. The site on Second Life allows for visitors to actually move through a typical Aloft Hotel and explore all of its different aspects. Starwood was able to monitor statistics from the site, and gauge public reception from this based upon the opinions of the people that visited the site. The technology was advanced enough that Starwood could even see which aspects of the hotel, down to furniture pieces, were getting the most interest from potential customers. All of this information was then incorporated into the design of future Aloft Hotels. The use of this website was also aimed at the target demographic for the hotel brand, young and contemporary travelers, who have a strong interest in new technology. Between this site and the hype generated by Starwood Aloft saw instant success when the first hotels finally opened in 2008.

Concept

The defining attribute of the Aloft Hotel brand is its unique style, breaking from the traditional design of other Starwood Hotels brands. Starwood even promoted the hotel chain as a new "lifestyle brand," emphasizing a modern and fresh look. Aloft Hotels were designed in the spirit of W Hotels to promote a social atmosphere, encouraging its guests to spend time in the lobby and meet other people. The main purpose of the new hotel brand, however, was to provide a "sleek and modern" option for travelers looking for a contemporary choice in hotels.

Features

Aloft Hotels are particularly well know for the fact that they have a combination of new features that other hotel brands do not offer and old features re-branded to be unique to Aloft. Some of the most common features at Aloft Hotels are listed in the table that follows.

Feature	Description
Splash	The concept of an indoor pool is common for most hotels. Although the indoor pool at Aloft is not very different from the traditional hotel pool, Aloft broke from the traditional pool concept by referring to it as "Ssplash," a fresh new term for a common aspect of any hotel.
Lifts	As was the case with Splash, once again elevators are a common and necessary component of any hotel. Aloft changed the concept by referring to their elevators as "lifts." The lifts feature tiles which are actually envelopes of plastic filled with blue gel, a very contemporary touch that leaves imprints from where customers stood in the lift.
Aloha Desk	As was mentioned earlier, guests are welcomed to the hotel by a greeting of "Aloha!" A different aspect of the Aloft Hotels is that guests hear this from staff at the Aloha Desk, which replaces the traditional reception desk of most hotel desks. It is unique in that it is not surrounded by any walls, but is actually a four-sided desk similar to a checkout counter you would see at stores, to give the lobby a more open feeling, and have staff seem more readily accessible. Another new idea incorporated into the Aloha Desk was a feature where check-in can actually be made without staff or prior reservations. At several screens available at the desk, a customer can simply swipe their credit card and be assigned a room, complete with a room key.
re:fuel	This is the concept that Aloft developed to replace the traditional shop in the hotel lobby concept. As described on the Aloft website, the shop has an "easy breezy atmosphere" since it sits open to the rest of the lobby. re:fuel offers the normal variety of sandwiches, salads and snacks that can be seen in most hotel shops, as well as coffee and cappuccino machines. The majority of offerings at re:fuel tend to be healthy foods. Another aspect of this shop is that in order to pay, all you must do is swipe your credit card and the charges are automatically made to you on the go, eliminating the need to wait for hotel staff. The amenities of re:fuel are available to guests 24 hours a day.
re:mix Lounge	The re:mix Lounge is the primary focus of Aloft Hotels, its lobby. The lobby is full of contemporary furniture, with very modern shapes and colors to emphasize the fresh appearance of the hotel. Aloft also prides itself on having very comfortable and inviting furniture to encourage its guests to socialize in the lobby. In addition, hotels may offer an array of board games as well as a pool table, which are older concepts used in a new way to encourage guests to spend time in the lobby. Some of the hotels feature indoor as well as outdoor fireplaces. In addition to these features, the re:mix Lounge also offers LCD TV's, Wi-Fi access, and a ticker of news and sports scores.
w xyz bar	One of the key components of the re:mix Lounge is the w xyz bar. The bar is highlighted by its contemporary seating and neon lights, offering the normal array of bar food and drinks available at most hotel bars. The bar aims to attract customers both by the TV's available in the Lounge, as well as different musical acts which have performances at the hotel. Many of these acts are local, as described below.
re:charge Gym	Another common fixture of hotels, Aloft offers a swipe-access gym, which though isn't too different from the average gym offered at most hotels, is re-branded with the name re:charge to instill a sense of energy in its patrons.
Arf	One feature of Aloft Hotels that is not as common among hotels is Arf, a dog care program offered by the hotel. Arf offers a dog-bed as well as treats and toys for a dog staying with a customer during a stay at an Aloft Hotel.
Camp Aloft	Camp Aloft was a concept developed by Aloft Hotels to help parents on vacation by getting their children excited about the hotel experience. The idea behind Camp Aloft is that many children may not be excited about staying in a hotel, and so Aloft attempts to change this sentiment by creating an adventure-like feel, with special "Goodie Bags" for children upon their arrival, as well as special beds for rooms, and offerings at re:fuel. Many of the other hotel features, such as the board games offered in the Lounge and Splash also aim to keep children staying at Aloft Hotels entertained.

Guest Rooms

The rooms in a typical Aloft reflect the same spirit as the rest of the hotel. The rooms were furnished in a very contemporary style, with nine foot ceilings and unique colors and geometries incorporated into the decor. A typical room layout has two beds along a padded wall, facing towards a wall with two windows and an LCD television hung between them. Rooms also feature their fair share of technological aspects besides the TV, including a "Jack Pack" station which can be used to charge phones, laptops, or other devices that a customer may have brought with them. Bathrooms are uniquely designed with a contemporary sink, as well as a "spa-style" shower. Most common aspects of modern hotel rooms are also offered at Aloft, including internet access, linens, towels, and bathroom amenities. Hotel rooms were kept relatively simple, once again, to encourage guests to spend time in the re:mix Lounge.

Local Connections

Another aspect of Aloft Hotels is its emphasis on the local community. Despite being a national hotel brand, Aloft Hotels attempt to make local connections, such as highlighting local musicians. They accomplished this not only by booking local artists to perform in their hotels (at the w xyz bar), but also by holding a Facebook contest to find the best local musicians. Having local connections is a key point for the success of Aloft Hotels, because it is yet another trait to help itself lose the image of a chain hotel.

Environmental Impact

The final effort made by Aloft Hotels to establish itself as a contemporary brand was to strive for an environmental impact. Once again, being "green" is another defining characteristic of today's society, and so Starwood Hotels attempted to capitalize on this trend with their new hotel brand. An example of this is at Aloft Milwaukee Downtown, where outdoor landscaping was done to try to give a fresh, green image on the outside of the hotel. On the inside, engineers used natural wood treatments and materials such as cork to reduce negative effects on the environment. Even guest rooms make an attempt at being green, picking up some of the now common initiatives among hotels such as soap dispensers in the shower instead of bottles, and the option to keep towels for multiple uses. Another concept used by Aloft at many of its hotels is the new trend to have parking spots designated specifically for hybrid vehicles, once again encouraging its guests to make environmentally responsible choices.

Locations

Since its first hotel opened in 2008, the Aloft brand has grown rapidly. The hotel originally started in North America, but has now grown to feature locations around the world. According to the Aloft website, in the United States there are current or planned locations in 24 states. One of the goals of Starwood was to make Aloft an internationally known brand as well, so locations were planned not only in North America, but in Europe and Asia as well. In addition to its locations in the United States, there are currently locations in Canada, China, India, Belgium, and the United Arab Emirates. Over the course of 2011 and 2012, proposed locations will also be opening in Mexico, Thailand, Colombia, and England. A total of 20 new hotels are slated to open over 2011 and 2012, bringing about a total of 66 Aloft locations. This rapid growth has definitely been positive for the hotel brand, however, one of the original anticipations for the hotel was to have 500 locations by 2012, and it seems that this will not be achieved.

Of the current and proposed Aloft locations, the majority of them were branded either as "City Center" or "Airport" hotels by the Aloft Hotels website. City Center hotels are the Aloft locations located in downtown areas, such as Aloft Milwaukee Downtown. Airport hotels are the Aloft locations located at or near major airports, such as the original location in Montreal, or at Chicago's O'Hare International Airport. Aloft focused on these two major hotel types because these are the areas where hotels find the most success. Whereas other hotel brands, even among Starwood brands, feature locations either in suburbs or along Interstate Highways, Aloft chose to focus mainly on airports and downtown areas.

Aloft Hotels are also known for opening locations in areas that have shown low grow in recent times, taking part in initiatives to revitalize struggling urban areas. For instance, the Aloft location opened in downtown Milwaukee in December 2009 was the first new hotel built in Milwaukee since 2001.. The hotel opened in Harlem, New York in December 2010 was the first hotel opened there in 40 years. This hotel was specifically opened as part of a plan to try to redevelop the area. As part of generating excitement for the new hotel, tryouts were held at the Apollo Theater for staff, in an attempt to find energetic and personable staff that reflect the hotel's attitude. The event also helped to continue the image of Aloft Hotels as a hotel brand that looks to find talent in the local community.

Reception

Since the inception of Aloft Hotels, there has been a large amount of reception from the public, both negative and positive. The majority of opinions revolved around the two main aspects of the hotel brand: the low prices of rooms, and the contemporary style. From its beginning, Aloft Hotels grew quickly, not only in number of locations, but in customer satisfaction. In a July 2010 ranking by J.D. Powers and Associates, Aloft Hotels ranked towards the top of the list of hotels in customer satisfaction, ahead of many traditional hotel brands, largely due to the low prices paid for rooms. The hotel brand's popularity not only grew from the desire of customers to find a cost-effective option when traveling, but also from the reflection the hotel has on other aspects of the 2000's. Many popular stores such as Target have made attempts at providing customers with contemporary products at a low price, and Aloft Hotels reflects this same spirit.

The trademark modernistic culture of Aloft Hotels has also drawn some criticism. As with any other style, the contemporary theme of Aloft Hotels is not appreciated by everyone, and has turned back some potential patrons. In addition to this, even those that enjoy the contemporary style of these hotels have found problems with the way the hotels are. Despite their efforts to reflect the local community, some critics still feel the Aloft Hotels have too much of a "cookie cutter" feel to them. In addition, the barrage of colors, shapes, and lingo from the first moment in the hotel has been noted as simply too much for some to handle. One of the biggest issues with Aloft is the exterior design of the hotels, which in an attempt to have a very contemporary look, sacrifices the architectural features that define other hotels or buildings, especially in a downtown setting.

External Links

Virtual Aloft