STARWOOD’SSizzling Aloft Brand SURPASSES milestone 50th hotel

WITHFOUR HOT NEW hotels arriving on the scene

www.alofthotels.com                                                                                             

WhitePlains, NY – September XX, 2011 – Celebratedas the fastest brand launch in hospitality industry history, four new Aloft®hotels around the world have catapulted the white-hot brand past its landmark50th hotel opening.

Aloft is thesizzling "style-at-a-steal" brand from Starwood Hotels & ResortsWorldwide, Inc. (NYSE:  HOT) that rocked the hotel industry when it launched in2008.  The debuts of Aloft New York Brooklyn, Aloft Zhengzhou Shangjie andAloft Haiyang in China, and Aloft Coimbatore Singanallur in India, position theAloft brand at a total of 52 hotels around the world.  Designed to appeal tothe next generation of traveler, the fast-growing brand expects to increase itsglobal portfolio to more than 70 hotels by 2013. 

“AloftHotels’ success comes from rewriting the rules of our industry, from the unprecedentedpace of new hotel openings to its complete reinvention of the select-servicecategory,” said Simon Turner, President of Global Development forStarwood.  “Demand for Aloft in North America has been particularlyhealthy and the potential for additional growth in fast-growing economies likeChina and India is enormous.”

AloftGains Momentum in Key Global Markets

The rapidlygrowing Aloft brand went global right out the gate and now operates hotels inthree, soon to be four continents, and six countries, including the UnitedStates, Canada, China, India, Belgium and the United Arab Emirates.  Aloft willcontinue its global expansion with six additional hotels slated to open by theend of 2011, each in an international market, including China, India, Thailand,the United Kingdom, Panama, and Costa Rica.

Thefastest-growing market for Aloft is Asia Pacific, which accounts for 12 of the27 hotels in the brand’s current development pipeline.  From its debut, Aloftstruck a chord with developers in China.  By the end of 2013, Aloft will haveopened six additional new properties across this dynamic market, includinghotels in Yancheng, Haiyang, and Guangzhou, southern China’s largest city. Aloft has also become a developer darling in India, where the brand will havefour hotels by the end of 2011. The brand’s current Indian portfolio of threehotels will multiply to include the fast-growing urban hubs of Chandigarh andBengaluru.

EarnsRecord High Guest Satisfaction Scores

Design-led,tech-savvy Aloft has also reported consistently high guest satisfaction scoressince launch, reflecting the success of its modern, and vibrant design at anaffordable price point.  Aloft Hotels’ social guest experience, with thebuzzing re:mixSM lounge and happening w xyz®bar, earned select hotels within the portfolio designations onTripAdvisor’s 2011 “Top 10 Trendiest Hotels in the US” and “Top 10 TrendiestHotels in the World” rankings. 

“Aloft hasbecome a kind of living-social brand, not just a lodging option.  Aloft is aplace guests come to connect with design, technology, and each other,” said Brian McGuinness, SeniorVice President of Specialty Select Brands for Starwood.  “The brand’s, guest satisfactionscores, strong revenue performance and ability to consistently steal marketshare are signs that Aloft is speaking the language of the next generationtraveler and creating the kind of place where they want to spend their time.”

 

KhaminDevelopment Co., Ltd. performs

“Spirit HouseEnshrinement Ceremony” at

AloftBangkok - Sukhumvit 11 Hotel

Aloft Bangkok – Sukhumvit 11management team, led by Mr. Parvinder (4thfrom left)  , Managing Director and Mrs.Phitsamai Khanijaon (3rd from left) of Khamin Development Co.,Ltd. together with Mr. Brendan Daly (6thfrom left), General Manager presided over the spirit house enshrinementceremony at Aloft Bangkok – Sukhumvit 11. The ceremony was held as a propitious omen for the hotel and its futurebusiness.