Starwood Debuts Aloft Hotel Europe – Analyst Blog

Starwood Hotels and Resorts Worldwide Inc. (HOT) with its new lifestyle brand Aloft is finally opening its first hotel Aloft Brussels Schuman in Europe, as per the deal in 2007 with Thornsett Group Ltd, an Irish property development company.

The hotel is located at Brussels, the capital of Belgium and the administrative center of the European Union. Thus, the hotel enjoys one of the most strategic locations and will drive corporate traffic from all over the world.

Aloft Brussels Schuman is the fifth Starwood Hotel in Belgium and features 147 guest rooms with a bar in the lobby. The hotel costs nearly $105 million and also includes approximately 108 one- and two-bedroom apartments and a large retail space with parking facility. We believe on the back of a recovery in luxury hospitality, the hotel booking should be strong for the upcoming December Holiday season.

Starwood set a new trend in hotel designs with Aloft brand and has spread its operations globally with the more than 40 hotels that it opened since its launch in June 2008. Belgium is the sixth destination of Aloft, along with the USA, Canada, China, the United Arab Emirates and India. In addition to Europe, Aloft plans to introduce the brand in Thailand and UK and expand further in India and USA.

The company is poised to benefit from the increase in demand for hotels. Over half of its hotel properties are outside the U.S., an international exposure that not many of its peers such as Wyndham Worldwide Corporation (WYN) and Hyatt Hotels Corporation (H) can boast of. Additionally, the company’s over 80% of its 85,000 room pipeline will be built in international markets. The demand for hotels in the international market is strong, as the pace of economic recovery is particularly fast outside the U.S.

Starwood is a leading worldwide hospitality company with a primary focus on property ownership, management and franchising. Starwood derives the majority of its revenues from its full-service, luxury/upscale brands such as Sheraton, Westin, St. Regis, The Luxury Collection, W, Four Points by Sheraton, Le Meridien, AloftSM and ElementSM.