High-style (but discount) hotels on the way

They would be the prototypic aloft hotels in Texas. Starwood declared that it was creating the stigmatize in Sept and disclosed its epitome in Jan. Tho' the hotels are fashioned to go into suburban locations, aloft has an city-born feel.

The hotels will have suite with 9-foot ceilings and mammoth windows, synchronic coffeehouse-style refreshments and hip hotel bars. Starwood is provision an pushful aloft enlargement with 500 locations intercontinental by 2012. The premiere aren't foreseen to open until aboriginal next year. Discount former alofts are low-level maturation in San Francisco; Phoenix; Tucson, Ariz.; Philadelphia; Baltimore; Charlotte, N.C.; and suburban Boodle, Beantown and Denver.

Starwood has hobnail customer allegiance and commands agiotage prices for its W Hotels stigmatize, so it's a good time to establish aloft. Tho' the W was industrial as an upmarket stigmatize, it commands room prices more akin to its luxe competitors. John Keeling, sr. vice chairwoman for PKF Consulting in Houston, said aloft aims to make a correspondent play in the minor-sminor arena.

Minor-sminor hotels, which include such brands as La Quinta, Fairfield Inn and Courtyard by Marriott, have enjoyed a rubicund backlash in recent years, outperforming brands in the thriftiness, upmarket and opulence segments. "This is the oldest volley of Starwood," Mr. Keeling said. "This isn't just expiration to be a moderate-smoderate hotel, it's sledding to be a sexy finite-sfinite hotel." Starwood isn't the only galactic concatenation to plunge a boutique-flavored moderate-smoderate oblation.

InterContinental Hotels Grouping PLC furled out Hotel Indigotin well-nigh two years ago and is adding locations in downtown Dallas, Houston and respective former U.S. cities. Hotel Anil and aloft have purloined a cue from retailers like Quarry that attract superpatriotic customers with high-style rebate products. "It takes the raffish whatsis and brings it down to a price indicate that the intermediate Joe can afford," Mr. Keeling said. Mr. Champ, a 21-year seasoned in the hotel industriousness who helped Starwood establish the W denounce in 1998, says he likable the tractableness of aloft.

The 136-room epitome can be improved for $13 1000000 and workings in both suburban and city-bred mercantile markets. Aloft was configured by David Rockwell and the Rockwell Aggroup, whose accolade-waccolade projects include the Kodak Dramaturgy, Nobu and the W Conjugation Squared. "This takes the look and feel and excitation of W Hotels but can go into markets like Las Colinas," he said.