Starwood to hold aloft a two-way plan

MUMBAI: In a market place where every inch of space is a luxury, especially in the key Indian metros and mini-metros, hotel companies are putting in place processes and systems to ensure that space is utilised to its optimum capacity.

One such company that recently unveiled its plans in this direction is the Canadian hospitality major Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide Inc. Starwood’s W Hotels design team has not only localised the aloft brand but also come out with options to counter the real estate problem in the Indian market.

Thomas J Monahan, senior vice-president, acquisitions and development, Starwood Asia Pacific Hotels & Resorts Pte Ltd, told DNA Money that the aloft brand was conceived by W Hotels team especially for the select-service hotel category in the US.

“However, it was later decided that if the brand had to be introduced in the Asia Pacific region, particularly India, the offerings will have to be tweaked to meet the requirements of business travellers in this region. During the process of fine-tuning the product, we also realised that special attention will have to be given on optimum use of space considering the rising prices of real estate in the Indian market,” said Monahan.

Thus, aloft in India will now be set up using two formats. The composition though will remain more or less the same, the design has been modified to easily accommodate aloft in both city centres and suburban locations in the country. “A six-storey structure has been designed for the suburban locations where availability of land is not an issue. Keeping in mind the space constraints in the city centre locations, we have put in place a vertical design which is a 13-storey structure. The entire blue print including the brand offerings, design specifications and floor plan at every level, the type and kind of material to be used for interiors, furniture and fixtures etc for both formats has been put in place. All that our partner will require to do is develop the hotel as per the specifications and requirement of market it will operate in,” said Brian McGuinness, vice-president, aloft Hotels based out of New York.

The aloft prototype offers a room inventory of 130 - 150. However, the design is flexible enough to accommodate more rooms and can easily have over 250-300 rooms depending on the availability of space. The cost per room in an aloft hotel is around Rs 37 lakh. Though the hotel company is using the franchise route in a big way to expand in the international destinations, it will look at a mix of management and franchise and, joint venture agreements for large scale developments on a case to case basis.

Among other standard features are loft-like nine-foot ceilings for every room, a large flat panel HDTV ready television, hotel-wide wireless internet access, re:mix communal lobby area and bar w xyz, a fitness centre called re:charge, a 24/7 operational food and beverage area christened re:fuel by aloft offering sweet, savory and healthy food, snacks and beverages.

“Provisions have been made for meeting and banquet facility but these will be a separate annexure in the vicinity of the hotel. Additional food and beverage offerings including speciality restaurants can also be set up by a third party operator,” McGuinness said.