Starwood Hotels and Resorts Worldwide announced at the Americas Lodging Investment Summit (ALIS) in Los Angeles this week that it has received five applications from developers to build Aloft Hotels, a select-service brand Starwood unveiled last summer that focuses on Gen X travelers.

Read the whole article here:Starwood Receives Five Applications for Aloft Hotels

tags: hospitality

USATODAY.com and Reuters report that Barry Sternlicht (former CEO of Starwood Hotels & Resorts) and owner of Starwood Capital Group, plans to launch a new luxury hotel brand to compete with St.Regis. The new brand will be named Crillon and it's flagship will be the Hotel de Crillon in Paris, which was acquired with the Societe du Louvre acquisition earlier this year.

Read the whole story here: USATODAY.com - Former Starwood chief launches luxury hotel brand

tags: hospitality

The popular Jumeirah Group, part of Dubai Holding is setting its eyes on the North American market for it's next growth opportunities. Jumeriah has a planned roll-out of 40 hotels over the next 4 years and at least 5 luxury hotels are planned for North America. Jumeriah also recently took over management of the famous Essex House Hotel in NY, replacing Starwood Hotels & Resorts as the operator fo the 605 room hotel (bearing the Westin and St.Regis brands).

Read the original article here: Jumeirah To Build Hotels In U.S.

tags: hospitality

Forbes.com reports that Starwood is planning to grow substantially in the Chinese marketplace. Starwood Hotel & Resorts Inc., which has over 430 properties in North America but only 24 in China, expects to grow this number to 40 by end 2007.

Starwood's portfolio mainly comprises of luxury brands like Sheraton, Westin, W Hotels, Luxury Collection, Four Points, St.Regis and the recent Aloft and Le Meridien additions. With the unprecedented growth in China's economy, the company hopes to target rich Chinese patrons and those with better discretionary incomes as a result of the boom.

The article also discusses the challenge of management vs franchise options opted for by investors in China.

JJ

Visit Forbes.com for the original article: In Bed With China's Traveling Rich - Forbes.com

tags: hospitality

The popular Waldorf-Astoria, owned by Hilton since 1949 is expected to launch a branded chain, which will include various luxury hotels and resorts.

Read the story: USATODAY.com - Waldorf turns lavish brand into chain

tags: hospitality

Hotel investors predict that Eastern European markets will give their more established peers in Western Europe a run for their money on trading performance this year says a report by Jones Lang LaSalle Hotels. The research that has surveyed 2,000 of the world’s principal investors and owners of hotel and resort properties, found that the majority are keen to hold on to their European hotel assets with a third looking to buy in the short term.

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tags: hospitality

Marriott International Inc. plans to grow by converting hotels into its brands, but it may acquire new chains as well, Chief Operating Officer William Shaw said on Thursday.

Shaw told Reuters that the company, which owns the Ritz-Carlton, Courtyard and Marriott brands among others, did not have to buy another hotel chain as it had a diverse portfolio. "It's not that we need a segment."

Shaw said that Marriott had plans for more than 60,000 rooms, including expansions internationally. He said the company expected to add 25,000 to 30,000 rooms every year over the next three years.

Read the full story on Reuters.com

tags: hospitality

The construction of the $500 million under water hotel will start in the first quarter of this year.

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tags: hospitality

As many as 80 new hotels are being developed in the Gulf to accommodate an increasing flow of inbound traffic for business and leisure travellers.

In all over 25,000 rooms and suites will be added to the existing regional hotel room stock by 2008.

Many international chains are present in the region and others are set to join the fray. A total of 28 chains representing 43 hotel brands will open their doors for business within the next three years, according to GCC Market Review by Kuwait-based Global Investment House, The Gulf Today said in a report.

Vacationers are increasingly investing in condo-hotels in order to have access to the properties when on vacation and rent them out when they're not there. Hotel chains including Marriott, Westin and W Hotels are promoting the arrangements more than ever to raise cash and help pay for construction costs.

Read the article here: Don't Want to Leave the Hotel? Buy the Room - New York Times

tags: hotels

Independent hoteliers Jeff Klein and Tim Miller are working to change the face of boutique hotels by focusing on services and amenities and making existing properties into locations that will endure, instead of becoming lost in the expanse of the growing boutique movement. One historic expert says boutique hotel interiors are becoming less "ultramodern" and becoming more "domestic, and the more historic a property is, the better suited it is to become intimate and cozy."

Read the article here: The Next Boutique Hotel: History Lesson - Los Angeles | Travel Leisure

INTERNATIONAL hotel chain Golden Tulip has officially taken over the management of the Hilton, with effect from New Year's Day. A management agreement for the 250-room five-star hotel was signed by Golden Tulip with the hotel owning company, Investment & Trading (Gulf) Enterprises, yesterday. Golden Tulip Hotels, Inns and Resorts is headquartered in Amersfoort, the Netherlands and Lausanne, Switzerland.

Read the article here: Gulf Daily News

tags: hospitality