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Starwood to Introduce Aloft Hotels to Madrid and Barcelona

8/10/2014 – Expansion

U.S. chain Starwood, managing 17 hotels in Spain and 1.162 establishments all around the world, is going to release its brand Aloft to the Spanish market. The three- or four-star brand outstands with its designer, modern and colorful style. An overnight stay in such a hotel in London costs around €130.

Starwood’s CEO for Spain Richard Brekelmans announced that negotiations with building owners in Madrid and Barcelona are already ongoing. ‘They are pretty advanced and soon we will open new hotels in the country’, he assures.

The director explains that the idea of Aloft is ‘exceptionally attractive as it may be developed really fast. Location of the hotels makes it easy to find them and required investment consumes much less equity than a 5* establishment, therefore we could open hundreds of them in the upcoming years’, he adds. Moreover, Mr Brekelmans believes the market still offers space for new brands.

In Spain, Starwood operates under the names of Le Meridien, W Hotels, Four Points, Sheraton, Westin, St. Regis and The Luxury Collection. The last includes independent establishments like the Alfonso XIII in Sevilla, the Castillo Hotel Son Vida in Mallorca, the Hotel Maria Cristina in San Sebastian and the Hotel de Marques de Riscal in Elciego (Alava).

Other Brands

The U.S. group is ‘interested in developing more hotels in Spain and for that reason we are currently exploring various projects’, says the CEO. Five years after opening the Hotel W in Barcelona, the company looks for a proper location in Madrid. Additonally, Starwood has got six Sheraton establishments in different cities and the company wishes to open one more in Barcelona but that ‘must be the perfect building’.

 

Original article: Expansión (by Marisa Anglés)

Translation: AURA REE