Hotels group Starwood hungry for more NW sites

STARWOOD Hotels & Resorts, the US leisure operator, is “working hard” on plans to grow further in the North after opening the first hotel under its Aloft brand in Liverpool last month.

Speaking to TheBusinessDesk.com ahead of next week’s official opening of the 116-bedroom Aloft Liverpool, Even Frydenberg, senior vice president, operations Western Europe at Starwood, said new openings in Manchester and also Leeds were possible in the next two years.

He said: “First of all we are thrilled to have opened our first Aloft hotel in the North West – in fact the first outside London. We had been looking for some time for the right opportunity and being able to bring new life to the iconic Grade II-listed Royal Insurance Building was just right for us.

“We are committed to open another site in London, but there is a lot of development and redevelopment in cities like and  Manchester Leeds at the moment. We are focused on finding the right properties and partners.

“I’d be surprised if there was not some openings in that part of the country within two years and we are working hard to do it.”

Mr Frydenberg said Starwood, which also owns the Sheraton and Le Meridien hotel brands, had been impressed by the approach of Liverpool City Council, which helped the regeneration project get off the ground by buying the freehold of building at No 1 North John Street.

He said Aloft is the world’s fastest-growing hotel brand. It was launched in 2008 and by early 2015 it will have 100 hotels in 14 countries.

Aloft focuses on the mid-market and is aimed at the business traveller mid-week and at the leisure traveller at the weekend. It offers high-spec rooms at an attractive price point. Technology is a main feature of its offer too. Next year it is introducing a key-less check-in system where guests can use their smart-phones to access their rooms via BlueTooth, without having to queue at reception.

Mr Frydenberg said Starwood,  which also owns the Sheraton and Le Meridien hotel brands, had been impressed by the approach of Liverpool City Council, which helped the regeneration project get off the ground by buying the freehold of building at No 1 North John Street.

“Aloft Liverpool really is an example of best practice, where the developer, the council and the hotel company has come together to create a whole new life for a beautiful building that had become derelict.”