The four star brand currently has at least 36 high end sites on the slate, comprising 7,090 keys.
Double digit dip
However, when we last analysed the pipeline in August 2021, it stood at 47 hotels with 8,797 rooms, a 23% and 19% slide, respectively.
Systemwide, as at end of Q3 2022 Aloft was present in 218 locations worldwide, representing 35,344 open rooms, making the current pipeline at least 17% of the brand’s prevailing portfolio.
Opening dates for upcoming sites are heavily focused on this year, with 47% of the total (17 sites) scheduled to complete in 2023. A further eight will join them in 2024, three in 2025 and the remaining eight are yet to be designated a delivery date.
Brand profile
Designed for the ‘always on’ next generation traveller, Aloft embodies a ‘different by design’ philosophy that injects personality, colour, and an obsession with music – and the culture it creates – into the select service category.
Signature brand amenities include W XYZ bar, Re:mix lounge, grab-and-go breakfast concept Re:fuel by Aloft, and pet-friendly programme Animals R Fun (Arf).
American attraction
Aloft’s North American home market dominates upcoming deliveries, with at least 21 on the slate – 58% of the total. Next up is Asia, on 11 sites/31%, while Europe has just three forthcoming hotels and South America a single one.
Drilling down into individual countries, the USA comes top with 19 scheduled additions, followed by China with seven, and the UK on two. City-wise, just New York and Charleston in the USA have more than one hotel in development, with three and two, respectively.
Ones to watch
One of the Charleston sites is Aloft Charleston Downtown, which will deliver 175 keys on the site of an old Wendy’s fast food restaurant, with completion scheduled for Q4 2024. Another American addition will be Aloft Huntsville in Alabama. The six storey, 130-room hotel will appear in the Mid City district in Q4 2023.
Further afield, the imminently opening Aloft Muscat will mark the entry of the Aloft Hotels brand in Oman. The 195-key property will be located in close proximity to the new Muscat International Airport and the upcoming Oman Convention & Exhibition Centre.
