Starwood’s XYZ Select-Service Brand Named ‘Aloft’

PHOENIX— Starwood Hotels and Resorts Worldwide revealed the name and concept details of its new select-service brand today here at The Lodging Conference. Formerly known as XYZ, the brand has been named “aloft,” deliberately sans capitalization. The new brand will offer urban-style, loft-like guestrooms, enhanced technology services and landscaped outdoor spaces, according to the company. Five property sites located in Lexington, MA; Tuscon, AZ; San Francisco, CA; Philadelphia, PA; and Cherry Creek, CO, are all in various stages of entitlement or development. The company anticipates the first hotels will break ground in ealy 2006 and open in early 2007.