"Aloft Has Great Opportunity to Grow in India"

Bikramjit Ray Sep 08, 2016

STARWOOD HOTELS & Resorts Asia Pacific’s Senior Director, Brand Management, Vincent Ong, spoke to BW Hotelier via email on what Aloft, one of the chain’s young brands has in store for the Indian market. Here are the excerpts of that interview.
Ong began by telling us a little bit about the Aloft brand what is had to offer in India. “Aloft is a trendsetter in its segment. This is a brand that has brought ‘energy and glamour’ to the category of upscale hotels and has found resonance with the young business travelers, who are tech savvy and can relate to the brand’s design and music programming,” he began by saying.
In India, since its inception in 2008, Aloft has been well received by Gen Y travelers, who travel frequently and look for unique experiences when they stay at hotels. Aloft has captured this segment by delivering style at a steal with its urban-influenced, modern, open and vibrant design - and a social guest experience – all at a great value, Ong added.
What sets this product apart from others, he continued were pioneering initiatives in technology like the SPG Keyless check-ins and the Project Aloft Star music competition where we search for the next big thing in, according to him.
India has 5 Aloft hotels at present with two—Aloft Delhi Aerocity and Aloft Bengaluru International Airport scheduled to open next year and two years from now respectively.
“With the changing urban Indian landscape and the increasing number of micro cities emerging within larger cities and tier II markets, I have no doubt that we have a great opportunity to grow this brand in India,” he said.
India has a strong domestic market which is growing at an exponential pace. Indians are travelling more for business and leisure. Indians are also cost-conscious and are always looking at great value propositions. This becomes a huge opportunity for the Aloft brand, which offers a great and unique experience in the upscale segment, he reasoned.
Ong said that a fascinating thing about India was the new generation of tech-savvy, Gen Y travelers and their appetite for lifestyle brands.
“Gen Y is perhaps the biggest consumer group in India today with the average age in fast-growing emerging markets being the 20 somethings, much younger than in developed markets. This generation has a new and distinct take on design, technology, service and sustainability. With brands like Aloft created for and by the millennials, Starwood is ahead of the curve with a unique approach to design and innovation,” he added.
Addressing prospective owners interested in partnering with Aloft hotels Ong said that Aloft was a very unique brand that offers a distinct lifestyle experience to the guests. ‘This brand resonates well with the tech-savvy, millennials who jet-set around and base their hotel choices on experiences, aesthetics, service and sustainability. India boasts of great domestic brands in the luxury and the budget hotel segment but there is still a gap between luxury and quality budget hotels in the country. Aloft, being an upscale brand fills this gap perfectly with its trappings of an ‘urban, chic’ hotel but affordably priced”, he concluded.