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NEWS | Starwood to Set Up Aloft, Expand Four Points Hotels in Australia


Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide Inc. (HOT), the hospitality group founded by Barry Sternlicht, will introduce its four-plus-star Aloft brand in Australia and expand the presence of its Four Points by Sheraton in the nation. The Stamford, Connecticut-based company plans to open as many as 15 Aloft hotels in Australia and have a Four Points by Sheraton hotel in all eight state capitals within five years, said Andrew Taylor,
Sydney-based director of acquisitions and developments for the Pacific region. “We haven’t seen the conditions we’re seeing now for at least the past 10 years, with record occupancies in Sydney, Melbourne, Perth and Brisbane, and rates have lifted quite dramatically,” Taylor said in an interview in Sydney on Oct. 16. “We’re pursuing Aloft and Four Points deals in both new- build projects and rebranding opportunities.” Hotels in Sydney, Melbourne and Perth recorded occupancy rates above 80 percent in the year ended June 30, driven by a lack of new construction and demand from business travelers, according to figures from Chicago-based broker Jones Lang LaSalle Inc. Occupancies will climb to 87 percent in Sydney, 86 percent in Perth and 82 percent in Melbourne by 2015, according to forecasts by Sydney-based hospitality consultancy AHS Advisory.