Since its first hotel opened in 2008, the Aloft brand has grown rapidly. The hotel originally started in North America and expanded to include international locations. According to the Aloft website, in the United States there are current locations in 27 states. There are also open locations in Australia, Belgium, Canada, China, Colombia, Costa Rica, England, Germany, India, Malaysia, Mexico, Panama, Paraguay, Saudi Arabia, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, Turkey and Uruguay.
The UAE is also growing rapidly in terms of Aloft openings. Aloft Me’aisam in has opened in Production City, while Aloft City Centre Deira and Aloft Dubai South in Jebel Ali are scheduled to open.
However, Aloft Palm Jumeirah’s GM isn’t daunted by the fact that there are four different Aloft hotels all set to open in the same emirate in the same year. “We are not worried about competition from other Aloft hotels in the city. The brand is growing and this will give us more recognition and strengthen our brand value,” he adds.
Wiegerinck also added that the hotels are strategically located throughout the city so that they don’t compete with each other.
Alex Kyriakidis, president and managing director, Middle East and Africa, Marriott International, said during the soft launch of the hotel: “We see a strong demand for Aloft properties in the region as the brand continues to re-define the traditional hotel experience with its vision and innovation. In the UAE alone, the brand will double its portfolio in the next three years with five new openings.”
The GCC hotel market is dominated by luxury, upmarket establishments, and the Palm is no different. However, Wiegerinck believes that with growing importance of emerging millennial travellers, global traveller trends have shifted dramatically. More and more travellers, even those who can afford luxury, are opting to stay in affordable hotels.
Given Aloft’s big brand push in the region, Wiegerinck is not worried about the increasing supply in the mid-market industry in the region.
“In the 12 years I’ve been in the UAE, I’ve seen the hotel industry keep on growing. The mid-market industry is booming and Dubai will continue to grow, especially in the select service market for brands from all over the world to stopover in this city. While 2020 is an important year for us, 2018 is all about the build-up phase and with our location and passion points, we’ll have our market share,” he adds.
However the brand’s aim isn’t just Expo 2020. The GM reveals: “while 2020 will be a great cherry on top of the cake for the hotel industry, this hotel is being built to withstand the next 20-30 years of development.”
When asked if Dubai is ready for a brand like Aloft he adds: “Definitely. And we are so confident of its appeal that we are building three more in one city which is unheard of.”
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