Starwood's aloft Brand Gets Franchisee

Starwood Hotels & Resorts announced its first franchised aloft hotel on Monday, aloft Rancho Cucamonga in Southern California. The property, which should be open by the first quarter of 2008, will be a joint venture owned between Interstate Hotels & Resorts and The John Buck Company, a Chicago-based REIT. The tandem also announced plans to build five-to-10 aloft hotels over the course of the next several years. Starwood's aloft is a select-service brand that is looking to reinvigorate the sector, similar to how Starwood's W brand freshened the upscale hotel market.