Stamford, Connecticut-based
Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc.
(
HOT
) recently announced the opening of a hotel - 'Aloft Chandigarh
Zirakpur' - under its Aloft brand in Chandigarh, India. The company
extended its partnership with Urbanedge Hotels for the opening of
its fourth Aloft hotel in India.
Chandigarh, located in northern India at the foothills of the
Himalayas, is emerging rapidly as a commercial hub. The city has
excellent urban infrastructure and exotic beauty but a limited
number of international brand hotels to serve modern travelers.
This demand-supply gap in the city has caught the attention of
Starwood. The company already has a presence in Chandigarh with a
hotel under the Sheraton brand - Sheraton Chandigarh Hotel - and is
now intended to extend its Aloft brand in the city.
Aloft Chandigarh Zirakpur is situated on the Ambala - Chandigarh
National Highway at Zirakpur. Comprising basic and modern
amenities, the hotel caters to both business and leisure
travelers.
The hotel is specifically designed and boasts high-class
technologies to attract younger travelers. Aloft is the
youth-oriented brand of Starwood, aimed to attract the tech-savvy
next-generation customers. As of now, the brand owns 60 hotels in
10 countries around the world.
Apart from the new hotel, the brand already owns three 4-star
deluxe hotels in Chennai, Bengaluru and Coimbatore. Since its debut
in India in 2010, the brand is in expansion mode in the country.
The company expects to open three more hotels in India going
forward - including 'Aloft Ahmedabad' in Gujarat, 'Aloft Bengaluru
Cessna Business Park' in Bengaluru and a hotel in Delhi at the
Delhi International Airport Limited (DIAL).
The middle income population in India is growing rapidly, and
the number of high net-worth individuals has grown over 80%
in the last five years. This fraction of the population has also
shown an inclination to spend on travel and leisure. Moreover, the
demand for Starwood's high-class, urban-inspired lifestyle brands
is strong in both established and emerging markets across India.
All these factors testify to Starwood's target of opening around
100 hotels in India across all brands by 2015.
However, the market is not free of competition. Several major
hoteliers like
InterContinental Hotels Group
(
IHG
),
Hyatt Hotels Corporation
(
H
) and
Marriott International Inc.
(
MAR
) are poised to beef up their portfolio in India.
The company is scheduled to release its second quarter 2012
earnings on July 26, 2012.The Zacks Consensus Estimate for the
second quarter is pegged at 61 cents per share. We presently have a
long-term Neutral recommendation on the stock. However, the company
carries a Zacks #2 Rank, which translates into a short-term Buy
rating.
HYATT HOTELS CP (H): Free Stock Analysis Report
STARWOOD HOTELS (HOT): Free Stock Analysis
Report
INTERCONTL HTLS (IHG): Free Stock Analysis
Report
MARRIOTT INTL-A (MAR): Free Stock Analysis
Report
To read this article on Zacks.com click here.
Zacks Investment
Research