W Hotel Perimeter goes ‘Independent’

New guestroom look for the Atlanta Perimeter Hotel and Suites ~ what now, atlanta?
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New look for the Atlanta Perimeter Hotel & Suites guestrooms

W Hotel Atlanta Perimeter to reopen as an “Independent Starwood Hotel”

W Hotel Atlanta Perimeter, originally rumored to undergo re-branding as an Aloft Hotel, is scheduled for similar fate.

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The 12-year-old hotel will change it’s name June 1, according to Jennifer Rusconi, director of sales and marketing for the hotel.

Atlanta Perimeter Hotel and Suites will be the property’s new name, Rusconi told What Now Atlanta over the phone Thursday.

“We’re a little more suburban,” Rusconi said. “An independent Starwood Hotel is more suitable for the area.”

Along with the W Hotel in Manhattan, the W Hotel Atlanta Perimeter is one of the two original W Hotels in North America. Atlanta — which has a W Hotel in Buckhead, Midtown and Downtown — doesn’t need a fourth location, Rusconi told What Now Atlanta.

“No other city in North America has more than three W’s,” Rusconi said.

Still owned by Starwood Hotels, the property at 111 Perimeter Center West will retain its membership in the Starwood Preferred Guest loyalty program.

The Ballroom will undergo a “refresh” in July but the rest of the hotel will remain as is. The hotel’s in-house restaurant will be renamed FGT Bar and Café – a modern twist on southern favorites.

The 275-guestroom hotel will also offer “free self-parking and coffee makers,” something not available at other W Hotels.

“Paying for parking was a little bit of a surprise for most guests.”

Atlanta Perimeter Hotel and Suites
111 Perimeter Center West
Atlanta GA 30346

Caleb J. Spivak

Caleb J. Spivak

Caleb J. Spivak

Caleb J. Spivak

9 Responses

  1. It makes more sense to re-brand this one since the other 3 got built. But it says “No other city in North America has more than three W’s,” but I’m pretty sure New York has four also. Which makes sense though because its NYC.

  2. Actually from the perspective of someone in the business, what they are doing makes no sense at all.

    You don’t take an asset that is performing and change it until you have a brand that Starwood customers are familiar with to re-flag it is. I agree that the W Perimeter doesn’t fit the brand voice, but it’s not hurting the brand either. Calling it a generic name but still with ties to Starwood’s loyalty program will only confuse customers and create an identity crisis. In today’s world a hotel chain of Starwood’s caliber MUST believe in their brands and have a plan for hotels that no longer fit a particular brand’s voice. At the very least come up with a creative name and try to capture the boutique hotel fans.

    This is the type of business decision that keeps Starwood comfortably behind its competitors in market share.

  3. Well they should have kept it as a W.. The building doesn’t have the look or feel of the Aloft brand at all (course it doesnt really have the edgy feel of a W hotel either from the outside) and if people are booking at the hotel, why go to the trouble and effort of rebranding it?
    I do wish we would get an Aloft here in Atlanta.. It’s a cool mix of the W boutique feel and a normal chain
    Hotel..

  4. Aloft is part of the Post project in downtown’s Centennial Hill neighborhood that has been on hold since the economy crashed. There haven’t been any other plans for that block announced (West Peachtree Place between Williams and Centennial Olympic Park Drive) but given the problems that Barry Development has had, it wouldn’t surprise me if the property has changed hands. Perhaps Post and Starwood will still be interested when financing for such projects is available and the market will support it.

  5. It will be sad to see it leave the W branding. My sister’s Bat Mitzvah was one of the first events there, nearly 10 years ago. On Sunday, her wedding marked the last event to happen at the W Perimeter. We will be sad to see it changed.

  6. @Jonathan: The re-branding has nothing to do with performance. The bottom line is this hotel is an older building in need of major refurbishment to bring it to current W standards. It WAS bringing down the brand as a whole and Starwood received many complaints over the years from dissatisfied customers who have stayed at other W’s.
    There is no way the property couldve been re-branded to another familiar Starwood brand because it would’ve required too much renovation and there is already a westin and a sheraton in the area.
    The reality is, Starwood has been trying to sell off this property for years with no success. If Starwood wanted to keep this place a W they would’ve had to spend millions in building and room upgrades and they are unwilling to do that in this economy, especially without an outside investor.

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