Micro-hotel trend heats up as Yotel gets $250M from Starwood Capital

Yotel is receiving a $250 million investment from Barry Sternlicht's Starwood Capital Group to expand at a time when pod-style hotels are growing in popularity and interest among developers and consumers alike. Starwood Capital, the private investment firm, is acquiring a 30 percent stake in the process. Currently, Yotel operates four airport hotels under its YotelAir brand in Europe, and two city hotels in New York and Boston. It has several hotels under development in Asia, Europe, the Middle East, and the U.S., and Starwood is assisting Yotel in opening hotels in Edinburgh, Glasgow, and Amsterdam.