Checking out Rotana’s expansion plans
ACCORING to Selim El Zyr, he will be stepping down in five or six years.
But before he does that there was one thing that he wants to do: have at least one Rotana-managed property in every Arab capital with business potential.
However difficult that may seem, given El Zyr’s steely determination it’s not an impossible.
And, for the time being, El Zyr is not doing too badly on that score. Right now Rotana Hotels manages 17 properties and projects throughout the Middle East but it has ten new properties in the pipeline which will be ready by 2006. “The upcoming properties will add 2,500 rooms to our portfolio and by 2006 Rotana Hotels will reach 6,000 rooms with a turn over of Dh1 billion ($272 million) per annum, thereby approximately double the existing revenues,” says El Zyr.
Here’s a list of the new properties under development:
DUBAI: Al Murooj Rotana Hotel & Suites, 253 rooms, 147 apartments and penthouses, a total of 400 units owned by Dubai International Real Estate. (Opening December, 2004.)
Villa Rotana Villas, 130 luxurious suites & studios, owned by Al Jallaf Group. (Opening fall, 2005.)
Forex Rotana Suites, 72-floor tower with 480 suites it is the tallest Suite Hotel in the world, owned by Abbco Group. (Opening fall, 2006.)
Jumeirah Amwaj Rotana Resort, 350 rooms and suites, owned by International Hotel Investment Company. (Opening fall, 2006.)
FUJAIRAH: Fujairah Rotana Hotel, 180 rooms and chalets. (Opening mid-2006.)
DOHA: Rotana will manage City Centre Rotana, a soon-to-open hotel connected to Doha City Center Shopping Mall, which consist of 300 rooms and 100 suites, owned by Al Rayyan Tourism Investment, which part of Faisal Bin Qassim Al Thani Holding Company.
KUWAIT: Kuwait Rotana Suite Hotel (190 rooms and suites), owned by Tamdeen group, located in Fahaheel district. (Opening mid 2006.)
DAMASCUS: It will manage a 110-suite hotel, located at Queen Center Shopping Mall. (Opening in June, 2004.)
BEIRUT: Raouché Rotana Suites owned by Societé Generale Immobiliere. (To be operated in mid-2005.) This new property will be in addition to the newly-opened Hazmieh Rotana Hotel and the new extension of 36 suites to the Gefinor Rotana Hotel.
“The opening of these properties in the region is a testimony of our commitment to expand our genuine Arabian hospitality for the local, regional and international guests,” says El Zyr.