UAE's Rotana Hotels to boost footprint in Saudi Arabia

Abu Dhabi —  Rotana Hotels Management Corporation is to open three hotels in different Saudi cities in 2019, the hotel group’s chief operating officer said.

The Abu Dhabi-based hotel management firm will launch two new projects in Bosnia's capital Sarajevo and Tanzania's main city of Dar es Salaam, along with opening new hotels in Iraq and the UAE, Guy Hutchinson told Mubasher in an exclusive interview on Sunday.

These projects are aimed to boost Rotana’s presence in these countries as part of its plan to make use of the fresh markets, he said.

He noted that Rotana is planning to inaugurate 44 hotels to add 11,606 rooms to its hotel portfolio across 16 nations, including 12 hotels in the UAE.

Rotana manages and operates 66 hotels across 23 cities around the world, including 17,425 rooms, Hutchinson added.

In the UAE, the hotel management firm operates 40 hotels with 10,503 rooms.

In March, Rotana Hotels opened Saadiyat Rotana Resort & Villas on Saadiyat Island in Abu Dhabi.

The new five-star hotel comprises 327 rooms and suites, along with 13 beach villas.

In the same vein, the Emirati group also opened The Pearl Rotana Capital Centre, a tower within the handful of hotels in the Capital Centre business district, which features 315 modern and spacious rooms and suites, in addition to The Beach Rotana, which added 326 studios and apartments to its existing complex.

Moreover, Rotana opened the five-star hotel Al Bandar Rotana in the emirate of Dubai, which offered 190 rooms and suites.

Hutchinson said that his company does not plan to raise any financings in order to expand its projects.

The company also does not look to float a stake of its shares on the stock market in the meantime or enter in any acquisition deals, he added.

He highlighted that Rotana is always seeking to expand and sign deals to foray into fresh markets in a bid to enhance its position as a leading hotel management firm not only in the Middle East, Africa, and Turkey, but across the globe.

As for the group’s future projects, the chief operating officer said that his company inaugurated three new headquarters in Paris, Milano, and Amsterdam for boosting sales and attracting new customers.

Concerning the outlook for the tourism sector, he said that the UAE has succeeded in becoming an international destination for travellers, along with being among the world's top ten tourist destinations.