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Hotel Management Contracts to Rezidor SAS |
| Dubai, May 2003 � Rezidor SAS Hospitality has
been awarded contracts to manage two properties planned for Dubai�s prestigious
Palm Islands development, a palm tree-shaped resort island currently being
built. The properties � one of which will be located on The Crescent, the
other on the trunk of the Palm � are to be built by the Kuwait Commercial
Real Estate Center (KCREC).
�KCREC signed a US $145 million agreement with Dubai Palm Developers in January 2003, for two plots totalling 700,000 square feet,� said Abdul Aziz Mubarak Al Hassawi, vice chairman, KCREC. "Rezidor SAS already successfully operates a number of our properties in the Middle East, most notably in Sharjah and Saudi Arabia, under the award-winning Radisson SAS brand," he added. "This successful relationship has now been expanded to take in an ambitious regional development plan." The property planned for the trunk of the Palm is a 400-room hotel, which will be aimed at the business, leisure and meetings, incentives, conferences and events (MICE) sectors. The property on The Crescent will feature 200 rooms and focus exclusively on leisure. Commenting on the award, Kurt Ritter, president and CEO of Rezidor SAS Hospitality said, "We are gratified by the trust KCREC has placed in us by awarding us the management of these two prestigious projects. We have yet to decide which of the Rezidor SAS Hospitality brands these properties will be managed under, but anticipate a decision soon.� He continued, "This is a major announcement for the company as the Middle East is integral to our plans to grow the existing Rezidor SAS portfolio of five brands to 700 hotels within the next ten years." The Rezidor SAS portfolio includes five brands: Radisson SAS, Regent, Country Inn, Park Inn and the recently announced new lifestyle hotel brand bearing the name of the well-known fashion brand Cerruti. In the Middle East, Rezidor SAS Hospitality currently operates Radisson SAS properties in Amman, Aqaba, Bahrain, Beirut, Istanbul, Jeddah, Kuwait, Muscat, Riyadh, Sharm-El-Sheikh, Sharjah, Taba, and Yanbu. New properties are under development in Egypt�s Hurghada and Al Quesir, while Turkey will see three more Radisson SAS hotels in Ankara and Istanbul. Rezidor SAS Hospitality was formed three years ago when SAS International Hotels (SIH), of which Kurt Ritter was president and CEO, underwent a re-branding process as part of a multi-brand strategy. Last year the second part of the multi-brand strategy was completed when Rezidor SAS entered into another master franchise agreement to develop U.S.-based Carlson Hotels Worldwide Group�s Regent, Country Inns and Suites and Park Inn brands in Europe, the Middle East and Africa. In March 2003, Rezidor SAS announced the addition of a new lifestyle hotel brand bearing the name of the well-known fashion brand Cerruti. Contracts for the first Cerruti Hotels have already been signed. The company projects that it will have 700 hotels across all brands, operating within the EMEA region by 2012. |
Contact:
| Emily Easter
MMG Mardiks 594 Broadway, Suite 1106 New York, NY 10012 Phone: 212-219-7560, ext. 204
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| Also See | Samuel R. Schorr Named General Manager at Ocean Place Resort & Spa, Long Branch, New Jersey / April 2003 |
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