Ramada International Hotels & Resorts, a division of Marriott International, and Global V Hospitality, Inc. have entered into an agreement that will result in the development of 80 hotels in the Middle East over five years.
The plans include 18 in Saudi Arabia, five properties in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), five properties in Kuwait, three properties in Bahrain, three in Qatar, five in Lebanon, 14 in Egypt, 10 in Tunisia, and 10 in Morocco, five in Syria, and three in Algeria. The first hotels are expected to open in Tunisia, Lebanon and Egypt.
Global V Hospitality has offices in Cairo, Beirut, Toronto and Las Vegas and operates hotels around the world. The company is aiming to set a high standard in brand definition to meet the needs of the upper mid-market traveler in these destinations.
The agreement includes development of all of Ramada International's products, such as the high-end Ramada Plaza hotels, mid-tier Ramada Hotels, Ramada Resorts and the contemporary-designed Ramada Encore hotels, which are geared toward budget-conscious business and leisure travelers.
The brand has more than quadrupled its hotel portfolio over the last year, going from 26 hotels at the beginning of 2001 to more than 130 hotels in April 2002. This growth is largely due to large-scale franchise agreements with Treff Hotels of Germany and Jarvis Hotels of Great Britain. In addition, Ramada International added hotels in Northern Ireland, China, India, Indonesia (Bali), Argentina, Switzerland, and Oman. There are currently 137 Ramada International hotels in 20 countries and territories.
Marriott International is a worldwide hospitality company operating for over 75 years, with nearly 2,600 operating units in the United States and 64 other countries and territories. Marriott International operates and franchises hotels under the Marriott, JW Marriott, The Ritz-Carlton, Renaissance, Residence Inn, Courtyard, TownePlace Suites, Fairfield Inn, SpringHill Suites and Ramada International brand names. — (menareport.com)
© 2002 Mena Report (www.menareport.com)
