Swiss-Belhotel International is on the verge of a major expansion drive in the Middle East, with the company set to announce a partnership which will see it take over the operation of six properties in the region by the end of the year.
The Hong Kong-based company currently has two properties, in Kuwait and Doha, and has previously confirmed details of another four in the pipeline, including the Swiss-Belhotel Seef in Bahrain, which will open next month.
Speaking to HotelierMiddleEast.com at the Arabian Travel Market, Swiss-Belhotel International chairman and president Gavin Faull revealed the company had exchanged memoranda of understanding with an investor in the region which will see the four-star chain more than double its presence.
“I’m working on a joint venture with a Middle Eastern investor and by the end of this year I will have another six hotels operating in the Middle East,” he explained.
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Among the six properties Swiss-Belhotel will take over management of, three are in Dubai and one is in Abu Dhabi, meaning the company will finally make its debut in the UAE.
Faull also revealed his company was on the verge of announcing a link-up with an international hotel school/university from Europe which will see it take over the management of a property in the Middle East which the institution will use for practical training.
“We will manage the hotel on a pure, straight management contract. I have a relationship with this university to use the hotel as their hotel school," he explained. "With this university group we are also going to develop a hotel school in Indonesia, and I’m probably also going to work with them in Thailand and Australia.”
In addition to the Bahrain property opening next month, the company will open the Swiss-Belinn Ghubrah in Muscat, Oman later this year and the Swiss-Belhotel Riyadh in Saudi Arabia and Swiss-Belhotel Erbil in Iraq next year.
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