Qatar’s Katara Hospitality has signed an agreement with Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide to purchase the Westin Excelsior Rome for US $251 million.
Starwood has been selling off a lot of its assets lately, and signing management agreements in a new asset-light strategy as well as seeing profits tumble, causing Hotelier Middle East to ask Marriott CEO Arne Sorenson if he’d consider buying the struggling group.
Adam Aron, interim CEO of Starwood, said: "On the heels of our recent high-profile sales of The Phoenician and The Gritti Palace, along with other hotel asset transactions, the sale of the Westin Excelsior Rome brings us to $817 million of hotel assets sold so far this year."
Earlier this year, Katara Hospitality made a big splash in industry news when they re-opened the historic Excelsior Hotel Gallia in Milan after an extensive refurbishment, and handed it over to Starwood to manage.
Sheikh Nawaf Bin Jassim Bin Jabor Al-Thani, chairman of Katara Hospitality, said: "This agreement marks our third property in Italy. The Westin Excelsior Rome is the epitome of what Katara Hospitality looks for in a hotel.
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"Its grand and statuesque appearance is the ultimate in luxurious hospitality. The hotel is a welcome addition to our growing global portfolio of iconic properties, and we are delighted to be continuing to set the standard for luxury hospitality the world over."
As part of this new deal with Starwood to purchase the Roman Westin, the aging hotel – initially opened on the Via Veneto in 1906 - will be renovated over five years, including guest rooms and public areas.
The 316-key hotel will continue to be operated by Starwood under a new long-term management agreement.
The transaction increases Katara Hospitality's portfolio to 35 properties in operation or under development.
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