Mohamad Haj Hassan joined Rotana in 2003, serving as director of conferences and catering at the flagship Beach Rotana Abu Dhabi. Today, he is the area vice president at Rotana and the general manager of the five-star Babylon Rotana Baghdad Hotel in Iraq, which, fully operational, Rotana took over on February 1 this year.
The Babylon Rotana Baghdad Hotel is not Rotana’s first hotel in Iraq. It joins Erbil Rotana – 2011, Karbala Rayhaan by Rotana – 2013, and Erbil Arjaan by Rotana – 2017. But evidently, Rotana’s latest signing comes with a great deal of history, despite that it was only constructed in 1982.
To use the old adage “been through the wars” is an understatement when describing Iraq, and the hotel.
The hotel, then operated by Warwick International Hotels, was one of two “upmarket” hotels that were attacked in a double bombing in May 2015. The attack at the Babylon hotel saw six fatalities.
Fast forward to today, and according to Haj Hassan, Iraq’s ambitious reconstruction efforts have seen the country achieve “tremendous progress in accelerating economic growth and development and improving the security environment over the last few years. This makes it a perfect destination for our expansion,” he says.
Iraq is not a new market for Rotana, which, according Haj Hassan, has been operating there “with great success since the opening of our first property, Erbil Rotana, in 2011.” This said, Iraq is a risky market in terms of security. Yet this has failed to dampen Rotana’s confidence.
“Iraq – Baghdad in particular – has been experiencing an increase in the number of corporate and leisure travellers, thanks to its greater financial stability and rebounding tourism sector,” says Haj Hassan, who goes on to say how the country is increasingly becoming an attractive market for hospitality investments that holds great potential for Rotana.
“We will continue to seek new opportunities to further enhance our presence in this market,” he adds.
On a regional level, Rotana has been active, with more in the pipeline. On February 17 Hotelier reported on its online news site that Rotana is to add more than 1,000 keys to Saudi Arabia in 2019 alone. During its 2019 GCC Roadshow, Rotana confirmed its plan of four new hotels in Saudi Arabia, as the company steps up efforts to deepen its footprint in the Kingdom.
Centro Corniche, Al Khobar and Dana Rayhaan by Rotana, Dammam are scheduled for opening in the first and second quarters of 2019 respectively, while Salama Arjaan by Rotana, Jeddah and Centro Medina, Madinah will open their doors to guests in the second quarter of 2020.
Currently, Saudi Arabia is home to six Rotana hotels under operation across three cities: Al Marwa Rayhaan by Rotana in Makkah; Rosh Rayhaan by Rotana, Centro Olaya and Centro Waha in capital Riyadh; and Centro Shaheen and Centro Salama in Jeddah, with a combined room inventory of 1,603 keys.
Furter north in Iraq, Rotana also has pipeline plans, albeit on a lesser scale in terms of key numbers. Apart from the recent signing of the Babylon Rotana Baghdad, which brings the Rotana’s total inventory to 838 operating keys in Iraq, Rotana said that Q4, 2019 will see the opening of Slemani Rotana, Sulaymaniyah in Iraqi Kurdistan, adding a further 240 rooms to the country’s growing hospitality inventory.
Guy Hutchinson, Acting CEO, Rotana, said that the signing of the Babylon Rotana Baghdad was in line with the company’s plans to expand its presence in the region. “At Rotana, we will continue to seek new opportunities to further enhance our presence in this market.”
Speaking about the agreement, Ima, with a highly trained team and extreme Al Yasri, chairman, Al Ibaa Company (the hotel’s owner) said that they were looking forward to the upgrade of the famed hotel.
“We are confident that the partnership with Rotana will present a compelling value proposition for our guests, employees, and stakeholders, and further drive our business growth,” he said.
Apart from the signing of the Babylon Rotana Baghdad, which brings the Rotana’s total inventory into 838 operating keys in Iraq, Q4, 2019 will see the opening of Slemani Rotana, Sulaymaniyah in Iraqi Kurdistan, adding a further 240 rooms to the country’s growing hospitality inventory.
The five-star Babylon Rotana Baghdad is located next to the green zone, close to the banks of the Tigris River and just 30 minutes’ drive from Baghdad International Airport.
| Advertisement |
Search our database of more than 2,700 industry companies
