Banyan Tree takes legal action against Meydan

Banyan Tree Hotels and Resorts has initiated arbitration proceedings against Dubai company Meydan LLC “for various breaches” of the management contracts for two Dubai hotels the company was expected to operate, HotelierMiddleEast.com can exclusively reveal.

A statement released by Banyan Tree this morning said: “Further to the announcement made on 14 November 2009, the Board of Directors of Banyan Tree Holdings Limited (“BTH” or “Company”) has announced that its wholly-owned subsidiary, Banyan Tree Hotels & Resorts Pte. Ltd. (“BTHR”) has initiated arbitration proceedings against Meydan LLC, Meydan Group LLC and Meydan City Corporation for various breaches of the Hotel Management Agreement for The Meydan and the Villa Management Agreement for Banyan Tree Meydan”.

The statement continued: “The Meydan is a proposed 230 room hotel located at the Meydan Racecourse in Dubai.

“Banyan Tree Meydan is a proposed 77 villa resort in the same development.

“Both the Meydan and Banyan Tree Meydan have not commenced operations yet.”

HotelierMiddleEast.com can also confirm that Dubai’s Jumeirah Group will be assisting in the initial operation of The Meydan — which is due to open in March during the Dubai International Racing Carnival ahead of the Dubai World Cup meeting on March 27.

A spokesperson for Jumeirah said: “I can confirm that Jumeirah Group has been asked to support the set-up and initial operation of The Meydan, a hotel which forms part of the Meydan Racecourse City project in Nad Al Sheba. This involves sharing our expertise to assist the hotel with its pre-opening plans in advance of the official launch”.

Meydan said it could not comment on the arbitration proceedings, but revealed that Abdin Nasralla, the former GM of Jumeirah Bab Al Shams, had been appointed VP for Hotels and Hospitality for Meydan.