Louvre brands to have 50 hotels in region by 2020

Starwood Capital owned Louvre hotels will be expanding its presence in the Middle East, reaching 50 hotels in the next 10 years, according to a senior member of the company.

Amine Moukarzel vice president and managing director MENA of Golden Tulip, which was acquired by Starwood Capital in July 2009, is also involved in the Louvre venture and revealed: “We will develop the Louvre brands in the region; we have great markets in Egypt, Libya, Algeria and these are not part of it yet so by 2020 guess what? 50 hotels for the Louvre brands.”

The Louvre brands, which are comprised of Première Classe, Campanile, Kyriad and Kyriad Prestige — as well as the Golden Tulip offerings; Tulip Inn, Golden Tulip and Royal Tulip — will be expanding in to the region with a particular emphasis on pushing budget brand Campanile.

“In the Gulf we have an opportunity to develop, and the greatest element to this development [of Campanile] is that budget hotels are always a quick return on investment, so with the Campanile brand it is a proven fact that we generate a great return on investment, and this is what we will be developing in the next five years,” Moukarzel explained.

“My aim in the region is to have the brands of Louvre as strong as Golden Tulip, as strong as other hotel brands and to lead the budget hotels,” he added.