Rezidor SAS awarded management contract for two Palm properties

The properties - one which will be on The Crescent, the other on the trunk of the Palm - are to be built by the Kuwait Commercial Real Estate Centre (KCREC).

The contract award was announced at the Arabian Travel Market today (May 7th, 2003) in a statement by Abdul Aziz Mubarak Al Hassawi, Vice Chairman, KCREC.

KCREC signed a US$145 million agreement with Dubai Palm Developers in January 2003, for two plots, totalling 700,000 square feet.

'Rezidor SAS already successfully operates a number of our properties in the Middle East, most notably in Sharjah and Saudi Arabia, under the award-winning Radisson SAS brand,' said Al Hassawi. 'This successful relationship has now been expanded to take in an ambitious regional development plan.'

The property planned for the trunk of the Palm is a 200-room hotel which will be aimed at the business, leisure and Meetings, Incentives, Conferences and Events (MICE) sectors. The property on The Crescent will be focussed exclusively towards leisure.

Commenting on the award, Kurt Ritter, President and CEO of Rezidor SAS Hospitality said: 'We are gratified by the trust KCREC has placed in us by awarding us the management of these two prestigious projects. We have yet to decide which of the Rezidor SAS Hospitality brands these properties will be managed under, but anticipate a decision soon.

'This is a major announcement for the company as the Middle East is integral to our plans to grow the existing Rezidor SAS portfolio of five brands to 700 hotels within the next ten years.'

The Rezidor SAS portfolio includes Radisson SAS Hotels & Resorts, which currently operates 14 properties throughout the Middle East and Africa, as well as Regent, Country Inn, Park Inn and Cerutti.

World-famous Italian fashion house Cerutti joined the Rezidor SAS group earlier this year, bringing its noted European style to an exclusive chain of boutique hotels.

Rezidor SAS Hospitality was formed three years ago when SAS International Hotels (SIH), of which Kurt Ritter was President and CEO, underwent a rebranding process as part of a multi-brand strategy. Last year the second part of the multi-brand strategy was completed when Rezidor SAS entered into another master franchise agreement for the brands of the US-based Carlson Hotels Worldwide Group: Regent, Country Inns and Suites and Park Inn for Europe, Middle East and Africa.