www.rwandan-flyer.com

01/02/2014

Olivier Monnier

Louvre Hotels Group, a unit of Starwood Capital Group LLC, will open as many as 16 hotels in Africa this year, including its first in French-speaking sub-Saharan countries, as business travel fuels the lodging growth.

The Paris-based company plans to add properties in countries including Burkina Faso, Senegal, Rwanda and Ethiopia, Louvre Chief Operating Officer Alain Sebah said in an interview yesterday. The company will start work on a hotel in Benin in February and may open a West Africa regional office in Abidjan.

“Demand is rising,” Sebah said in Abidjan, Ivory Coast’s commercial capital. “African growth creates wealth and traffic, and boosts the development of the hotel trade.”

Hotel groups including Marriott International Inc. and African companies like Mali-based Groupe Azalai Hotels are adding rooms on the continent as demand for raw materials like oil, copper and gold fuel economic growth. Sub-Saharan African economies will outpace every region except developing Asia this year, according to the International Monetary Fund.

Louvre, which operates 27 hotels on the continent, plans to open as many as seven in Morocco, three in Algeria and two in Tunisia, Sebah said. The company also may set up a fund to boost its investments in Africa, he said.

SOURCE : BLOOMBERG : HERE

Starwood Hotels & Resorts soon in Rwanda ?

11/11/2013

Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc.® (NYSE:HOT) continues to strengthen its position as a leading global hotel operator in Africa with the signing of three new Sheraton hotels, marking the entrance of the company into Mauritania, Guinea and South Sudan by 2017. With these signings, Starwood is on track to increase its African portfolio by over 30% with more than 15 new hotels set to open over the next five years. This growth will add more than 5,000 guest rooms to the continent and create thousands of local employment opportunities.

“Our development strategy is focused on working with the right partners on the right deals in the right locations. We are proud to enter these long-standing partnerships with three landmark agreements to grow Starwood’s portfolio in key markets throughout Africa.”

Emphasizing the importance of the region as one of the world’s fastest-growing hotel and travel markets, Chief Executive Officer Frits van Paasschen and members of Starwood’s senior executive team just returned from visiting Africa for the fourth time in the last year. The team met with hotel owners, customers, government officials and investors in Rwanda, Guinea and South Sudan as the company remains focused on increasing its footprint in Africa.

“Africa is home to many of the world’s fastest growing economies, and there could not be a better time to expand our footprint here,” said Frits van Paasschen, President and CEO, Starwood Hotels & Resorts. “With increasing stability, vastly improving infrastructure, rapid economic growth and a booming mobile industry, this is Africa’s shining moment and we are committed to being a part of it.”

FULL ARTICLE : BUSINESS WIRE : HERE