Dubai – Mubasher: Rotana, a UAE-based hotel management company, has signed an agreement with Al Ibaa Company to operate a five-star hotel, Babylon Hotel, in Baghdad, Iraq.
Babylon Hotel will be managed by Rotana under its new brand name Babylon Rotana Baghdad, according to a press release.
The Iraqi capital’s famed hotel features 284 rooms and suites with views of the city’s skyline and the Tigris River.
Under the new management, Babylon Rotana Baghdad will witness an upgrade and renovation, chairman of Al Ibaa Company Imad Al Yasri said.
“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,” Yasri remarked.
For his part, Guy Hutchinson, acting CEO of Rotana, said Baghdad has been recently an attractive market for hospitality investments.
“As a result of its ambitious reconstruction efforts, Iraq has achieved tremendous progress in accelerating economic growth and development and improving the security environment in the country over the last few years,” Hutchinson continued.
“Likewise, the capital Baghdad has been experiencing a robust increase in the number of corporate and leisure travellers, thanks to its greater financial stability and rebounding tourism sector,” he said.
Babylon Rotana Baghdad will join Rotana’s hospitality business portfolio in Iraq, including Erbil Rotana, Erbil Arjaan by Rotana, and Karbala Rayhaan by Rotana.
Rotana is set to open Slemani Rotana, Sulaymaniyah in the fourth quarter of 2019, adding 240 rooms to the country’s growing hospitality inventory.
