UAE-based Rotana has signed a hotel management agreement with Al Ibaa Company to operate a five-star property in Iraq’s capital of Baghdad.
Rotana will operate the city’s famed Babylon Hotel – with its striking pyramid design - under its new brand name Babylon Rotana Baghdad.
The hotel features 284 rooms and suites with views of Baghdad’s skyline and the Tigris River.
Imad Al Yasri, chairman, Al Ibaa Company, said the change in management will also see an upgrade and refurbishment of the hotel.
“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,” said Yasri.
Guy Hutchinson, acting CEO, Rotana, said the Iraqi capital is increasingly becoming 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. 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 the company’s three operating hotels in Iraq, including Erbil Rotana, Erbil Arjaan by Rotana, and Karbala Rayhaan by Rotana.
In the fourth quarter of 2019, Rotana will open Slemani Rotana, Sulaymaniyah, adding 240 rooms to the country’s growing hospitality inventory.
