Starwood Hotels & Resorts US company, which holds the Sheraton brand in its portfolio, one of the world's most luxurious ones, is set to enter the Romanian hotel market over the next 3 years, Karl Biebirach, the company's vice-president for acquisitions and development in Europe, Africa and the Middle East, told ZF.
"We will initially enter with Sheraton or Le Meridien and then, depending on the trend of the market, we will bring other brands," says Biebirach.
The company's portfolio includes brands such as Sheraton, Le Meridien, W Hotel, St. Regis or The Luxury Collection.
"We have recently received about five or six offers, mostly in Bucharest, but we haven't finalised any project," explains the representative of Starwood Hotels. He specified that the chain had also considered a project in Sibiu, but the city did not sufficiently stir up the company's interest. "We are interested in Bucharest, but also in secondary cities such as Cluj-Napoca or Timisoara. But we want to enter with a management or franchise contract and we prefer greenfield properties," says Karl Biebirach.
He added that, in some rare cases, the company affiliates an already built hotel provided that it is renovated in line with the company's standards, but it has not found such a property in Romania so far. Under the circumstances, Starwood is in talks with investors willing to build up a hotel that could be subsequently affiliated under one of the brands. Investing in its own accommodation facilities is not in line with the company's policy. In Bucharest, for instance, the only investment by an international chain has been made by French group Accor, which has announced entry on the market with the Novotel brand this year, in the wake of investments topping 30 million euros.
Hotel market sources state the Sheraton chain was in talks for a location close to Calea Victoriei area, where most of four and five-star hotels of the capital city are now concentrated.
"We own hotels in countries neighbouring Romania, such as Hungary, Poland or Croatia, which are faring well and we expect the same thing to happen in the case of Romania. It depends on what kind of investors will make offers to us. Ironically, we are already present in smaller countries of the Balkans, such as Albania," explains Biebirach.
According to market information, other exclusivist chains are researching the capital city market. It is about Hyatt, Four Seasons or Kempinski. At the moment, there are six five-star hotels operating in Bucharest.
Starwood Hotels & Resorts is one of the world's major hotel companies, with approximately 850 locations in more than 95 countries worldwide and 145,000 employees globally. The company is listed on the New York Stock Exchange, and its market capitalisation stands at 11.4 billion dollars.
Starwood Hotels & Resorts
One of the world's major hotel firms, with around 850 hotels in over 95 states and 145,000 employees worldwide
Wants to enter the domestic hotel market over the next 3 years
Will first enter with Sheraton or Le Meridien and then bring other brands depending on how the market goes
Has received 5-6 offers, mostly in Bucharest, but hasn't finalised any project so far
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