Rotana Hotel

"Despite the existing geopolitical and economic issues in the region, Kaddouri remains focussed on the Middle East, with Iraq and Iran on his radar.The company has been working on entering Iran for the past few years and is scheduled to open its first hotel there in less than a year." (April 30, 2017)

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"A handful of mostly European hotel groups are looking to steal a march on their U.S. competitors by moving into the Iranian hospitality market while U.S. companies still face regulatory uncertainty... Abu Dhabi-based-Rotana Hotel Management Corp. PJSC, France’s Accor, Spain’s Meliá Hotels International  and Germany’s Steigenberger Hotel Group are all moving quickly in anticipation of a tourism and business boom... Rotana, which operates out of more than two dozen cities in emerging and often complicated markets such as Iraq and Sudan, has four properties under construction in Iran, the first one of which, a five-star hotel with 362 rooms, will open next year in the holy city of Mashhad..." (Wall Street Journal, "Iran Prepares for an Uptick in Tourism," 10/4/2016).

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"Global hotel companies are establishing new beachheads in Iran, betting that lifted sanctions against the Middle East nation will spark a jump in tourism and business travel after decades of economic isolation. Spanish operator Melia Hotels International is planning to open a 319-room hotel next year on the Caspian Sea. French group Accor Hotels, which opened two hotels near the Tehran airport last autumn, is establishing a joint-stock company in Iran through which it will partner with local groups to manage hotels. Abu Dhabi-based Rotana Hotel Management Corp. PJSC has started developing properties in the country as well." (The Wall Street Journal, “Next Big Travel Destination: Iran?,” 5/17/2016)