Sheraton hotel has announced plans to extend to Rwanda by the year 2018, as the company targets to widen the property’s footprint across the African continent.
The hotel brand is owned by the company Starwood-Hotels and Resorts, which also operates other world class hotel brands including St. Regis, W and Westin among others.
The president of Starwood in Europe, Africa and the Middle East Michael Wale revealed the company’s plans to partner with Central Park and Hotel Residence on the new project of the Rwanda property.
“Our innovative approach to managing lifestyle brands continues to set up apart from the competition,” Wale said.
Sheraton will be situated in Kigali, Gasabo district seven kilometers from Kigali International Airport.
The hotel project comes at a time Rwanda targets to reach at least 10, 000 rooms in hotels, motels and lodges by 2019. The current number of rooms total to over 6, 000.
Hotels and restaurant businesses play a big role in the tourism industry which is a major source of revenue for Rwanda.
Favorable visa regulation have aided Rwanda’s tourism to increasing its visitors’ number where you find that and a visa for visitors from any of the African Union member states are processed on arrival.
“The hospitality sector is one of the main industries driving infrastructure development in Rwanda and is a key foreign exchange earner for the country,” said Billy Cheung Yiu Tung, Chairman Central Park Hotel and Residences LTD.
“We seek to tap into Rwanda’s rapidly growing real estate and hospitality markets, which growth has been spurred on by a rising demand for hotel accommodation resulting mainly from a conducive business environment,” Tung observed.
The Hotel will be comprised of 136 rooms, the club, cozy lounge, fitness and spa, outdoor, swimming pool and adjoining retail shops.
Such hotel projects will increase the country’s tourist numbers and improve the country’s capacity to host more international conferences.
Rwanda had collected $142.5 million in tourism revenues and registered 664,729 visitors in the first semester of 2013, an increase of 11% and 14% respectively compared to the same period in 2012, according to Rwanda Development Board (RDB).
Other international hotel brands set to enter Rwanda include Protea, Marriot Group of Hotels and Rezidor Hotel Group, owners of the Radission brand among others.
Presently, Kempinski Hotels, Europe’s oldest luxury hotel group, is also taking over the management of one of Rwanda’s top hotels, Hotel des Mille Collines, in the next 18 months.
Starwood has a long history of being first movers around the world and this holds true in Africa where Starwood first opened the Sheraton Cairo in 1971. Currently, Starwood operates 37 hotels in 15 Africa countries including Algeria, Cameroon, Djibouti, Egypt, Ethiopia, Gabon, South Africa and Uganda among others.
The hotel operator plans to acquire 50 hotels in Africa countries among them Nigeria, Egypt, Senegal and Mauritius by 2015.
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