Al Habtoor Group’s Vice Chairman meets with hospitality pioneer Starwood Hotels

Press release

Published January 17th, 2011 - 02:08 GMT

Al Habtoor and Starwood executives

Mohammed Al Habtoor, vice-chairman and CEO of Al Habtoor Group met with the senior leadership of one of the world’s largest hotel companies Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc.

Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide which, as of 2009, owned, managed or franchised 992 properties and employed over 145,000 people, holds nine of the world’s leading names, including Le Meridien, Westin, Sheraton, and Starwood’s main luxury brand St Regis.

Frits Van Paasschen, President and CEO of the company since 2007, and Vasant Prabhu, vice chairman and CFO, headed the team of senior executives during the meeting with Al Habtoor’s top people. The discussion concentrated on future possibilities for business collaborations and further development of partnerships.

Al Habtoor Group owns 6 hotels in the emirate of Dubai and in Beirut, the Lebanese capital, which operate under the umbrella of Habtoor Hotels, the hospitality arm of the Emirati conglomerate.

Background Information

Al Habtoor Group

The Al Habtoor Group has grown with the United Arab Emirates. What started out as a small engineering firm in 1970, is today one of the region’s most respected conglomerates with interests in the hospitality, automotive, real estate, education and publishing sectors. The Al Habtoor Group has earned itself a solid reputation both locally and internationally due to the vision of its Chairman, Khalaf Ahmad Al Habtoor.

Company Profile

Starwood Hotels

Starwood Hotels represents one of the world's largest hotel and leisure companies. It conducts its hotel and leisure business both directly and through its subsidiaries. Its brand names include St. Regis, The Luxury Collection, W, Westin, Le Méridien, Sheraton, Four Points, Aloft, and Element

Starwood Hotels' business emphasizes the global operation of hotels and resorts primarily in the luxury and upscale segment of the lodging industry. It seeks to acquire interests in, or management or franchise rights with respect to properties in this segment. At December 31, 2009, its hotel portfolio included owned, leased, managed and franchised hotels totaling 979 hotels with approximately 292,000 rooms in approximately 100 countries, and is comprised of 63 hotels that it owns or leases or in which it has a majority equity interest, 440 hotels managed by the company on behalf of third-party owners and 476 hotels for which it receives franchise fees.