Germans Build Moscow Hotels for U.S. Operator
The German Mawy Co. will build ten hotels in outlaying neighborhoods of Moscow, investing over $270 million of its own money in the project, according to expert estimates. The hotels will have between 150 and 350 rooms each. They will operate under the American Ramada brand name. Ramada is owned by the Wyndham Hotel Group, which tried unsuccessfully to gain control over the management of the Minsk Hotel in downtown Moscow in the 1995. The new project is part of agreement between Moscow Mayor Yury Luzhkov and Minister of State for the Economy, Infrastructure, Transports and Technology of Bavaria Erwin Huber reached in June 2006.
This is Mawy's first project using its own funds. So far, it has only provided services in Russia, consulting and distributing, for example, to other German companies, in exchange for a share in them. The recently founded Russian company Galaxy Group will be the developer for the project.
There are 858 Ramada hotels, 576 in the United States, 65 in England, 63 in Canada, 51 in Germany and 22 in China. The hotels outside the U.S. are generally run as franchises. Wyndham's receipts for 2006 totaled $3.842 billion and its EBITDA was $762 million.
The new hotels in Moscow will be built to two-, three- or four-star requirements and cost between $144 and $180 per night. A room for two at a Ramada hotel in the U.S. averages $109, in Great Britain $173 and in Shanghai $150.
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All the Article in Russian as of Oct. 11, 2007
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