The international brand, Marriott International, joins the hospitality industry in Ethiopia as the fourth international brand in partnership with local associate, Sunshine Business PLC.
The ten story Marriott Executive Apartment Addis Ababa, located at the heart of the capital city on Jomo Kenyatta Street around Meskel Square, officially opened on Wednesday September 30 in the presence of President Mulatu Teshome (PhD), business community delegates and regional officials of Marriott.
At the press conference, Marriott officials said that the executive apartment will appeal to both business and leisure travelers, with 109 fully serviced suites, ambiance and privacy to equal a residential living facility.
Alex Kyriakidis, President and Managing Director of Marriott International Middle East and Africa, said that Africa is important to Marriott International’s growth strategy due to its rapid economic growth, a growing middle class and the large population of youth, as well as the expansion of international flights onto the continent.
The apartments have rooms ranging from single rooms to three bedrooms, and include two penthouse presidential suites that span 400 square meters each. The property provides multi-function meeting rooms and over 160 square meters of events space. The facility is expected to turnover 300 million birr of revenue annually, according to the owner.
The USD 45.5 million establishment took time to build, in order to incorporate the standards of the Marriott, according to Samuel Taffese, President and Owner of Sunshine. The Executive Apartments is constructed on 2,300 square meters of land and has two basements.
Samuel, one of the most prominent local businessmen and the first local investor to own property under an international hospitality brand, said that his company now has the experience to build such high standard facilities in the future.
Sunshine, popular in the construction of roads and real estate has been involved in various private and government projects over the last 30 years. The company recently turned to hospitality, investing in the hotel and tourism sector.
Sunshine, as part of its move towards the sector, has also made agreements with Marriott to open a five star Marriott Hotel in Bole, in the vicinity of Bole International Airport. The Bole Marriott Hotel, set to open in 2019, will have 202 rooms, food and beverage services and grand conference and events facilities that can accommodate up to 1,100 people. The new facility will rest on 4,000 square meters of land, and features ten flats and an additional three-deck basement. The hotel is estimated to cost USD 75.2 million, according to Sunshine officials.
The two facilities, Marriott Executive Apartment and the future Marriott Hotel, will are expected to create 600 job opportunities.
Marriott Executive Apartments Addis Ababa is the first executive apartment on the African continent operating under the Marriot brand. Marriott Hotels currently has four properties in North Africa, with more than 2,000 rooms. By 2020, the company expects to open an additional 12 properties in Africa, raising its room count by nearly 3,000
Source:Capital
