Here's some intriguing news from the Middle East's luxury hotel scene: Hotelier Middle East is reporting that top officials from Germany's Oetker Collection are looking at several countries in the region for potential development opportunities.
Almost exactly 13 months ago, the Oetker Collection withdrew from a contract to operate the Hotel Le Bristol Abu Dhabi, part of a partnership with the National Corporation for Tourism & Hotels (NCTH) that was due to open in the second half of 2013. The property would have been the company's first hotel in the GCC. At the time, Oetker VP sales and marketing Alain Briere said that the project "cannot be executed to an extent necessary to make the project a long-term success.”
Oetker Collection CEO Frank Marrenbach told the site that the GCC is a "very interesting" market for development. When asked if any specific areas were being targeted, Samir Daqqaq (senior vice president development – Middle East and Africa) said that the company was focused on Istanbul, Oman and Dubai.