Shaner Hotels, a State College, Pennsylvania-headquartered hotel owner, operator and developer, has announced an alliance between its Shaner Italia division and Dubai-based The First Group, a hospitality real estate developer and management company.
The new alliance will promote hotel management agreements across the Middle East, North Africa, Greece and Cyprus. The hotels within this alliance will operate under the First Collection, Tribute Portfolio and the Marriott international family of brands. The inaugural project will be The First Collection at Jumeirah Village Circle, a 491-suite Tribute Portfolio Hotel in Dubai.
“While there is an obvious and growing demand for well-branded, well-operated hotels throughout the Gulf region, there are surprisingly few existing opportunities there to pursue as local owners tend to gravitate toward independent properties with lesser oversight,” said Plato Ghinos, president of Shaner Hotels. “This partnership aims to fix that, providing services for all stages of the hotel life cycle, from site selection through final sale.”
“Shaner has a well-deserved reputation as a strong international operator with hotels throughout Greece, Italy, the Bahamas and the United States,” said Rob Burns, CEO at The First Group. “With a firm grasp of regional dynamics, a strong internal culture and an existing footprint along the Mediterranean, they are an ideal partner to expand further into the Gulf region.”
Photo: The First Collection at Jumeirah Village Circle, a Tribute Portfolio Hotel
;
