Katara Hospitality, formerly known as Qatar National Hotels Company, is the largest hotel owner, developer and operator in Qatar. It is

government-owned State ownership, also called public ownership or government ownership, is the ownership of an industry, asset, property, or enterprise by the national government of a country or state, or a public body representing a community, as opposed to ...

. As of 2016, the company owns properties in Qatar, Egypt, Morocco, the United Kingdom, France, Italy, Singapore, the Netherlands, the United States, Switzerland, Spain and Thailand. The company has a portfolio of 40 hotels in mid-2019.

History

The company was originally formed in 1970 as Qatar National Hotels Limited (QNH). In 1973, Marriott Hotel, then known as Gulf Hotel and owned by QNH, became the country's five-star hotel. In 1993, this company was replaced by Qatar National Hotels Company. In 2012, it was rebranded under its current form, Katara Hospitality. 'Katara' derives its name from the common spelling used for 'Qatar' by ancient cartographers. Katara Hospitality’s global reach enabled it to assume a role in fostering international connections through its hotels.

World Travel Awards The world is the totality of entities, the whole of reality, or everything that exists. The nature of the world has been conceptualized differently in different fields. Some conceptions see the world as unique, while others talk of a "plu ...

named Katara Hospitality as the "World's Leading Hospitality Company" in 2013, 2014 and 2015. Katara has partnered with organizations to support cultural initiatives and solidify its role as a leader in the global hospitality industry. It joined the Qatar Tourism Authority (QTA) for World Tourism Day to boost the economic and social value produced by the travel and tourism industry to the global economy. This partnership also hopes to attract other industry players from around the globe to mark the continual pursuit of sustainable business practices and methods.

Activities

Several Qatar-based hotels are owned by the company, and there are many projects currently in construction. Hotels operating in Qatar include Al Messila, a Luxury Collection Resort & Spa, Doha, Mövenpick Hotel Doha, Sealine Beach, a Murwab Resort, Sharq Village & Spa, Sheraton Grand Doha Resort & Convention Hotel, Simaisma, a Murwab Resort, Somerset West Bay Doha, The Avenue, a Murwab Hotel and The Ritz-Carlton, Doha. Katara Hospitality opened Sheraton Doha Resort & Convention Hotel in 1982. In a partnership with the premier Spanish football division,

La Liga The Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Primera División, commonly known as the Primera División or La Liga, and officially known as LaLiga EA Sports for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Spain and the highest ...

, Katara Hospitality launched the first-ever "La Liga Lounge" at the Sheraton Resort in

Doha Doha ( ) is the capital city and main financial hub of Qatar. Located on the Persian Gulf coast in the east of the country, north of Al Wakrah and south of Al Khor (city), Al Khor and Lusail, it is home to most of the country's population. It ...

in March 2017.

Properties

In 2012, Katara had a portfolio of 24 hotels. By mid-2017, the company had increased its portfolio to 40 hotels. * Qatar: The Ritz-Carlton Doha, Sharq Village & Spa, Somerset West Bay Doha, Simaisma Resort, Sheraton Grand Doha Resort & Convention Hotel, Sealine Beach Resort, Rixos Gulf Hotel Doha, Rixos Qetaifan Island North Doha, Movenpick Hotel Doha, Katara Towers Lusail Marina, Jouri Hotel, Hotel Park, Hilton Salwa Beach Resort & Villas Doha, Dana Club, Al Messila Resort. The Sheraton Grand Doha Resort & Convention Hotel provides international spaces where guests from different cultures can meet and interact. * Switzerland: Bürgenstock Resort Lake Lucerne, Hotel Royal Savoy

Lausanne Lausanne ( , ; ; ) is the capital and largest List of towns in Switzerland, city of the Swiss French-speaking Cantons of Switzerland, canton of Vaud, in Switzerland. It is a hilly city situated on the shores of Lake Geneva, about halfway bet ...

, Hotel Schweizerhof – Bern. The Bürgenstock Resort is a significant investment in Switzerland, where guests from around the world experience a blend of Swiss culture and international luxury. * France:

Carlton Cannes Hotel The Carlton Cannes, a Regent Hotel is a historic 332 room luxury hotel opened in 1911, located at 58 La Croisette in Cannes on the French Riviera in France. It is famous for hosting movie stars from around the world during the annual Cannes Fi ...

, Le Royal Monceau – Raffles Paris, Maison Delano,

The Peninsula Paris The Peninsula Paris is a historic luxury hotel and also part of the Palaces de France originally known as the Hotel Majestic, located on Avenue Kléber in the 16th arrondissement of Paris, France. It opened in 1908 as the Hotel Majestic and was ...

* Italy: The Westin Excelsior Rome, Excelsior Hotel Gallia, a Luxury Collection Hotel, Milan, * UK:

Grosvenor House Hotel ] JW Marriott Grosvenor House London, formerly the Grosvenor House Hotel, is a luxury hotel that opened in 1929 in the Mayfair area of London, England. Across from Hyde Park, London, Hyde Park, the hotel is built on the former site of the 19th ...

, The Adria, Savoy Hotel, The Savoy, A Fairmont Managed Hotel * The Netherlands:

InterContinental Amstel Amsterdam The InterContinental Amstel Amsterdam Hotel, commonly referred to as the Amstel Hotel, is a hotel in Amsterdam, capital city of the Netherlands, on the east bank of the river Amstel. In 2007, it was the only hotel in the Netherlands on the list ...

* Spain: InterContinental Madrid * Morocco: Fairmont Tazi Palace, Tangier * Egypt: Renaissance Sharm El Sheikh Golden View Beach Resort * Thailand: Chiva-Som,

Hua Hin Hua Hin (, ) is one of eight districts (''amphoe'') of Prachuap Khiri Khan province in the northern part of the Malay Peninsula in Thailand. Its seat of government, also named Hua Hin, is a beach resort town. The district's population was estim ...

* Singapore:

Raffles Hotel Singapore Raffles Singapore is a historic luxury hotel at 1 Beach Road, in Singapore. It was established by Armenian hoteliers, the Sarkies Brothers, in 1887. The hotel was named after British statesman Sir Thomas Stamford Raffles, the founder of moder ...

* US: Dream Downtown, New York and

Plaza Hotel The Plaza Hotel (also known as The Plaza) is a luxury hotel and condominium apartment building in Midtown Manhattan in New York City. It is located on the western side of Grand Army Plaza, after which it is named, just west of Fifth Avenue, ...

Investments

Africa

Katara Hospitality's first international investment came in 2006, under its previous identity, Qatar National Hotels Company (QNH). That year, it acquired Egypt's Renaissance Sharm El Sheikh Resort. In April 2010, QNH signed a deal with the Comoran government to build a $70 million hotel resort in Comoros. The deal came after a donors conference geared towards Comoros was hosted by Qatar in March 2010. Morocco and the QNH signed a $55 million deal in November 2011 to refurbish the Tazi Palace, located in

Tangier Tangier ( ; , , ) is a city in northwestern Morocco, on the coasts of the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean. The city is the capital city, capital of the Tanger-Tetouan-Al Hoceima region, as well as the Tangier-Assilah Prefecture of Moroc ...

. In Gambia, the company signed a deal with the Gambian government in October 2012 to build a $200 million resort next to

Banjul Banjul (, (US) and ), officially the City of Banjul, is the capital city of The Gambia. It is the centre of the eponymous administrative division which is home to an estimated 400,000 residents, making it The Gambia's largest and most densely ...

, the capital.

Europe

The Excelsior Hotel Gallia in

Milan Milan ( , , ; ) is a city in northern Italy, regional capital of Lombardy, the largest city in Italy by urban area and the List of cities in Italy, second-most-populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of nea ...

, Italy was acquired by the company in 2015. It is part of

The Luxury Collection Marriott International, Inc. is an American multinational company that operates, franchises, and licenses lodging brands that include hotel, residential, and timeshare properties. Marriott International owns over 37 hotel and timeshare brands w ...

. In addition it runs the Westin Excelsior Rome. Katara Hospitality has invested in several properties in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

. Hotels it owns include

and the Royal Monceau Raffles Paris. In Switzerland, the company has invested $1 billion into renovating the Bürgenstock Resort Lake Lucerne, which it owns. In the Netherlands, Katara Hospitality own the Amstel Hotel run by the Intercontinental Group

Americas

Katara Hospitality acquired full ownership of New York City's

in July 2018 after buying the hotel's ownership stakes from

Sahara India Pariwar Sahara India Pariwar (''pariwar'' being Hindi for "family") is an Indian conglomerate headquartered in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, India. The group operates business sectors such as finance, infrastructure & housing, real estate, sports, power, ma ...

, and from Ben Ashkenazy and

Al-Waleed bin Talal Al Waleed bin Talal Al Saud (; born 7 March 1955) is a Saudi Arabian billionaire businessman, investor, and a House of Saud royal. In 2008, he was listed on ''Time'' magazine's ''Time 100'', an annual list of the hundred most influential people ...

Subsidiaries

* Murwab Hotels Group * Qetaifan Projects Company

References

* {{Cite news , date=2018-07-05 , title=NYC's Historic Plaza Hotel Sold to Qatari State-Owned Company , url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-07-05/nyc-s-historic-plaza-hotel-is-sold-to-qatari-state-owned-company , access-date=2024-11-30 , work=Bloomberg.com , language=en

External links

Katara Hospitality
Hospitality companies of Qatar 1970 establishments in Qatar Hospitality companies established in 1970 Qatari companies established in 1993 Qatari companies established in 2012