Retaj Hotels and Hospitality

Lobby of one of the company's hotels

Retaj Hotels & Hospitality is a Qatari real estate and hospitality company with a total of 10 hotels operating in Qatar, Turkey, the Comoros, and Saudi Arabia.

Retaj Hotels was established in Doha in 2004 and focuses on real estate development and project management, real estate services, and the hospitality business.[1] The company’s mission is “to celebrate and regenerate the Arabic traditional hospitality and service delivery, and to be recognized as the number one employer and a leading hospitality management group.”[2]

Retaj Hotels operates according to Islamic principles and has banned alcohol and smoking at its hotels.[3] The company refers to its hotels as “Islamic hotels.”[4]

Owners and leaders

Retaj Marketing & Project Management, a multipurpose company that overseas Retaj Hotels & Hospitality, is owned by five Qatari investors.[5] The five investors include:

The CEO of Retaj Marketing & Project Management is Hashim bin Mohammed al-Awadhy.[6] Al-Awadhy is a Qatari businessman and the owner of Afnan Media Production which broadcasts Rabea TV, a television network in support of the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood, from Turkey.[7] Rabea TV has aired controversial content, including the encouragement of violence against the Egyptian government and the issuing of death threats to Egyptian police officers and soldiers.[8]

Al-Awadhy serves as the head of the media department of the Qatari Sheikh Eid bin Mohammad al Thani Charitable Association, a charity with a history of supporting Hamas and founded by Specially Designated Global Terrorist al-Nuaymi.[9][10] Eid Charity is also reportedly a member of the Union of Good organization led by Yusuf al-Qaradawi, a group banned in Israel “since they are part of Hamas’s fundraising network, and both support and assist it.”[11]

In 2015, al-Awadhy’s son, Mohammed bin Hashim al-Awadhy, was killed while fighting in the Syrian civil war.[12] Reports have emerged that Mohammed al-Awadhy was fighting for Ahrar al-Sham, but ISIS support channels have also commemorated his death and labeled him a martyr.[13][14][15]

The Vice Chairman and Managing Director of Retaj Group of Retaj is Mohammed Bin Johar Said Al Mohammed. When he spoke about his plans to increase investments more into Turkey, Al Johar said, "In the commercial sense, we need to consolidate our [Islamic] brotherhood.”[16]

Qatar

Retaj Hotels & Hospitality owns 6 hotels in Qatar, all of which are located in Doha.[17]

The Retaj Al Rayyan Doha Islamic hotel is situated in Doha’s Al Dafna business district and has 19 stories and 360 rooms. The hotel is a 4-star hotel.[18]

Retaj Royale Doha is a 5-star hotel located near Corniche Street and has 15 stories and 108 rooms. Retaj Royale Doha offers has 4 restaurants along with a spa and indoor pool.[19]

Retaj Residence Al Corniche is located near the Doha Corniche in Sharq, Doha. The hotel offers 78 apartments.[20][21]

Retaj Inn is situated in the center of downtown Doha amid the commercial and business district. The hotel consists of 12 floors with 80 apartments.[22]

Retaj Residence Al Sadd is located near the Hamad Medical City and comprises 53 units.[23]

Retaj Inn Marina is situated in the Pearl-Qatar island and consists of 250 apartments as well as 2 outdoor pools and separate fitness rooms for men and women.[24]

Expansion

According to its strategy, Retaj hotels and hospitality has a various brands under its portfolio, Retaj Royale, a 5 star brand, Retaj Al Rayyan, being a 4 star brand, a Resort concept called Retaj leisure and resort, and recently they have started their plans to expand with their budget hotel concept under the name of Retaj INN, its worth saying that the world's economy nowadays is allowing the customer to be very selective in terms of Value for Money, Retaj management has taken this issue in conservation and started to implement their strategy in different regions, Also, Kamel Senhadji, the new Chief Executive, officer saying stated that "our strategy is to work from the inside out and enhance guest loyalty and experience and develop the brand globally".

In addition, as Mohamed Darwish the Regional Director of Marketing and Ecommerce and who is in charge of business development mentioned that "Retaj customers have participated in developing and boosting our brand name awareness locally and globally, with their support we have been encouraged to work on developing our services to meet the customer expectation with the quality needed, and we will keep working on enhancing our image not as the other competition, but with the way the customer wants and desires till we reach as we can from destinations with our corporate culture."

United States and Europe

According to the Gulf Times, Retaj is seeking to expand into the European and United States hospitality markets. Private sector resources are expected to invest $5 billion into European expansion. In March 2013, Retaj Group vice chairman Mohamed bin Johar al-Mohamed told Gulf Times reporters, “We are eyeing the market in mainland Europe as well…we know there are openings for us. We are already in negotiations for taking a start in London.” In the United States, Retaj is focused on acquiring existing hotel outlets.[25]

Turkey

Retaj Hotels & Hospitality owns 2 hotels in Turkey, one of which is located in Istanbul and the other is located in Termal.[26]

Retaj Royale Istanbul Hotel is located in the Istanbul Business District. The hotel is located 7 km from Ataturk International Airport and includes a “ZemZem” restaurant as well as indoor pool, fitness center, and spa.[27][28]

Retaj Thermal Hotel & Spa is located in Termal, Turkey near the larger city of Yalova. The hotel consists of 88 rooms along with a spa, restaurant, garden and café.[29] The hotel was built with a “TRY 35 million investment in partnership with Turkish Hisar Karadag Group.”[30]

In 2015, Balkans.com reported that Retaj Hotels & Hospitality plans to invest $700 million in Turkey over the next 2 years with plans to open new hotels in Istanbul, Bursa, Trabzon, and Ankara.[31]

Comoros Island

The Retaj Moroni Sports and Leisure Resort is located in the Comoros. The hotel consists of 55 rooms and suites and offers access to the Moroni Restaurant, a swimming pool, and a café.[32]

Saudi Arabia

Retaj Al Rayyan Mecca is a 4-star hotel located in Mecca, Saudi Arabia. The hotel has 22 stories and 670 rooms and suites as well as a ZemZem restaurant, fitness center, and meeting rooms.[33] A report published by Trade Arabia stated that the Al Rayyan Mecca hotel constitutes the Retaj Group’s first step towards its “expansion plan in the GCC, particularly in Saudi Arabia.”[34]

References

  1. ↑ http://www.retaj-hotels.com/about.php
  2. ↑ http://www.retaj-hotels.com/about1.php
  3. ↑ http://www.hoteliermiddleeast.com/12693-qatars-retaj-hotels-eyes-20-new-mideast-openings/
  4. ↑ http://retajhotels.tumblr.com/post/144392840065/retaj-hotels-hospitality-signs-a-new-hotel
  5. ↑ http://www.retaj.com/About_owners.aspx
  6. ↑ http://www.retaj.com/About_CEO.aspx
  7. ↑ http://www.dotmsr.com/details/%D9%82%D9%86%D9%88%D8%A7%D8%AA-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%A5%D8%AE%D9%88%D8%A7%D9%86-%D8%A8%D8%AA%D8%B1%D9%83%D9%8A%D8%A7-%D8%AA%D8%AD%D8%AA-%D8%B1%D8%B9%D8%A7%D9%8A%D8%A9-%D8%A3%D8%B1%D8%AF%D9%88%D8%BA%D8%A7%D9%86
  8. ↑ http://alwafd.org/%D9%85%D9%84%D9%81%D8%A7%D8%AA-%D8%B3%D9%8A%D8%A7%D8%B3%D9%8A%D8%A9/813063-%D9%82%D9%86%D9%88%D8%A7%D8%AA-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%A5%D8%AE%D9%88%D8%A7%D9%86-%D8%AA%D9%85%D9%88%D9%8A%D9%84-%D9%82%D8%B7%D8%B1%D9%8A-%D9%88%D8%B6%D9%8A%D8%A7%D9%81%D8%A9-%D8%AA%D8%B1%D9%83%D9%8A%D8%A9
  9. ↑ http://www.counterextremism.com/roundup/eye-extremism-august-3-0
  10. ↑ http://stopterrorfinance.org/stories/510952392-eid-charity-s-al-baraka-initiative-admirable-or-alarming
  11. ↑ http://stopterrorfinance.org/stories/510952392-eid-charity-s-al-baraka-initiative-admirable-or-alarming
  12. ↑ http://www.vdc-sy.info/index.php/ar/details/martyrs/144356#.V6OWXPkrKUl
  13. ↑ http://www.vdc-sy.info/index.php/ar/details/martyrs/144356#.V6OWXPkrKUl
  14. ↑ https://twitter.com/947088/status/569926573622628352
  15. ↑ https://twitter.com/alkhaldi_ksa/status/572839199839293441
  16. ↑ http://www.takaonline.com/retaj-hotel-termalde-acildi/
  17. ↑ http://www.retaj-hotels.com/about.php
  18. ↑ http://www.retajalrayyan.com/index.php
  19. ↑ http://www.retajroyaledoha.com/index.php
  20. ↑ http://retajhotels.tumblr.com/post/144392840065/retaj-hotels-hospitality-signs-a-new-hotel
  21. ↑ http://www.retajresidencealcorniche.com/
  22. ↑ http://www.retajinn.com/index.php
  23. ↑ http://www.retajresidencealsadd.com/index.php
  24. ↑ http://retajhotels.tumblr.com/post/144392840065/retaj-hotels-hospitality-signs-a-new-hotel
  25. ↑ http://www.gulf-times.com/story/346050/Qatari-investors-target-European-hospitality-secto
  26. ↑ http://www.retaj-hotels.com/index.php
  27. ↑ http://retajhotels.tumblr.com/post/144392840065/retaj-hotels-hospitality-signs-a-new-hotel
  28. ↑ http://www.retajroyaleistanbul.com/index.php
  29. ↑ http://www.retajthermalyalova.com/
  30. ↑ https://www.balkans.com/open-news.php?uniquenumber=207992
  31. ↑ https://www.balkans.com/open-news.php?uniquenumber=207992
  32. ↑ http://www.retajmoroniresort.com/index.php
  33. ↑ http://www.retajalrayyanmakkah.com/
  34. ↑ http://www.tradearabia.com/news/TTN_286106.html
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