Eckhardt: the hotels were cancelled by mutual agreement with the owners. Eckhardt: the hotels were cancelled by mutual agreement with the owners.

Kempinski Hotels has cancelled five of the hotels in its Middle East upcoming property pipeline.

Three properties in Damascus, Syria and hotels in Marrakech, Morocco and Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt have all been cancelled.

Speaking exclusively to Hotelier Middle East, Kempinski Hotels president for Middle East and Africa Ulrich Eckhardt said: “The hotels in Damascus were under one owner and the whole cluster agreement is being cancelled by mutual agreement between Kempinski and the owners, who wish to take a different route with their investment”.

He said the hotels in Sharm El Sheikh and Marrakech belonged to the same owner, whose identity remains confidential, and that they were cancelled in one cluster agreement.

A further project in Windhoek, Namibia has also been delayed indefinitely with a decision being awaited from the owners.

With regard to future plans, Eckhardt said: “Kempinski is continuing to look for good hotels in Damascus that match Kempinski standards and add value to the Middle East portfolio. Syria remains an important market for Kempinski, as does the Levant in general”.

He added: “We are now focusing on Tangiers in Morocco but will continue to look for suitable opportunities elsewhere in Morocco as well – especially in Marrakech, focusing on projects that match the Kempinski brand portfolio”.

In 2010, Kempinski is scheduled to open Kempinski Residence and Suites Palm Jumeirah, Kempinski Residence and Suites – Doha and Kempinski Nile Hotel in Cairo, which will be launched in March and officially open in May.

The company has also signed two new properties recently that are yet to be announced — the Kempinski Hotel Saba Saba in Ariusha and Kempinski Hotel Royal Maxim in Cairo.

Echardt revealed: “Cairo would be a second hotel after Kempinski Nile Hotel but it is situated in an altogether different area of this huge city. It is a different product altogether as well, close to the international airport and the new residential and touristic developments in the New Cairo district.

“Arusha is a fantastic location close to Mount Kilimanjaro’s base in Tanzania. It is a fascinating project that is yet to be fully announced, and shall complement the existence of the three existing Kempinski properties in Tanzania, as the fourth property,” he added.