The process started in the fall of 2014 when Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, the owner of the Sheraton brand, signed a franchise contract with Grand Plaza Hotel (the former Howard Johnson). The hotel will reopen after an about EUR6 million investment.
“The negotiation process with one of the largest premium hotel chains in the world, Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, started almost 18 months before the actual signing of the franchise contract and remodeling and redesign work began in the fall of 2014,” Daniel Ben-Yehuda says.
Sheraton Bucharest Hotel will be ranked as five starts and will have as many rooms as the former Howard Johnson, 270. It also has a Sheraton Fitness gym, a reading area, as well as a leisure area on the 18th floor. The transformation included the lobby, the restaurants and the reception area, as well.
Sheraton Bucharest has 1,200 square meter conference space, which can accommodate events for up to 1,400 people.
The hotel will be run by Daniel Ben-Yehuda, 45, an executive appointed to the helm of Howard Johnson in late 2014, who had previously worked as manager for Ramada Plaza and Ramada Parc in Bucharest (the Parc Hotels complex). Daniel Ben-Yehuda also worked for Sheraton in Israel and Tahiti at some point.
Grand Plaza Hotel, the operator of the future Sheraton, ended last year with 37 million lei (EUR8.4 million) revenue, about the same as in 2013. It went through a change of shareholders, too, as the Competition Council at the end of last year approved the takeover by Tatika Investments in Cyprus, owner of Ramada Parc and Ramada Plaza, of International Business Trading, owner of Grand Plaza Hotel. (EUR1=RON4.4070)
(English version by Loredana Fratila-Cristescu)