Qatar signs deal with Accor to manage World Cup fan accommodation

Accor (ACCP.PA)

Qatar has awarded Europe's largest hotel group Accor (ACCP.PA) to manage apartments and villas that will house fans visiting Qatar during next year’s World Cup, the Cup's organising committee said on Thursday.

Qatar's Supreme Committee for Delivery & Legacy said in a statement it had signed an agreement with Accor to run operations and services across its host country real estate portfolio through the end of 2022.

The logo of French hotel operator AccorHotels is seen on top of the building company's headquarters in Issy-les-Moulineaux near Paris, France, May 27, 2020. REUTERS/Charles Platiau

The decision to make full use of the Gulf Arab state's existing residential and apartments and villas will ensure that the country will have "a sustainable hotel market that does not leave Qatar with excess permanent hotel rooms post-2022," Hassan al Thawadi, who heads Qatar’s organising body was quoted as saying.

Accor will provide staff to manage and operate more than 60,000 rooms in apartments and villas scattered across the Gulf Arab state, a separate Qatari official told Reuters.

World Cup organisers hope to attract 1.2 million visitors to Qatar during the 28-day event, which kicks off next November.

A general view shows the Al Bayt stadium, built for the 2022 FIFA World Cup soccer championship, during a stadium tour in Al Khor, north of Doha, Qatar, December 17, 2019. REUTERS/Kai Pfaffenbach

Source: Reuters