The Vienna-based Austrian hotel group Vienna International is entering the Belarusian market in a joint project with the international architectural office of Moser Architekten Ziviltechniker GmbH. The 280-room business hotel is to open in Minsk, with 1.83 million inhabitants Belarus’s largest city, by the year 2014. Contract partner and owner of the new hotel is Alexandrov-Passage GmbH, a Belarusian-US joint venture.The 4-star superior hotel will be integrated into a 43-storey residential and business tower – a planned landmark building in the Belarusian capital – designed by Moser Architekten Ziviltechniker GmbH. In addition to approximately 280 rooms and suites, the plans also foresee 2,900 m² of conferencing space on four floors as well as a 2,000 m² spa area with indoor pool. The hotel will reach to the 30th floor. A unique feature will be a sky bar on the 41st floor of what will be Minsk’s highest building with views over the city.
Rudolf Tucek, the CEO of Vienna International Hotelmanagement AG, on the latest contract signing: “Minsk has been gaining in importance economically for years, and the country shows stable economic development. These are promising indicators for a growing demand for hotel beds, which justifies our market entry in Belarus.” During the pre-opening phase before the actual hotel opening, Vienna International Hotelmanagement AG will be responsible for providing hotel-specific support in the areas of planning and recruiting and will help set the marketing and communications agenda.
The new business tower is situated along the access road from the airport to the city centre and in direct proximity to the famous National Library, the largest library in Belarus.
On the 3rd April VI announced that they had parted company with their CEO Rudolf Tucek. Mr Tucek said “According to the stock corporation law I am currently not allowed to make a statement regarding the incidents and the approach in relation to my resignation from the function of the CEO of Vienna International Hotel Management AG (VI)”. The press release from VI stated Mr Tucek was “immediately relieved of his duties” and went on to state “Our company’s management must always represent a positive example, particularly as a hotel operator, whose main priority is the well-being of our guests.”
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