Hotel Chain Backed By Sternlicht, Kalanick Gets $50M Investment From Saudi Fund, Partner
The Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia and luxury travel specialist A&K Travel Group invested $50M in Habitas, a luxury hotel chain backed in part by Starwood Capital Group CEO Barry Sternlicht and former Uber CEO Travis Kalanick.
The Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia is one of the world's top 10 sovereign wealth funds, with $620B in assets under management. The investors will receive a minority interest in the Habitas brand, though the exact percentage hasn't been released.
Habitas has raised a total of $85M from investors to expand, Bloomberg reports. Galaxy Investment Partners CEO Mike Novogratz is another well-known early investor in Habitas.
Habitas operates seven sustainability-focused luxury properties worldwide, including locations in Mexico, Namibia and Saudi Arabia. The company plans to open a number of other properties in the near future, including its first U.S. location on the Hudson River in upstate New York.
Habitas' newest property, Caravan Agafay, is near Marrakech, Morocco, and opened on Oct. 1. The company calls it "an immersive glamping experience."
Habitas will launch properties later this year in Todos Santos and San Miguel de Allende, Mexico, as well as a second site in Morocco.
The brand was co-founded in 2016 by serial entrepreneur Oliver Ripley and partners Kfir Levy and Eduardo Castillo.
