Rotana Hotel Management is to invest $800m in 2011, adding seven hotels to its portfolio in the Middle East and Africa.

The expansion include six hotels in the UAE, increasing its portfolio in that country to 33 and adding 12,515 rooms by the end of 2011.

As part of its expansion plan, the UAE-based hotel group will open a new hotel in Qatar and will invest in Iraq and Lebanon, focusing on the underserved mid-market sector.