Winter 2014 Olympics get billion dollar backing of hotels

The 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver has not even started yet and already the Russian Government has come up trumps with a $2 billion deal to refurbish many of their Moscow hotels. Robert Lauder, from the world famous Estee Lauder cosmetics company, has joined forces with the Russians and pledged the money to bring some of the hotels in the capital up to standard.

The deal is expected to be announced this week and will see the billionaire take a controlling 51 per cent stake in the venture while the government has the remaining 49 per cent. This will cost Lauder and initial $1.1 billion and will include some of the most prominent hotels on Red square like the Moskva and the Rossiya.

Mr Lauder has said that his tie up with the Russian Government on this hotel deal will help relation between them and the US. It has apparently been hard over the past few years for American firms to do business in Russia and he wants to show what can be done with a little trying.

Russia needs help with the amount of accommodation in the city and it looks Lauder will be the man to do so. The Winter Olympics will be held in the southern Russian city of Sochi and rooms currently available in Moscow will not cope with expected demand. Moscow has an apparent lack of mid-range hotels in the city and this is what most travellers to the games will be looking for.