[4] Sheik Mohammed Hussein Al Amoudi, built the hotel as a way of creating jobs and promoting the country's image- saying that he is "investing in Ethiopia by following my heart, not my head".

[2] The hotel has hosted countless high-profile events, including Pan-African and African Union summits, as well as New Year's Eve celebrations with special performances by world-renowned artists such as Beyonce, Ludacris, The Black Eyed Peas, Rihanna and Akon, among other guests.

The hotel has been host to a number of celebrities, including the aforementioned performers; indeed, most, if not all, choose to stay in the Sheraton when in Ethiopia, according to The Independent.

Among the many guests include Tony Blair, Rita Marley, Princess Anne, Jimmy Carter, and Bill Clinton.

[9] The workers, who were already the most well-paid hotel employees in the country, taking home 5,337 Ethiopian Birr (US$283) on average per month, felt that the sharing of the service charges was not sufficient.

42 hectares across two districts- Kirkos and Arada, was acquired by the hotel in 2004 for an expansion project, that would contain retail, a mosque, and 8050 apartments.

[10] The program was stalled, however, due to the city's inability to find funds to relocate the over 3,000 households that were to be displaced by the project.

It has a number of generators, meaning that the hotel is never affected by the power cuts and load shedding that plague Addis Ababa.