Global brands announce developments in Saudi Arabia

7 Feb, 2012 By: Jena Tesse Fox

Just a few weeks ago, we posted about a few hotel developments in Saudi Arabia, noting that Hilton had six properties in the pipeline. Not to be outdone, several other companies have jumped into the fray, and the Kingdom's development scene is picking up speed at an impressive rate.

Hotelier Middle East is reporting that Hyatt International is set to open three new hotels in Saudi Arabia, bringing the chain's number of hotels under development in the Kingdom to six. A Hyatt affiliate signed a deal with Naseel Holding Company to open a Park Hyatt in Riyadh, as well as a Hyatt Regency and a Grand Hyatt in Jeddah.

The first of the three hotels to open will be the 240-room Hyatt Regency Jeddah in the second half of 2015, located in the city center close to Tahliyah Square. In Q4 2015, the 275-room Park Hyatt Riyadh is slated to open in the Olaya District. Finally, in early 2016, the 400-room Grand Hyatt Jeddah will open in the city center.

Meanwhile, the site also reports that Saudi construction company Dar Al Arkan has inked a deal with Al Othaim Investment and Real Estate Development Company to lease space for the first indoor snow village in Saudi Arabia, at Alqasr Mall in Riyadh.

The agreement, for fifteen years, will see a 115,098-square-foot area developed by Al Othaim for "the first indoor snow village of its type", the companies said in a statement.

The indoor ski park will be part of a Safori Land recreation concept being developed at the mall.

And finally, Accor will open two Ibis hotels in Saudi Arabia; the 176-room Ibis Riyadh Olaya Street and the 196-room Ibis Yanbu.

Development in the Kingdom has increased enough that Rosewood Hotels & Resorts has appointed a regional director of sales in Saudi Arabia, Breaking Travel News is reporting.

In this newly created position, Khalid Al Ashgar will meet the sales demand of the clientele within the Kingdom and the Middle East.

Leading the first regional sales office in Saudi Arabia, Al Ashgar will focus on outbound sales to Rosewood’s luxurious properties around the world which include The Carlyle Hotel in New York City, Rosewood Mansion on Turtle Creek in Dallas and Jumby Bay in Antigua, as well as the two upcoming regional properties in Dubai and Abu Dhabi.

There is a clear reason for all this interest and investment, of course: Visitor numbers are high enough to make it worth hoteliers' while. ArabianBusiness.com notes that hotels in Riyadh were among the best performers in the Middle East in 2011, according to latest data released by TRI Hospitality Consulting. Hotels in the city posted the highest average room rates (ARR) of $261.89, the lowest payroll levels and the highest gross operating profit per available room (GOPPAR) of $138.01 of the cities covered. Occupancy for the full year stood at 60.4 percent which, despite being the lowest among the four GCC cities surveyed, represented a growth of 4.6 percent over the previous year.