InterContinental Hotels Group and Dubai-based Al-Futtaim have signed an agreement for the management of the largest Holiday Inn hotel in the UAE.
The 520-room Holiday Inn Dubai Festival City will operate under a management agreement with Dubai Festival City Real Estate Development, owned by Al Futtaim, who also own InterContinental Dubai Festival City, InterContinental Residence Suites, Crowne Plaza Dubai Festival City, and Al Badia Golf Club.
Marking the fifth property in partnership between IHG and Al-Futtaim, the hotel will be located in Dubai Festival City, a mixed-use waterfront community. Expected to be completed toward the end of 2017, the property will be the first branded mid-market hotel in the area.
Holiday Inn Dubai Festival City joins the luxury InterContinental Dubai Festival City hotel and the business-oriented Crowne Plaza Dubai Festival City in the community.
IHG and Al Futtaim have also recently launched a 5,000- square-metre arena located on the grounds of Al Badia residential area adjacent to the InterContinental Dubai Festival City and Crowne Plaza Dubai Festival City. The new Festival Arena by InterContinental Dubai Festival City can host large-scale events with a capacity of up to 5, 000 people.
“This signing is pivotal to IHG’s growth plans in the region as there is growing demand for mid-market hotels in the UAE, especially in Dubai," Pascal Gauvin, Chief Operating Officer, IMEA, IHG said.
“Following the major redevelopment and expansion of the Dubai Festival City Mall and the development of the Holiday Inn Dubai Festival City, we will be providing visitors and residents with a complete range of retail, business and leisure activities and wide ranging accommodation to guests and residents alike," Chris O’Donnell, Group Director Al Futtaim Group Real Estate (AFGRE) said. "This hotel marks our sixth project with IHG and with our collaboration thus far has resulted in great success; we are confident our continued partnership will be one the enablers of our growth ambition in the Middle East.”
IHG operates 78 hotels across five of the company’s brands in the Middle East region (GCC, Levant and Egypt), with a further 26 in the development pipeline as of the end of September. IHG has nearly 1,200 Holiday Inn hotels open across the globe, and 260 hotels in the company's global pipeline. There are currently 25 Holiday Inn hotels open across the Middle East and a further five in the pipeline.