StayWell Hospitality Group has signed a management agreement with Asas Capital in Dubai to open and operate its first two Park Regis in Makkah, Saudi Arabia.
Expected to open in the second quarter of 2018, the two hotels have 286 and 344 guest rooms, respectively. The opening of the Park Regis Makkah hotels will bring the StayWell Hospitality Group's portfolio to 31 hotels worldwide, with four in the region, and a step closer to the group's strategic objective of expanding its portfolio to 100 hotels within three years.
"For strategic and logistic reasons, it makes sense for us to have a contract that covers two hotels," StayWell Hospitality Group CEO Simon Wan said at the signing. "Saudi Arabia is an extremely important market for us in the Middle East region." Wan also hinted at plans to bring the group's Leisure Inn brand to the kingdom.
Wan also noted that Saudi Arabia is changing its tourism strategy. "Hajj and Umrah are both important times for us, but now Saudi Arabia is opening more visas for Umrah, which will increase demand for hotel rooms. There are also several ongoing and expansion projects that will require a greater number of hotel rooms in the coming years, such as the expansion of Jeddah International Airport and the expansion of the Grand Mosque to accommodate more pilgrims," he said.
Source: Khaleej Times