IHG, Dur Hospitality sign second hotel deal

Saudi Arabia's Dur Hospitality and InterContinental Hotels Group signed a franchise agreement on the Crowne Plaza Riyadh Palace. The 304-room Riyadh Palace Hotel, which is currently operating, will be rebranded as a Crowne Plaza property in June 2018. 

This is the second hotel in a master development agreement between Dur Hospitality and IHG, which was signed in 2014 and includes the opening of four hotels. The first hotel included in the deal was the 90-room Holiday Inn, Tabuk near the city center in 2015—the 11th Holiday Inn in the country. The group plans to open another two Holiday Inn hotels by 2019.   

The new Crowne Plaza is part of IHG's plan to expand the brand across the Middle East, particularly in Saudi Arabia. The property will join the hotel group's portfolio of seven hotels operating in Riyadh, and 31 hotels across the country. 

IHG currently operates 28 hotels in Saudi Arabia under its Holiday Inn, Crowne Plaza, InterContinental Hotels and Staybridge Suites brands in Al Jubail, Al Khobar, Jeddah, Madinah, Makkah, Riyadh, Tabuk, Taif and Yanbu.

IHG recently opened the Crowne Plaza Riyadh-RDC Hotel and Convention Center this month. The 36-room hotel is in the mixed-use development Al Ra'idah Digital City. The property is near the new financial district, Riyadh's CBD, Kind Saud University, Diplomatic Quarter and King Khalid International Airport. 

The hotel group also expanded the Staybridge Suites portfolio last June with the opening of the Staybridge Suites Jeddah Alandalus Mall. IHG signed the 164-room hotel connected to the mall with Alandalus Property in 2013. The hotel is near King Abdulaziz Airport, Al Haramain Train Station and the Grand Mosque. Another three Staybridge Suites are in Asia, the Middle East and Africa while another four are slated to open in the Middle East. Three of these properties will open in Saudi Arabia.