Millennium to operate and rebrand Makkah Hilton Hotel & Towers

Millennium Hotels & Resorts will take over operations of the 1,400-guestroom Makkah Hilton Hotel & Towers under its new name, the Makkah Millennium Biltmore Hotel and Towers, on September 1, 2017. 

Ali Hamad Lakhraim Alzaabi, founder, president and CEO of Millennium Hotels & Resorts Middle East and Africa, told Hotelier Middle East that the hotel has been operating as Makkah Hilton Towers for past 23 years. The hotel and towers are the closest hotels to Al Masjid Al Haram and The Holy Kaaba

The 614-room Makkah Millennium Hotel will go under extensive renovation to convert the hotel under the Biltmore Collection. Meanwhile, the 802-guestroom Makkah Millennium Towers will be operated under the Millennium Collection.  

Millennium Hotels & Resorts currently operates five properties in Saudi Arabia. The signing of this recent management agreement coincides with Millennium's goal to open over 20 hotels in Saudi Arabia over the next four years. The company is gearing up to capitalize on the expected increase in religious tourism to the pilgrimage destination and the significant government investment in infrastructure.

Millennium Hotels & Resorts currently owns, manages and operates over 130 hotels worldwide. In early July 2016, the group also planned to open hotels in Saudi Arabia and the UAE under its Studio M brand in 2018. One is set to open in Madinah while the other will be in Al Barsha, Dubai. Meanwhile, Millennium Hotels & Resorts has 12 Studio M hotels scheduled to open in the Middle East in 2017, specifically in the UAE, Qatar, Oman, Saudi Arabia and Georgia.