Middle East Hotel Sector Heats Up in 2018

5/7/2020 Middle East hotel sector heats up in 2018 - Business - Construction Week Online
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Middle East hotel sector heats up in 2018

Dean McGrail of professional services consultancy WSP
believes hoteliers in the region are seeking something that will
give them an advantage over their competitors
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https://www.constructionweekonline.com/article-50079-middle-east-hotel-sector-heats-up-in-2018 1/23
The UAE and Saudi Arabia lead the regions hotel construction industry.
by Jack Ball (/author/jack-ball) 23 Aug 2018
Growth in the hotels sector in the Middle East and Northern Africa (MENA) shows little
sign of abating – or even taking a breath – according to a latest research revealed
by Lodging Econometrics. Analysts at the global real estate consultancy found
continued construction growth in the region has resulted in 875 projects or 216,045
rooms under way at the moment.
The Middle East’s pipeline makes up the lion’s share of this figure with 594 projects
or 170,490 rooms – the latter being a 23% year-on-year increase. Even more
impressively, this figure represents the
You have 16th
1 free consecutive
content left as a guestquarter of pipeline growth
seen in the Middle East.
The two largest economies in the region, Saudi Arabia and the UAE, lead the way in
the region’s hotel construction story. At least 80 hotels are expected to be built in the
countries’ major cities, with more than 27,000 units set to open in Riyadh, Jeddah,
Makkah, and Al Khobar this year alone, according to a report by Top Hotel
Projects. This expansion is largely indicative of Saudi’s plans to boost its tourism
numbers and, more generally part of a wider vision to diversify its economy away
from petrodollars and onto a more long-term and sustainable growth path.
Hilton is expected to be one of the busiest operators in Saudi, opening three hotels
– one each in the Jabal Omar development, Riyadh, and Al Khobar.
READ: Emaar inks hospitality agreement with Expo 2020 Dubai

(https://www.constructionweekonline.com/article-50024-emaar-inks-hospitality-agreement-
with-expo-2020-dubai)
Hotel operator Rotana is set to open 14 hotels across MENA by end of 2018 and is
looking to break into new markets such as Saudi Arabia, Iraq, and Tanzania in 2018,
as part of an ongoing drive to deepen its presence across the region. Accor Hotels
has also had a busy start to the year, signing nine hotels off the back of the 30 it
signed in 2017, including seven takeover agreements, which added 8,700 rooms to
the group’s regional portfolio.
In terms of the luxury aspect of the market, new data has shown Dubai and UAE
markets account for a combined 61% of the region’s current five-star pipeline.
“A five-star hotel previously differentiated itself by its spa, its food and drink
offerings, or its luxury toiletries,” says Dean McGrail, director of property and
buildings at professional services consultancy WSP. “Now, the design of the hotel is
just as important as the 1,000-count bedsheets - think infinity pools perched more
than 300m high, cantilevered restaurants and hanging bedroom suites, multi-level
swimming pools, and internal waterfalls.”
READ: Damac hospitality arm keen to reach 15,000 keys by 2021

(https://www.constructionweekonline.com/article-49085-damac-hospitality-arm-keen-to-
reach-15000-keys-by-2021)
This month, Dubai-based Al Habtoor Group announced a franchise agreement with

global hotel operator Hilton. Under the deal, three of its hotels in Dubai’s Al Habtoor
City will be rebranded to align with
You have Hilton’s various
1 free content left as acollections
guest – a move that
certainly cements the hotel operator’s position of strength within the emirate.
June this year also saw Abu Dhabi’s Aldar Properties pick hotelier heavyweight
Marriot International to manage a new Yas Island hotel that will become the
emirate’s first W Hotels-branded destination. Contributing to its 11 unit-strong
portfolio, the project marks Aldar’s 13th property in the UAE capital.
Dubai’s Damac Properties also inked a new agreement in August with Radisson to
open the Middle East’s first Radisson-branded luxury hotels in Dubailand’s Damac
Hills. The market is certainly heating up, and McGrail believes the hospitality sector in
the region is becoming more competitive, with hoteliers “constantly looking for
something that will give them an advantage over their competitors: “It is essential
that our designs and the advice we give to our clients help to future-proof their
establishments and consider the future use of each facility.
“This need for agile space and designs that consider future needs is coupled with a
need for hotels to remain cost- efficient, and consequently use the latest
technologies to manage building services effectively and optimise utility usage,” he
tells Construction Week.
Construction Week In Focus | S02E12: Hotel construction prospects ft. Hotelier…

Hotelier…
ANALYSIS (/TAGS/ANALYSIS) BUSINESS (/TAGS/BUSINESS)
CONSTRUCTION WEEK (/TAGS/CONSTRUCTION-WEEK)
CONSTRUCTION WEEK ONLINE (/TAGS/CONSTRUCTION-WEEK-ONLINE)
DAMAC APARTMENTS (/TAGS/DAMAC-APARTMENTS)
FIVE STAR HOTEL DUBAI (/TAGS/FIVE-STAR-HOTEL-DUBAI) HOSPITALITY (/TAGS/HOSPITALITY)
HOSPITALITY DEVELOPMENT (/TAGS/HOSPITALITY-DEVELOPMENT)
HOSPITALITY IN DUBAI (/TAGS/HOSPITALITY-IN-DUBAI)
HOSPITALITY INDUSTRY (/TAGS/HOSPITALITY-INDUSTRY)
HOSPITALITY INDUSTRY IN GCC (/TAGS/HOSPITALITY-INDUSTRY-IN-GCC)
HOSPITALITY PROJECTS (/TAGS/HOSPITALITY-PROJECTS)
MARRIOTT INTERNATIONAL (/TAGS/MARRIOTT-INTERNATIONAL) SAUDI (/TAGS/SAUDI)
UAE CONSTRUCTION (/TAGS/UAE-CONSTRUCTION)
UAE CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY (/TAGS/UAE-CONSTRUCTION-INDUSTRY)
BAHRAIN (/COUNTRIES/BAHRAIN) KUWAIT (/COUNTRIES/KUWAIT) OMAN (/COUNTRIES/OMAN)
SAUDI ARABIA (/COUNTRIES/SAUDI-ARABIA)
UNITED ARAB EMIRATES (/COUNTRIES/UNITED-ARAB-EMIRATES)


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by Jack Ball (/author/jack-ball) 23 Aug 2018

READ: Emaar inks hospitality agreement with Expo 2020 Dubai

READ: Damac hospitality arm keen to reach 15,000 keys by 2021

This month, Dubai-based Al Habtoor Group announced a franchise agreement with

Construction Week In Focus | S02E12: Hotel construction prospects ft. Hotelier…

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ANALYSIS (/TAGS/ANALYSIS) BUSINESS (/TAGS/BUSINESS)

CONSTRUCTION WEEK (/TAGS/CONSTRUCTION-WEEK)

CONSTRUCTION WEEK ONLINE (/TAGS/CONSTRUCTION-WEEK-ONLINE)

DAMAC APARTMENTS (/TAGS/DAMAC-APARTMENTS)

FIVE STAR HOTEL DUBAI (/TAGS/FIVE-STAR-HOTEL-DUBAI) HOSPITALITY (/TAGS/HOSPITALITY)

HOSPITALITY DEVELOPMENT (/TAGS/HOSPITALITY-DEVELOPMENT)

HOSPITALITY IN DUBAI (/TAGS/HOSPITALITY-IN-DUBAI)

HOSPITALITY INDUSTRY (/TAGS/HOSPITALITY-INDUSTRY)

HOSPITALITY INDUSTRY IN GCC (/TAGS/HOSPITALITY-INDUSTRY-IN-GCC)

HOSPITALITY PROJECTS (/TAGS/HOSPITALITY-PROJECTS)

MARRIOTT INTERNATIONAL (/TAGS/MARRIOTT-INTERNATIONAL) SAUDI (/TAGS/SAUDI)

UAE CONSTRUCTION (/TAGS/UAE-CONSTRUCTION)

UAE CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY (/TAGS/UAE-CONSTRUCTION-INDUSTRY)

BAHRAIN (/COUNTRIES/BAHRAIN) KUWAIT (/COUNTRIES/KUWAIT) OMAN (/COUNTRIES/OMAN)

SAUDI ARABIA (/COUNTRIES/SAUDI-ARABIA)

UNITED ARAB EMIRATES (/COUNTRIES/UNITED-ARAB-EMIRATES)

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Damac hospitality arm keen to reach 15,000 keys by 2021 (/article-49085-damac-

GCC hospitality projects worth $81bn said to be on hold (/article-49066-gcc-

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October 2019 sees 11-year high in Dubai real estate transactions

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Al Dhabi Contracting wins main contract for IMKAN’s AlJurf (/projects-and-

Galfar appoints Hamoud AI Tobi as CEO replacing Hans Erlings

PICTURES: Makkah development authority demolishes

Siemens Middle East appoints CEO to lead amid challenges