Exclusive Developments For The Industry Announced at AHIC 2016

2 May 2016 – At last week’s twelfth Arabian Hotel Investment Conference (AHIC), major international hotel brands announced expansion plans and hosted signings at the Madinat, Jumeirah location.

Fairmont Hotels and Resorts

On the first full day of the conference (27th April), Fairmont Hotels and Resorts signed two deals at AHIC 2016 for luxury developments in Morocco and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The two new projects include Fairmont Taghazout Bay, Morocco and Fairmont Al Khobar, Saudi Arabia, which are both scheduled to open before 2020. The announcement will see Fairmont’s luxury hotel portfolio in the Middle East, Africa and India (MEAI) region grow to 20 hotels by 2020, which doubles the regional expansion pipeline.

Wyndham Hotel Group

Signing two new deals at AHIC 2016, the company will be expanding in Oman and Iraq with two properties in each location. In Oman, a Ramada Encore, Muscat Al Ghubra with 200 keys will be connected via a footbridge to a Ramada Hotel and Suites, Muscat Al Ghubra which will have 90 suites.

In Najaf, Iraq Wyndham Hotel Group signed to open a Ramada Plaza with 225 keys which will be connected to a Ramada Hotel and Suites which will contain 149 studios and 91 high-end one bed apartments for a diverse choice of accommodation options at the location which is known close to the Imam Ali Holy Shrine.

Marriott International

Marriott International confirmed openings for 17 properties across the region this year. The company currently operated 150 properties in the MEA region from nine brands across 19 countries.

Marriott also unveiled details of a new signing in Doha which will offer 300 suites. The property called Doha Marriott Executive Suites is planned to open in 2019 and the company's latest growth pipeline in the Middle East will see its footprint increase in priority markets such as the UAE and Saudi Arabia. 10 new properties representing 4,600 rooms are set to open across these two countries between 2016 and 2017. In Saudi Arabia in particular, the company has revealed that 21 new hotels with approximately 4,200 rooms have been slated to open by 2025.

YOTEL

The premier tech-focused hospitality brand, YOTEL announced that it will be opening several more city/resort and airport sites in Dubai and Riyadh and is actively negotiating more opportunities in the Middle East including Abu Dhabi, Muscat and Jeddah.

The first ever Middle East YOTEL will open in 2018 in Business Bay, Dubai and broke ground during the AHIC conference on 27th April 2016.

The property will have 582 cabins and serviced apartments. In addition to the signature compact but luxurious cabins, the new hotel will also have dedicated co-working and meeting spaces, a gym, spacious pool deck and restaurant areas offering uninterrupted sea views. 

Starwood Hotels and Resorts

Announcing details of five new deal signings which will add 1,200 rooms in the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Qatar, Starwood Hotels and Resorts also confirmed five openings in 2016 across the same countries. The company said it planned to increase its footprint in the Middle East by 75% in the next five years. The newest signings include a Luxury Collection Hotel and Le Méridien in Lusail, Qatar; Four Points by Sheraton in Jeddah Tahlia, Saudi Arabia; Four Points by Sheraton in Unaizah, Saudi Arabia and Four Points by Sheraton, Ras Al Khaimah, UAE.

HAMA MEA – first AGM

In addition to the developments and signings which took place at the event, the very first AGM of HAMA MEA (Hospitality Asset Manager Association Middle East and Africa) was also held during the AHIC 2016. The recently incorporated Middle Eastern chapter for Hospitality Asset Managers Association (HAMA MEA) is located in the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC). It is most reputable association to embody the world’s most professional asset managers and executives within the global hospitality industry. Members on HAMA MEA are involved in asset management, acquisition, financing and disposition of hotels and resorts, and are directly responsible for making decisions concerning capital investments, renovations, asset repositioning, operational policies and franchise selections on behalf of ownership worldwide. 

HAMA MEA works closely with government entities, hospitality associations and academic institutions with the aim to bring professional standards, international best practices and accountability to hospitality asset management and real estate development within the region of the Middle East and Africa.