FHS Saudi Arabia Pre-event feature: hospitality investment outlook

 Saudi Arabia is set to deliver 358,000 new hotel rooms to meet rising tourism demand and prepare for major upcoming global events, unleashing a wealth of hospitality investment opportunities in the Kingdom.

Future Hospitality Summit (FHS) Saudi Arabia, taking place from 22-24 June at Mandarin Oriental Al Faisaliah in Riyadh, will bring together investors, developers, operators and policymakers at a defining moment for the region’s hospitality sector. Positioned as the Kingdom’s leading deal-making and investment platform, FHS connects capital with opportunity. The 2025 edition welcomed more than 1,100 industry leaders and generated over US$1.6 billion in business opportunities, reinforcing its role as a key deal-making forum. 254 investors attended FHS Saudi Arabia last year, managing $ 5.61 trillion in assets.

In the run up to the event, seasoned hospitality leaders share key insight on the opportunities, challenges and priorities for KSA investment. 

With opinion from Dimitris Manikis, President, EMEA, Wyndham Hotels & Resorts; David Thomson, Senior Vice President – Development, The First Group Hospitality; Muin Serhan, Chief Executive Officer, Amsa Hospitality; and Dory Mouawad, Director of Operations at Ewaa Hotel Group.

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The outlook

“KSA is a clear example of a market where tourism development is anchored by a long-term national strategy. Through Vision 2030, Saudi has created a roadmap for tourism growth, supported by infrastructure investment, regulatory reform and large-scale destination projects that expand tourism far beyond traditional gateway cities and create new hospitality markets,” says Dimitris Manikis, President, EMEA, Wyndham Hotels & Resorts. “While the region is currently navigating a period of uncertainty, KSA’s long-term fundamentals remain strong.” 

David Thomson, Senior Vice President - Development, The First Group Hospitality, is positive about KSA’s hospitality outlook beyond 2026. “Expo 2030 and Vision 2030 initiatives are creating sustained momentum. As a third-party operator, we are investing heavily in growing our brand footprint,” he says. 

The big opportunity

While 75% of upcoming hotel rooms are in the luxury segment, a key opportunity for investment is midscale, experts believe.

Muin Serhan, Chief Executive Officer, Amsa Hospitality says: “The biggest opportunity is scalable midscale in cities with real demand drivers. Well-positioned, efficiently operated hotels can deliver stable occupancy, repeat business, and strong returns without relying on luxury-rate assumptions.

Dimitris Manikis echoes this view, pointing out that the midscale and upper midscale segments represent the deepest demand pools globally, because they serve a broad range of travellers while offering development economics that are more accessible for investors.

For Dory Mouawad, Director of Operations, Ewaa Hotel Group, a big opportunity lies in extended-stay and mixed-use developments that capture long-stay, corporate, and lifestyle demand with superior margins. 

The challenges

Timelines and over-supply are among potential challenges facing the industry over the next few years according to David Thomson. “Large development pipelines require careful phasing. If openings cluster too tightly in specific spots, performance can be pressured in the short to medium term,” he says. 

It’s a view shared by Muin Serhan, who adds that costs, timelines and staffing requirements can shift quickly, impacting returns more than most models assume.

The evolving model

When it comes to the evolution of hotel development models, franchising is at the heart of Wyndham’s model. “We are seeing strong momentum toward asset-light structures, particularly franchising, which allows owners to maintain control of their assets while benefiting from brand recognition, global distribution systems, loyalty platforms and operational support,” says Dimitris Manikis. 

Dory Mouawad also believes that models are shifting toward asset-light, flexible agreements with lighter management contracts, performance-linked fees, and selective franchising.

The priorities

Investors prioritise resilience, yield and growth potential – or a mixture of all three – in today’s climate, experts say. 

Muin Serhan commented: “Investors still want growth, but they want it with resilience. They’re prioritising assets that perform through different cycles, not only during high-demand periods. That means strong location fundamentals, operational efficiency, and brands and operators that can protect margins and maintain quality at scale.

David Thomson adds: “Today’s investors are looking for resilient business models that can withstand market cycles. Yield remains important, but operational flexibility and long-term growth potential are increasingly central to investment decisions.

The future-ready strategy

Technology? Resilience? Sustainable ROI? What will a future-ready hotel investment strategy look like in 2030?

For Dimitris Manakis, it’s a combination of disciplined development, strong brand partnerships and alignment with long-term tourism strategies – like KSA Vision 2030 – while ensuring owners benefit from global distribution, technology and loyalty ecosystems that drive consistent demand.

Muin Serhan says investors should back projects with proven demand drivers, flexible asset design, and operators who can protect margins, so performance remains strong in normal times, not only when markets are booming.

Dory Mouawad believes a future-ready strategy is tech-enabled, demand-diversified, operationally lean, and built for resilient long-term cashflow, an opinion echoed by David Thomson who cites disciplined capital allocation and a clear focus on sustainable ROI where supply and market fundamentals are carefully balanced.

Ends