Emirati proptech startup Stella Stays has announced its expansion into Saudi Arabia, introducing the first tech-enabled residential hospitality concept in the region.
The Stella Stays Riyadh Olaya Tower, which will open its door in June, will offer modern, fully equipped, tech-enabled apartments and hotel suites, a co-working space, and recreational and commercial amenities.
Stella Stays offers holidaymakers, business travelers, and residents a seamless hospitality experience, through leveraging ground-breaking technology and modern service. Guests and residents in Saudi Arabia will be able to use the Stella Stays app to navigate the entire journey — from booking and managing their stays, checking-in, controlling smart home systems, to ordering a wide range of guest services. Payment terms are flexible and can be made through various methods, including debit, credit cards and crypto payments.
Riyadh and Jeddah are strategic locations for Stella Stays’ expansion with more than $1 trillion in real estate and infrastructure developments underway. The Kingdom’s economy has fueled solid growth in residential construction with developers progressing a booming number of freehold apartment projects. Saudi Arabia also offers some of the most attractive setup costs in the real estate sector in the region.
Mohammed Al-Ghussein, chairman of Stella Stays, said: “We are extremely proud of our launch in Saudi Arabia, and we believe that our vision for the future of living and hospitality aligns perfectly with Vision 2030, in transforming the Kingdom into a world economic center with blossoming tourism and entertainment industries. The speed of national development is phenomenal, with around 730,000 homes to be added to Riyadh by 2030.
Stella Stays aims to disrupt the Kingdom’s hospitality sector landscape by partnering with real estate developers and property owners, such as Four Direction Development, to provide an innovative residential hospitality concept, with unmatched profitability potential.”
Four Direction Development has extensive experience in terms of investment returns since 2014 with several development projects around the Kingdom.
“We are excited to announce our agreement with Stella Stays in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia that will boost both the hospitality and travel industries. Stella Stays offers us, the property owner, hands-off management with real-time analytics that delivers significantly more income and less operational costs compared to traditional hotel models,” said Abdullah Al-Majed, co-founder at Four Directions Development.
Stella Stays’ real estate portfolio growth strategy in Saudi Arabia is through master leases or profit-sharing agreements with property owners and developers. To create a global real estate pipeline, the company uses proprietary algorithms that identify, evaluate, and select the most desirable properties around the world, based on location, financial projection, and trends.
Mohannad Zikra, CEO and co-founder of Stella Stays, said: ‘‘The digital economy, COVID-19, and tech-savvy millennials are driving massive behavioral shifts related to how people live, travel and work. Business travel is also bouncing back and increasing significantly, requiring the flexibility for longer stays.
When Stella Stays began operations in 2019, the average length of stay was three nights per booking. Today, the average length of stays has increased to 28 nights per booking, with many repeat guests and permanent residents. Stella Stays continues to capture these opportunities by creating modern living spaces, futuristic technology and a highly profitable business model. Our occupancy is now higher than the pre-pandemic level, reaching 100 percent around events such as Expo 2020 Dubai and the Formula 1 Bahrain Grand Prix 2022.’’
