RIYADH: Saudi Arabia’s hospitality landscape will soon witness more options with IHG Hotels & Resorts, one of the world’s largest hospitality groups, all set to expand operations in the Kingdom in a move to support its growing business.
This move will allow the global hospitality firm, which owns 6,000 hotels across 18 brands, to manage its portfolio of hotels in the Kingdom from the capital city.
“With our continued focus on Saudi Arabia and a growing footprint in the market, we look forward to expanding our operations and further strengthening on ground support to accelerate growth and performance in the Kingdom,” said Maher Abou Nasr, vice president of operations at Saudi Arabia IHG Hotels & Resorts, on the sidelines of the Future Hospitality Summit in Riyadh.
IHG currently runs 38 hotels in the Kingdom with 18,000 rooms under three brands, Intercontinental, Crown Plaza and Holiday Inn. It also has 35 hotels under construction.
The hospitality giant recently added Voco and Staybridge Suites and plans to introduce other brands in the luxury lifestyle segment, such as Regent and Six Senses.
“Only last week, we announced our Kimpton with King Abdullah Financial District, which we’re very excited about,” said Abou Nasr.
IHG Hotels & Resorts signed a management agreement with the KAFD to bring the first Kimpton hotel in the region to Riyadh.
The facility will offer guests a personalized luxury experience and join existing properties worldwide, including the US, France and Scotland.
Catering to a broader spectrum of guests visiting the Kingdom and keeping within the Vision 2030 blueprint, the group has signed a master development agreement with Al Hokair Group to develop at least 10 Holiday Inn Express hotels within the next 15 years.
Also in the pipeline is the Hotel Indigo brand that caters to the segment between full- and limited-service hotels.
“A beautiful lifestyle brand that focuses on the neighborhood, Hotel Indigo brands bring the neighborhood inside the hotel,” said Abou Nasr.
The company signed a management agreement with Mohammed Bin Salman Nonprofit City for a new Hotel Indigo within the city near the Irqah area along Wadi Hanifa in Riyadh.
Besides managing hotels, IHG Hotels & Resorts is introducing several sustainability initiatives into the market and plans to hire more Saudi nationals by 2030.
“We have been operating hotels in Saudi Arabia since 1975. And since then, we’ve been graduating Saudi talent into the industry,” said Abou Nasr.
Its latest initiative includes a platform which sees Saudis trained on their jobs directly within the hotel.
In promoting sustainability, the company is working on eliminating carbon emissions and addressing food waste in hotel operations.
“We want to manage the reduction of food waste in our properties. We look at the usage of water in highly affected areas. We look at the single-use plastics as well, and we’re eliminating that,” said Abou Nasr.
He added: “Last but not least, we look at our energy consumption within the properties, and we have many initiatives to support us on that journey.”
- CLARIFICATION: The article has been updated based on the “revised information” shared by the company in question.
