RIYADH: Saudi Arabia now accounts for half of Radisson Hotel Group’s Middle East portfolio, as the Kingdom cements its role as a global priority for the hospitality giant. 

The company currently has 100 hotels either open or under development across the region, with 50 of them located in Saudi Arabia, revealed Radisson’s top executive in an interview with Arab News on the sidelines of the Future Hospitality Summit in Riyadh. 

The expansion aligns with Saudi Arabia’s fast-growing hotel sector, as the Kingdom plans to add more than 362,000 new hotel rooms by 2030, backed by a $110 billion investment. 

Elie Younes, executive vice president and global chief development officer at Radisson, said: “Saudi Arabia sits in one of the top five countries for us globally.”  

He said that of the 50 hotels in Saudi Arabia, 30 are open and 20 are under construction. 

Providing details and a timeframe for their planned 20 hotels in Saudi Arabia, Younes said the projects will be rolled out over the next three to four years, with an additional 30 hotels expected to open in the following three to four years. 

The new wave of properties will translate into approximately 4,000 to 5,000 rooms. “If you multiply 20 by 200 to 250, you will get 4,000 to 5,000 rooms currently planned under construction in Saudi Arabia, which will eventually also make an economic impact because that will create job opportunities for approximately 5,000 people,” said Younes. 

Radisson is also ramping up its presence in the capital. The company recently opened Radisson Blu Minhal in Riyadh and plans to launch its third Radisson Collection hotel in the city soon.  

The Mansard Hotel, part of its urban portfolio, was noted as the brand’s first resort in Riyadh. Service apartments under the Radisson Collection brand are expected to open in the next four months. 

The group sees strong potential across multiple segments. “There is room for another 10 to 15 Radisson Blu hotels. As for Radisson Collection, which is our entry-level luxury brand, there will be fewer opportunities to grow it because of its luxury nature — maybe four or five more hotels. We already have three in Riyadh alone,” he said. 

Younes highlighted the scalability of the core four-star Radisson brand, particularly in smaller Saudi cities.  

“We recently opened three of them here in Riyadh alone, and I think we could open at least or sign another 20 or 30 of them in the Kingdom across the next four to five years, focusing on places like Riyadh, Jeddah, Makkah, and Madinah… to some extent, and specifically, after that, in some of the secondary regional cities, where we also see opportunities for business development,” he explained. 

Commenting on global tariffs, Younes said it is difficult to assess the impact of what he described as a “semi-political, semi-non-political” decision. 

 “We don’t see that to have a direct impact in Saudi Arabia because — you have to remember that — over 50 percent of the travel industry in Saudi Arabia is domesticated in terms of traveling, and over 90 percent of investments in Saudi Arabia comes from Saudi Arabia,” he added. 

Younes also spoke about broader trends in the hospitality industry, including growing traveler volumes and a heightened focus on sustainability. “I think we are very lucky and should be grateful to work in this industry because it is one of those ever-growing industries,” he said. 

He noted shifts in travel behavior as business and leisure increasingly merge: “People going for a long business trip but integrating into that trip a little bit of fun, bringing the wife, bringing the kids, spending the extra day. Wanting to have fun.” 

The executive noted that operational challenges are mounting, driven by rising costs and technological disruption. “The cost of labor going up. Inflation going up. The influence of artificial intelligence. All of these elements will push us and will result in us becoming more efficient,” he said. 

While artificial intelligence will likely shape back-end operations, Younes emphasized the enduring value of human service: “The human touch will never go away. We all know that.” 

Looking ahead, he sees the convergence of hospitality and residential real estate as a key evolution in the sector.

“I see more integration and fusion between the conventional hospitality and residential real estate as we move forward to try and achieve all of these efficiencies and economies,” he concluded. 

RIYADH: UK multinational hospitality giant IHG Hotels and Resorts is planning to add an additional 15,000 rooms in Saudi Arabia, as it eyes opening another 50 hotels in the Kingdom by 2030, according to an official. 

Speaking to Arab News on the sidelines of the Future Hospitality Summit in Riyadh on May 12, Maher Abou Nasr, vice president of operations for IHG in Saudi Arabia, said that the company will add seven new hotel brands in the Kingdom, in addition to the existing six already operating in the country. 

Strengthening the hospitality sector is one of the crucial goals outlined in Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030, as the Kingdom is steadily diversifying its economy by reducing its decades-long reliance on crude revenues. 

Ahead of the summit, FHS data revealed that Saudi Arabia is set to add 362,000 new hotel rooms by 2030 as part of its $110 billion hospitality expansion plans. 

“We have 45 hotels in the market now, and it includes Makkah, Madinah, Riyadh and all the tourism cities in the Kingdom. And that is close to 24,000 keys currently operating in the market. But our pipeline has 50 hotels. So, more hotels are coming to the market, with 15,000 keys that we are going to be introducing soon,” said Abou Nasr. 

He added: “We have six brands that are operating currently in the Kingdom, but we have seven brands in the pipeline. So we’re going to have 13 brands, in close to five years, that are going to be operating in the Kingdom.”

Abou Nasr further said that IHG is gearing up to meet the rising demand in Saudi Arabia’s hospitality sector, with the Kingdom gearing up to host major international events including Expo 2030 and the FIFA World Cup in 2034. 

Abou Nasr said that 49 percent of the company’s workforce are Saudi nationals, and the new hotel brands will help workers from the Kingdom explore more opportunities in the hospitality sector.

“Those Saudi youth who are going to be working in the Expo and the World Cup are people who are graduating today from high school. They are making their decisions on their career paths today, this year, last year, and in the coming year. So, in this period, we need to reach this pool of talent and attract them to the hospitality industry,” said Abou Nasr. 

“Today we have 49 percent Saudization. Close to 2,000 Saudi nationals work in our hotels, but we want to reach 6,000 by 2030 to be working for us,” he added. 

Abou Nasr added that IHG is getting sufficient support from the Kingdom’s Ministry of Tourism to attract Saudi talents to the company’s workforce. 

Meeting diversification of demand 

According to Abou Nasr, IHG is trying to cater to the needs of demand in different segments, such as midscale and upper midscale, in addition to the traditional luxury offerings provided by the hospitality group. 

“With all the changes that are happening in the Kingdom, we see a big diversification of demand. Not everybody wants to stay in luxury hotels all the time. Having said that, luxury remains our biggest part of the portfolio that’s coming — 60 percent of our pipeline hotels are in the luxury and lifestyle segments,” said Abou Nasr. 

He added: “However, we still see demand now that is coming into different segments, like the midscale and upper midscale. So, Holiday Inn Express is coming to the market, and we’re introducing Garner as well, sometime in the near future, to the Kingdom.”

On the first day of the FHS, IHG and Ashaad Co. signed an agreement to develop three new hotels in Saudi Arabia: Intercontinental and Voco in Alkhobar and Hotel Indigo in Jeddah. 

Citing a presentation made by real estate consultancy JLL at the summit, Abou Nasr said that Saudi Arabia had committed to adding 185,000 keys as part of its offering for FIFA World Cup 2034, and not all of these keys will be in luxury segments. 

Abou Nasr highlighted the growth of the hospitality industry in Saudi Arabia, and said that hotels in Riyadh and Jeddah have started to make profits within one or two months of starting operations. 

“In the past, that used to be a few months before we break even and then start ramping up toward more profits. Today, we are seeing a lot of hotels making profits from the first or second months,” said Abou Nasr. 

He added: “There’s a lot of demand that is happening in those cities. It depends on the location, the brand and the size of the hotel. But hotel investments are proving to be very profitable in this market.”

Maintaining competitiveness

During the interview, Abou Nasr said that IHG is committed to maintaining competitiveness in the market, as the company plans to add 50 new hotels in addition to the 45 already operating in the Kingdom. 

“We are actively working toward renovating many of those hotels that need renovation and bringing them up to speed to cater for the new travelers that are coming to Saudi Arabia,” he said. 

Abou Nasr added that IHG, during the recently concluded Arabian Travel Market, signed a memorandum of understanding with the Ministry of Tourism to collaborate around enhancing the guest experience when travelers come to Saudi Arabia. 

Abou Nasr further said that IHG is committed to maintaining sustainability as the world is trying to materialize the climate goals. 

“We’re working on introducing three energy conservation measures into our hotels that will take care of water conservation within our properties and energy conservation as well. In the future, there are a lot more initiatives to come. This is all guided by our journey to tomorrow, which are our sustainability initiatives at a corporate level,” he added. 

Combating challenges 

Abou Nasr said cooperation with the government has helped IHG to change challenges into opportunities. 

He added that completing the projects within the stipulated timeframes and renovating existing facilities are some of the challenges which are being faced by IHG. 

“We firmly believe that Saudi hospitality is delivered by Saudis. And we’re able now to go and talk to those Saudis at that young age to attract them to the industry with help from the government,” said Abou Nasr.