The world’s largest independent hotel brand, Preferred Hotels & Resorts, has announced plans to add two new five-star properties in Riyadh, supporting Saudi’s ambitious plans of welcoming 20 million visitors by 2020.
The market is experiencing an exponential growth, reporting the most rooms ‘in construction' among the countries in the Middle East and Africa, with 35,770 rooms in 81 hotels. Riyadh alone has 6,657 rooms in 30 hotels under construction, per hospitality research firm STR Global.
In Q2 2016, hotels in Saudi Arabia experienced nearly flat occupancy (-0.5% to 64.8%), but a double-digit rise in ADR (+14.2% to $217.69) which drove a double-digit increase in RevPAR (+13.6% to $140.98) compared with the same period in 2015.
Deputy Crown Prince Muhammad Bin Salman has rejuvenated the kingdom’s tourism sector as the strategic plan aims to increase the revenue generated from tourism to 18% of GDP in the next 14 years. To put that into perspective, in 2015 oil revenue alone accounted for more than 70% of overall government revenue.
Preferred Hotels & Resorts
The properties, Vivienda Residences and Vivienda Granada are at the higher of the group’s offerings and will be the company’s entry into a key regional market. In 2015, Preferred generated more than $1 billion in collective reservations revenue for its member properties around the world.
Vivienda Residence comprises 12 designed and furnished private villas offering 134 to 634 sqm of living space, close to the iconic Kingdom Tower. The 48-room Vivienda Granada is also an all-villa property, with a collection of three-bedroom residences located in the new financial district of Al Shohada, a 30-minute drive from the international airport and set within 33,000 sqm of landscaped grounds.
STR Global
24 October
