The Company revealed its ambitious strategy for future growth at a press conference staged during the second edition of the Saudi Arabia Hotel Investment Conference (SHIC) hosted at its new property, Marriott Riyadh Diplomatic Quarter.
The Kingdom confirmed a 7% increase in spending, close to SAR 1.106 trillion, to boost private sector growth and create investment opportunities across multiple industries, especially for the hospitality sector. The 300-plus hotel investors, owners, developers and operators in attendance gained valuable insight into Dur Hospitality’s success story spanning more than four decades, with the company’s leaders and top executives outlining its 2018 achievements and revealing its plans for 2019 and beyond.
Dur Hospitality currently has nine projects under construction, four of which will be completed and operational this year. This includes the development of Holiday Inn Jubail and Hotel Suites, the expansion of Riyadh Airport Marriott Hotel, the development of hotel apartments and expansion of the ballroom of the Holiday Inn Tabuk Hotel and the launch of a Marriott Hotel in the Diplomatic Quarter, Riyadh.
Development Plans
Expanding the Makarem Hotels portfolio to 10,000 rooms by 2028
Developing the DARRAQ brand with the addition of 55 luxurious residential units in Riyadh’s Diplomatic Quarter by 2019
Launching ‘Karam for Umrah Services’, a new subsidiary to support the development of the ‘Makarem Hotels’ brand and its expanding inventory in the Holy Cities, as well as the growing number of religious tourists visiting both
Recent Achievements
The company also outlined recent achievements in partnership with Marriott and IHG, including: the opening of the Marriott Riyadh Diplomatic Quarter in time for SHIC; the rebranding of Riyadh Palace into Crowne Plaza Riyadh Palace Hotel in May 2018, which is now undergoing a major refurbishment; and the full renovation and rebranding of Riyadh Airport Hotel into Marriott Airport Hotel.
“All of these business successes are testament to Dur Hospitality’s 42 years of unrivalled market expertise and experience, which has seen it identifying opportunities to develop new hospitality concepts such as Makarem Hotels and forge strong partnerships with Marriott and IHG to open properties in high-growth markets where branded properties are in strong demand,” explained Dr. Badr Al Badr, CEO of Dur Hospitality. In 2018, we made significant in-roads into developing our portfolio of properties, in line with our commitment to Vision 2030, providing the hospitality concepts required to meet the project demand in religious and non-religious tourism, which constitutes the blueprint for the socio-economic transformation it will generate,” he concluded.
New partnerships
Dur Hospitality also announced two recent official signings – an agreement with owner Abed Al Qurashi to manage the Makarem Jabal Al Kaaba Hotel in Makkah and a landmark acquisition deal with SHADA Homes, which will see Dur make its foray in the serviced/long-stay apartment sector soon.
Hassan Ahdab, President of Hotel Operations, Dur Hospitality, revealed that this marks another milestone in Dur’s plan to develop 10 new projects over the next five years and to grow Makarem’s pipeline to 10,000 keys by 2028.”
It is worth mentioning that the company currently operates more than 20 properties and 3,047 rooms, with assets under management worth more than SAR2.6 billion. Additionally, it has 22 projects at different stages in the pipeline, most of which are scheduled for delivery between 2019-2020, thus doubling the value of the company’s portfolio value to SAR 2.4 billion.
Rita Ghantous is a hospitality aficionado and a passionate writer with over 9 years’ experience in journalism and 5 years experience in the hospitality sector.
Her passion for the performance arts and writing, started early. At 10 years old she was praised for her solo performance of the Beatles song “All My Love” accompanied by a guitarist, and was approached by a French talent scout during her school play. However, her love for writing was stronger. Fresh out of school, she became a freelance journalist for Noun Magazine and was awarded the Silver Award Cup for Outstanding Poetry, by The International Library of Poetry (Washington DC).
She studied Business Management and earned a Masters degree from Saint Joseph University (USJ), her thesis was published in the Proche-Orient, Études en Management book.
She then pursued a career in the hospitality industry but didn’t give up writing, that is why she launched the Four Points by Sheraton Le Verdun Newsletter.
Her love for the industry and journalism led her to Hospitality Services - the organizers of the HORECA trade show in Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Jordan, as well as Salon Du Chocolat, Beirut Cooking Festival, Whisky Live and other regional shows. She is currently the Publications Executive of Hospitality News Middle East, Taste & Flavors and Lebanon Traveler.
It is with ultimate devotion for her magazines that she demonstrates her hospitality savoir-faire.
