Hilton Worldwide Middle East & Africa (MEA) has claimed the top spot for regional hotel development, boasting 41 properties in its active pipeline.
According to the latest STR Global Research, the company’s “bold expansion programme” makes up 11.5% of the entire MEA hotel pipeline and, with 15,000 rooms under development, Hilton Worldwide is 50% ahead of its nearest rival.
Hilton Worldwide, Middle East & Africa president, Rudi Jagersbacher said the company’s “unwavering momentum” in seeking out practical and productive partners and properties in Middle East & Africa was “setting the regional pace and return for the company”.
| Advertisement |
“We’re experiencing increased optimism in the region and this is reflected in the number and quality of enquiries we are receiving,” he asserted.
“Today’s announcement is good news for the company and good news for the area’s hospitality industry.”
MEA signed a record 20 properties in the last 12 months including six hotels of the Jabal Omar Development in Makkah, Saudi Arabia. The signing represented Hilton Worldwide’s biggest announcement to date and added a further 6000 rooms to the MEA total. Other announcements included plans to enter a number of new countries including Chad and Sierra Leone in Africa, Lebanon and Kurdistan in Iraq.
The company said in 2012 it expects to bring two new brands to the UAE with the end-of-year openings of the luxury brands Conrad Dubai and Waldorf Astoria in Ras Al Khaimah, UAE. In addition, the company plans to launch in four new markets including Doha, Uganda, Lebanon and the Emirate of Sharjah.
Search our database of more than 2,700 industry companies
