Pipeline
 Looking to the future, Blackburn has grand ambitions for the group that stretch well beyond the GCC. “We established in 2006, we positioned ourselves carefully and correctly and now our pipeline is opening,” he explains.

“We have 20 projects in the pipeline. And unfortunately you can’t stop the pipeline. Some of them you may lose, though, and some take time to negotiate.”

On top of KSA and Lebanon, he shares that there are two hotels on the negotiation table in Qatar, and he is about to sign a property in Erbil, in the Kurdistan region in Iraq.

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“I’ve been [to Erbil] several times and it’s very safe and secure. It’s a very, very nice part of the country.” However, Blackburn is not content to stay within the Middle East. He plans to sign a “prestigious” hotel in the Indian Ocean, near the Seychelles. He also signed a joint venture in 2011 with Rufi Group, a large real estate developer in Pakistan.

However, Blackburn says that because of the “political situation” in Pakistan, plans have been scaled back to five hotels being opened by 2018. As many would agree, Cristal’s overall ambition to have 25 properties confirmed within the next five years, even after scaling back, is impressive.

“It’s a very intensive programme,” Blackburn says. “It’s achievable, though. All going well, by the end of this year, we’ll be at eight properties confirmed.”