Accor and Alesayi group to expand ibis in KSA

Accor Middle East has forged a strategic alliance with the Alesayi Group, a Saudi Arabian conglomerate comprising over 60 companies worldwide, to develop a minimum of 10 new Ibis properties by 2018 across Saudi Arabia.

Following the agreement signed in October last year, a management contract was signed in Jeddah in December 2013 for the development of the first three ibis hotels in Riyadh and Jeddah to open within the next 3 – 4 years. Two Ibis Jeddah hotels will comprise 200 and 300 rooms and the Ibis Riyadh will add a further 194 rooms.

Christophe Landais, Managing Director for Accor Middle East said, “The Middle East, and specifically Saudi Arabia, is a prominent market for the Accor’s growth which will be driven with the support of strategic partnerships with major hotel investors. Alesayi Group shares our vision and ambition to develop in the Kingdom a hotel network with international standards, a very high level of comfort at affordable price for clients thanks to our ibis brand”.

Sheikh Mohammed Omar Kassem Alesayi, Group President & CEO said, “We are very proud in forging this strategic alliance with Accor Group developing the ibis brand network of economy hotels in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia; this is aligned with our Group’s strategy to invest in the Kingdom offering the consumer the best international quality service at very competitive prices ”

Accor’s first ibis in the Kingdom was launched in Riyadh, in December 2012 and the second property, ibis Yanbu, set to open in the first quarter of 2014. So far the brand reports success in the market and Accor aims to strengthen its position in the Kingdom with a future development target of 30 to 40 ibis properties.

Accor Middle East’s current network of 61 hotels with over 14,500 rooms in the Middle East includes 12 ibis hotels accounting for almost 3,000 guest rooms. Presently, 7 ibis hotels with 2,000 rooms are under development across the region.