Having been in post for six months, FRHI Hotels & Resorts senior vice president operations for Middle East, Africa and India, Sami Nasser, is preparing to move quickly in order to bring to fruition the company’s goal of doubling its hotel offering over the next five years

Fairmont Raffles Hotels International (FRHI) is holding the starting pistol in preparation for an expansion project which sees the company target 50% growth over the next five years.

Getting set on the start block for the Middle East leg is a new ‘integration team’, which will oversee all three of the company’s brands, ensuring development keeps pace with this bold ambition.

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Newly appointed senior vice president operations Sami Nasser will be by the side of his 8000 staff — a number also set to double in the next five years — to ensure projects reach the finish line.

In January 2014, Michael Glennie, president and chief operating officer of FRHI, the parent company of luxury and upper upscale hotel brands Raffles Hotels & Resorts, Fairmont Hotels & Resorts and Swissôtel Hotels & Resorts, announced a robust growth strategy for key markets, with openings this year in Russia, Turkey and Saudi Arabia. Globally, he revealed aggressive development plans in place to achieve a projected target of 50% growth over the next five years.

Overseeing the Saudi opening Glennie refers to, is the company’s French-Lebanese senior vice president operations for Middle East, Africa and India, Sami Nasser, appointed in July last year with the aim of “making sure [the company] has the right resources in the region to support this growth.”

Fairmont Riyadh marks FRHI’s first Saudi venture outside of Makkah, where 3000 rooms are spread across its three brands, including 1299 allotted to the iconic Makkah Clock Royal Tower, a Fairmont Hotel. Having built up a huge base of pilgrim visitors at the Makkah properties, Nasser is confident the Riyadh opening will reel in a new segment.

“The corporate Saudi market will respond very well to the Fairmont Riyadh,” he comments.

“We’ve already had negotiations with various big companies on long-stay offers and we will create a lot of demand with our food and beverage and spa offering so I’m very positive about this hotel.”

Nasser adds that brand awareness won't be an issue in Riyadh given the fame of the Makkah Clock Royal Tower and the growing sophistication of the domestic Saudi market: “The Saudis are going to The Savoy in London, The Plaza in New York — two Fairmont hotels — so they know the brand”.

Despite the current oversupply facing Riyadh, with occupancy remaining static and 38 hotels coming online in the city in the next three years, Nasser is confident that falling rates will not be a problem: “[Average rate] might have gone down from US $300 to $280 or $270 but it’s still great compared to other destinations in the region and in Europe,” he comments, adding that rates dropping is “normal” as competition grows, and upcoming infrastructure will justify the need for more supply.

“The more hotels you have, the more competition but this helps put standards up very high. We have lots of projects and construction coming up so we’ll need more hotels. Otherwise, why would operators go and develop more and more there?”

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