Marriott signs two new Riyadh properties with Dur

Marriott International has signed a SAR 300 million (US $79.9 million) agreement with Dur Hospitality Company to operate two new properties in the Diplomatic Quarter of Riyadh.

The 80-key Marriott Hotel and 140-key Marriott Executive Apartments are currently under development in the capital and are due to open in 2017.

Commenting on the signing, Alex Kyriakidis, president and managing director of Marriott International Middle East and Africa, said: “We are very proud in our successful partnership with Dur Hospitality which has lasted for the past 35 years.

“Tourism [in Saudi Arabia] is expected to continue to grow so we are proud to both respond to this growing demand by investing in the most significant and highly targeted districts, and moreover securing for both parties positive growth in terms of revenues and profits.”

Marriott International has a target of achieving 10,000 rooms in Saudi Arabia, with 5000 allocated to the Holy Cities of Madinah and Makkah and 5000 to be outside of this area.

Chairman of Dur Hospitality Company, Eng. Abdullah bin Mohammed Al-Issa, said: “This announcement has come as a result of our ongoing and well-established partnership with Marriott International since 1980.

“These globally recognised hotels are set to bring new levels of hospitality and service to the Diplomatic Quarter and meet the growing demands of the region’s leisure and business travelers.”

CEO of Dur Hospitality, Dr. Badr bin Hmoud Al-Badr, said: “This agreement is the result of Dur’s business transformation programme and its new identity launched last month with a strategic goal to expand the company’s investments and create new partnerships with leading international hotels management franchises”.

Dur Hospitality Company has been publicly-listed and trading on the Saudi stock market since 1976. The firm recently began trading under the name Dur Hospitality, having previously been called Saudi Hotels and Resorts (SHARACO).

It has a portfolio of owned hotels worth around SR 2.3 billion (US $613 million).

These include the 418-unit Riyadh Marriott Hotel, 117-key Marriott Executive Apartments and the 216-unit Diplomat Courtyard Marriott Hotel, located adjacent to the Diplomatic Quarter.

Dur Hospitality expects to reach an operating/owned portfolio of 14 assets by 2018, and to reach 20 assets by 2023, by which time the company expects new hotel and residential projects to have tripled their revenues.