The company recently announced that it is targeting 30,000 new rooms in the Middle East market by 2020, and Landais explains this will actually be a minimum.
Being well known for its midscale Ibis, upscale Novotel and long-stay Adagio brands, Accor is pushing ahead with development plans for these, capitalising on government incentives — such as Dubai’s municipal tax reprieve for the development of new midscale hotels — to help diversify the hotel landscape in the Middle East.
As well as Dubai, Accor has a strong focus on midscale and long-stay in Saudi Arabia, where 23 hotels are in the pipeline.
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“We plan 15 – 20 Ibis hotels in the next few years in Saudi Arabia. Out of the 38 hotels we have under construction we have about 20 under construction in Saudi Arabia so it’s a huge market for us and it’s primarily for economy and midscale,” comments Landais.
Similarly, half of InterContinental Hotels Group’s (IHG) Saudi Arabia pipeline is comprised of midscale Holiday Inn hotels, and the company is putting a huge focus on developing its midscale and upscale brands over the next five years.
“It is our midscale brands that are really growing at pace, with over 35% of our pipeline by room numbers in the Middle East comprising Holiday Inn hotels, to open in the next three to five years,” comments Pascal Gauvin, chief operating officer, India, Middle East and Africa, IHG.
Similarly Rotana is working on expanding its midscale Centro brand by 2020 and Carlson Rezidor is focusing on growing the presence of its midscale Park Inn by Radisson brand across Oman, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia and Dubai.
According to Mark Willis, area vice president Middle East and Sub-Saharan Africa, The Rezidor Group, diversification is “transforming the market”, and another aspect of this is the increased provision of long-stay accommodation.
“The appetite for serviced apartments will continue to grow,” Willis explains.
“This product is extremely well positioned for corporate clientele because of the space it offers.
“Usually 40-50% of our guests will be long-stay residents who are here for a month; some will stay for a year and the majority will be with us for three to six months.
“Many of these people will be working on projects, but serviced apartments also appeal to families who prefer to stay five to seven nights during school holidays because of the convenience this type of accommodation offers.”
A trend Willis expects to see this year is the incorporation of serviced apartments into hotel operations, to some extent.
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