“All [four] will be opened under the company’s alcohol-free brand Rayhaan Hotels & Resorts by Rotana. The first two hotels are set to open in the city of Mashhad — a 362-room hotel in 2017 — followed by a 275-room hotel in 2018. In Tehran, Rotana will launch two further Rayhaan properties by 2018 — a five-star hotel with 194 rooms and a four-star hotel that will include 210 rooms. With the lifting of sanctions, we are sure that all developers and operators will be racing to secure their positions in one of the world’s largest untapped markets,” Kaddouri tells Hotelier Middle East.
One of the key opportunities is the lack of experienced hotel operators in Iran. Cristal Hotels is using this gap as the basis for its strategy, as Peter Blackburn, president and CEO of the group explains: “Importing the services of experienced hotel operators which have a knowledge of the region will enable Iran’s hotel sector to up its game in the short-term. This is where we see a role for Cristal Hotels, working with partners in the country.
“All segments look promising, especially mid-market and serviced apartments. There will be a lot of demand for business hotels too.”
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Abu Dhabi-based One to One Hotels is also keen to take advantage, seeing the destination as having as much potential as Iraq or Saudi Arabia. Philippe Harb, COO, One to One Hotels and Resorts stated that his company has been monitoring the Iranian hospitality market for the last few years: “It’s a large population reaching about 80 million people with a $106bn market cap, $100mn daily turnover with an underdeveloped hospitality market.
“With such a dynamic market, we are actively looking for strong partners to develop our brand categories. In terms of foreign direct investment, Iran’s government has provided a series of incentives under the Foreign Investment Promotion and Protection Act. These incentives, which are very attractive for foreign investors, include a 50% tax reduction on revenue, loan structure and eligibility of government capital, title deed and property ownership rights, up to 100% ownership in free zones, unlimited transfer of capital and dividends.”
Similarly, Dubai-based operator, Hospitality Management Holdings (HMH) is already engaged in talks with various developers and will be soon visiting the country to take discussions forward.
Laurent A. Voivenel, CEO, explains why: “The need for quality accommodation in Iran is immediate. The demand will go up tremendously with massive growth of oil and gas operations as well as other industries such as infrastructure, metals and automotive.
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