Dur Hospitality signed a master franchise agreement with Marriott International at the Arabian Hotel Investment Conference (AHIC) 2016, on April 27.
Under the agreement, the first Courtyard by Marriott and Residence Inn by Marriott properties will open in Yanbu in Saudi Arabia, on a 7,467m2 land with an investment of SAR 87 million (US $23.2mn).
This project will be Marriott International’s first franchise agreement in the Kingdom. The hotel company's relationship with Dur Hospitality began in 1978 when the first international Marriott hotel opened in Riyadh.
Dur Hospitality CEO Dr. Badr Al Badr told Hotelier Middle East at AHIC: "We have enjoyed a very long and fruitful relationship with the Marriott group that has lasted for the better of 40 years now.
"Since then the relationship has been evolving, and it culminated with this master franchise agreement where I believe we are one of the first groups to work with Marriott under such a basis to franchise a number of hotels in Saudi Arabia."
These two properties will mark the first of many under an expansion plan charted for Marriott properties in Saudi Arabia operated by Dur Hospitality under the franchise agreement.
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Speaking to Hotelier, Marriott International president and managing director Alex Kyriakidis said: "We recently signed a beautiful Marriott and Marriott Executive Apartments combo in the Diplomatic Quarter in Riyadh [with Dur]. And today we are signing the first franchise agreement with them in the quality tier sector because we have trust in our partner's operating ability."
Kyriakidis added that for Marriott to sign a franchise agreement, it has to satisfy itself that the partner "not only has the ability to manage in accordance with the brand standards but they are someone we can absolutely trust and work together".
He praised the firm's chairman Eng. Abdullah bin Mohammed Al-Issa and CEO Dr Al Badr, and continued: "And there is nothing but trust and respect between Marriott and Dur."
He revealed the agreement means the two companies are working on how they can maximise opportunities in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
Dr Al Badr concluded: "Franchising is an excellent formula for us because we are a company that has been in existence for 40 years; we have a long history in operations. So we have the operational expertise. What we do need outside of Makkah and Madinah, where we have our own brand Makarem, is to attract business travellers who know these international names [like Marriott] so we would benefit from the reservation systems, the brand standards, but we do have the expertise necessary to operate the hotels - this is a win-win situation."
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