4000 rooms for Millennium & Copthorne in next year

Millennium & Copthorne, Middle East and Africa will expand its operating portfolio in the Middle East region with 12 hotels set to open in the next 12 months in UAE, Qatar, Oman, and Saudi Arabia, and will also debut in Georgia.

New Millennium & Copthorne properties in the Middle East will add over 4,000 rooms to the group’s existing operating portfolio of 26 hotels across the region in the next 12 months.

Millennium & Copthorne MEA President and CEO Ali Hamad Lakhraim Alzaabi said: “We are entering a very exciting period in the group’s evolution that will see us extend our presence across the Gulf region as well as in new markets such as Georgia."

He added: “We believe we are in a strong position to meet the needs of the market by offering global expertise alongside an understanding of the local market. These new openings bring us closer to realising our ambitious vision of having 100 hotels by 2020 and solidifying our position as a leading hotel operator in the region.”

The next property opening is Bab Al Qasr in Abu Dhabi, UAE, with 677 rooms and residences, private beach, a Moroccan spa, 16 meeting rooms and a grand ballroom.

The opening will be closely followed by Biltmore Hotel Tbilisi in Georgia this autumn, situated in the capital, with 216 keys.

Having already opened two hotels in Saudi Arabia this year, Millennium & Copthorne is set to take its total number of properties in the Kingdom to 10, with Millennium Hotel Jizan and Millennium Tabouk in the west, M Hotel Makkah, Kingsgate Al Safa Hotel, Kingsgate Al Henawy Hotel, all in Makkah, and a further property in Madinah.

A further two hotels are due to open in Oman, including the five-star Grand Millennium Muscat Hotel comprising 328 guest rooms, suites and apartments, in addition to the 164-key Copthorne Falcon Hotel due to launch in Muscat in early 2017.

The hotel chain is also set to extend its footprint in Qatar with the opening of the 232-key Millennium Plaza Doha, the group’s fourth hotel in the capital.

The new properties are expected to create employment opportunities across the region, with plans to hire 2000 employees over the next year to operate the hotels.