Hilton to operate 50 hotels in Saudi Arabia by 2023

Global hospitality company, Hilton, will operate 50 hotels, comprising 15,000 rooms, over the next five years in Saudi Arabia, a senior company executive told Argaam in an exclusive.

"We will almost quadruple our number of hotels in the country through the opening of around 37 hotels we have in our existing pipeline throughout the next five years or so," Carlos Khneisser, vice president Development Middle East and North Africa, Hilton, said.

The expansion drive reflects the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE)-listed company's confidence in the growth potential of Saudi Arabia and its commitment to support the National Transformation Plan (NTP) 2020 as a part of Vision 2030.

Currently, the company operates 13 hotels in the Kingdom under five of its brands, including Waldorf Astoria, Conrad, Hilton Hotels & Resorts, DoubleTree by Hilton and Hilton Garden Inn. It will introduce three new brands - Hampton by Hilton, Embassy by Hilton, and Canopy by Hilton - over the next few years.

Unique offering

In March this year, Hilton signed an agreement with Shomoul Holding Company, a Saudi-based builder, to develop and operate four hotels, consisting of 1,400 rooms, in The Avenues – Riyadh. 

"Our relationship with Shomoul is long-standing and incredibly strong and the signing of these four hotels at Avenues – Riyadh is in addition to existing opportunities we have with them across the region in countries including Kuwait and Bahrain," Khneisser said.

“Having four of Hilton’s leading brands in one location from Waldorf Astoria to Hilton Garden Inn will give us a unique opportunity to appeal to a diverse variety of guests,” he added. 

Read: Hilton Garden Inn Al Jubail opens in Saudi Arabia

In addition, Hilton will recruit and train thousands of people to work in its hotels across the country, supporting the Vision 2030 goals of creating employment and opportunities for Saudi citizens.

"Nearly 50 percent of these people will be nationals who will be trained and developed into the leaders of the future through our own internal management programs,” Khneisser informed.

So far this year, Hilton has opened the two-tower Hilton Riyadh Hotel & Residences, comprising a 645-room and 221-apartment property, along with 133-room HGI Al Jubail.

Future opportunities

Khneisser revealed the company is in talks with investors to operate hotels in megaprojects such as NEOM, AlUla and Red Sea.

"We know that the developers creating these incredible projects will look to work with us and our suite of industry-leading brands to create truly world-class products in these locations,” he said.

Saudi Arabia's Ministry of Culture announced last month plans to offer residency to international artists - a move aimed to grow its cultural landscape. 

Hilton is extremely positive about the long-term travel and tourism prospects for the Kingdom, thanks to the government's various initiatives to propel business, leisure and religious tourism. 

"We see a number of strategies and drive that will encourage visitors to Saudi Arabia. Hospitality, in general, represents a major part of the 2030 vision, not only the expansion in the number of hotels, but also the development of the real estate and, above all, creating a platform of career development to the Saudi youth," Khneisser concluded.

Write to Parag Deulgaonkar at parag.d@argaamplus.com