Dubai, United Arab Emirates, 6 May 2015: At the Arabian Hotel Investment Conference (AHIC) today InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) announced the signing of a franchise agreement for the first Holiday Inn in Tabuk with Dur Hospitality Company (formerly Saudi Hotels and Resort Co or SHARACO).
The 83-room Holiday Inn Tabuk is the first hotel to be developed under the master development agreement (MDA) inked between IHG and DUR Hospitality Company last year. The MDA will see a number of Holiday Inn hotels developed across KSA over the next five years, significantly enhancing the brand’s footprint in the Kingdom.
Located on Prince Fahed Bin Sultan Street, just three kilometres from Tabuk International Airport, Holiday Inn Tabuk takes the site of the current Makarim Tabuk Hotel. The hotel will mark the entry of Holiday Inn into the city and is slated to open after its rebranding this year.
At Holiday Inn Tabuk, guests will be able to choose from an all-day dining restaurant, coffee shop and lobby lounge. Ideal for leisure and business travellers, the hotel will have function spaces including ballrooms and meeting rooms, and feature leisure facilities such as a swimming pool, an outdoor tennis court and a fitness centre.
Pascal Gauvin, Chief Operating Officer, India, Middle East & Africa, IHG said: “2015 marks IHG’s 40th year in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia – an achievement made possible by the strong partnerships we have built over the years. The signing of Holiday Inn Tabuk is a great start to our new partnership with DUR Hospitality Company. This hotel will be our eleventh Holiday Inn in the country and we are truly delighted to be working with them to expand the brand in this key market.”
Eng. Abdullah Bin Mohammed Al-Issa, Chairman, Dur Hospitality Company, said: “Partnerships lie at the heart of our businesses, and as Saudi’s most established company in hotel and residential compounds development, our partners can always depend on us to shape the perfect combination of vision, capabilities, knowledge, skills and resources. Together with IHG, we have identified Tabuk, the gateway of northern Saudi Arabia, as an upcoming city to watch and it is timely for us to be adding a Holiday Inn hotel there. We look forward to working with IHG to identify more emerging cities across the country to develop more great Holiday Inn hotels for guests.”
IHG is one of the largest international hotel companies in Saudi Arabia with 24 properties (5,900 rooms) operating across three brands: InterContinental, Crowne Plaza and Holiday Inn. The company has nine further properties in the pipeline due to open in the next three to five years, including Hotel Indigo Riyadh King Abdullah Financial District (KAFD) which will be the first Hotel Indigo property in the Middle East.
There are currently 10 Holiday Inn hotels in Saudi Arabia and a further three in the development pipeline, including Holiday Inn Makkah: the largest Holiday Inn in the world with 1,238 rooms. Globally, there are 1,200 Holiday Inn hotels (over 221,000 rooms) open around the world, with an additional 269 hotels (more than 52,000 rooms) due to open in the next three to five years.
