Saudi Arabia is one of the most exciting hotel markets in the region today. Under Vision 2030, new hotels are being planned from the Red Sea coast to Riyadh, alongside the long-established pilgrim hotels of Makkah and Madinah. I speak with more and more owners and developers in the Kingdom, and the same questions come up again and again. Here are the ones I believe matter most.
A business traveller in Riyadh, a family on holiday by the Red Sea and a pilgrim in Makkah want very different things. Before the architect draws a single room, decide who your guest is. Everything else – room size, restaurants, facilities, price – follows from that answer.
A market study is not a formality for the bank. It tells you what rates and occupancy your location can support, who your real competitors are, and how big your hotel should be. I have seen projects that would have been far more profitable with fewer rooms and better facilities. A good study pays for itself many times over.
An international brand can make sense in some locations. But many Saudi owners prefer to keep their hotel’s own name and control, while still having professional management. An independent operator gives you that, with fees linked to your results rather than to a brand.
The best time to involve your future operator is during design, not after construction. Kitchens, laundries, back-of-house areas and technology are far cheaper to get right on paper than to rebuild later.
Hotels are run by people. Recruiting and training a strong team – including Saudi talent – takes months, and it should be part of the pre-opening plan from the start, not an afterthought.
Our Chairman, Engr. Fouzi A. Bondagjy, has led travel companies with offices in Saudi Arabia for more than four decades, and our team has managed hotels in Egypt, Kenya and Greece. We help Saudi owners with market studies, pre-opening, hotel management and asset management.
If you are planning a hotel in the Kingdom, tell us about your project. I would be glad to hear about it.
— Maged Farid, Managing Director, LOOK Hotels International
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