Hyatt to triple Saudi Arabia portfolio in five years

Hyatt said earlier this week that it intends to triple its portfolio within Saudi Arabia over the next five years.

It includes the debut of properties such as Miraval The Red Sea, as well as its entry into Madinah following the three signings of a combined 1,729 keys earlier this year, with plans to bring Grand Hyatt Madinah, Hyatt Regency Madinah and Hyatt Place Madinah to the city.

The forecast was made at the time of Hyatt sharing its Q1 2023 results which have demonstrated a strong growth within its Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) portfolio.

Hyatt said that there was a 256 per cent year-on-year growth in revenue across managed and franchised hotels in EMEA, which were “led by favourable results in the Middle East as well as Western Europe which benefited from strong international inbound demand.”

Within the Middle East, Hyatt expects to debut two lifestyle brands in Qatar across the next twelve months with the openings of Andaz Doha and Dream Doha. Those openings will grow the company’s footprint in Qatar’s capital by 50 per cent.

As of the first quarter of 2023, the EMEA region represents 10 per cent of Hyatt’s global pipeline.

Globally, Hyatt reported a net income of US$58 million in the first quarter of 2023 compared to a net loss of US$73 million in corresponding quarter last year. It added that comparable system-wide RevPAR increased 42.9 per cent in Q1 2023 compared to 2022 and adjusted EBITDA was US$268 million in the first quarter of 2023 compared to US$169 million in Q1 2022.

Mark S Hoplamazian, president and chief executive officer of Hyatt, said, “For the fourth consecutive quarter we posted record results that exceeded our expectations, demonstrating our unique positioning and differentiated model. We raised our full-year RevPAR outlook while maintaining our record level pipeline and industry-leading net rooms growth.”

Over the next 12 Hyatt will expand significantly into Africa too, with three of the core Hyatt brands expected to debut in Kenya, including the expected openings of Hyatt Regency Nairobi, as well as the first-dual branded Hyatt property in the region, Hyatt Place Nairobi, Westlands and Hyatt House Nairobi, Westlands.

Additionally, Hyatt recently announced the signing of an agreement to open a new-build Hyatt Centric Cairo West property too.

In December last year, Hyatt announced a pipeline of 13 anticipated openings within its luxury portfolio over the next three years across the EMEA region. The 13 hotels set to open include brands such as Park Hyatt, Andaz, Grand Hyatt, Thompson Hotels, Miraval Resorts and Spas, and The Unbound Collection by Hyatt. By 2026, these hotels will increase Hyatt’s luxury brand footprint by over 30 per cent in the EMEA region.

This article originally appeared on Business Traveller Middle East