Hotel construction in the Middle East is at “an all-time high” according to Lodging Econometrics, which found that the pipeline for hotel construction projects in the Middle East stands at 640 projects/181,890 rooms, a respective 6% and 4% year-on-year (YoY) hike, with the UAE, Saudi Arabia, and Egypt comprising the majority of hotel projects in the Middle East – of which 27% is accounted by Dubai alone.
According to the research firm, 345 projects/111,257 rooms are currently under construction in the region, with 160 projects/39,373 rooms to begin construction in the next 12 months.
Another 135 projects/31,260 rooms are now in the planning stage, and 42 hotels/10,793 rooms opened in the Middle East during H1 2019, with 59 rooms/12,418 rooms scheduled to open end-2019.
Hotel openings are forecast to reach 124 new hotels/37,233 rooms in 2020, growing to 139 new hotels with 38,270 rooms in 2021.
The UAE makes up the bulk of the Middle East’s hotel construction pipeline with 219 projects/61,781 rooms, followed by Saudi Arabia (217 projects/73,647 rooms) and Egypt (63 projects/15,353 rooms).
Dubai, with 173 projects/50,832 rooms, makes up 27% of the Middle East’s hotel construction pipeline.
Other UAE emirates notable for hotel construction at present include Abu Dhabi (16 projects/3,938 rooms), Ras Al Khaimah (14 projects/4,294 rooms), and Sharjah (14 projects/2,330 rooms).
Cities with the largest hotel construction pipelines sit in the Provincial region of Saudi Arabia with 63 projects/12,752 rooms.
Riyadh (60 projects/11,547 rooms), Jeddah (56 projects/11,566 rooms), and Makkah (38 projects/37,782 rooms) also feature in the list of the busiest cities for hotel construction in the Middle East.
Four of the top five cities with the largest pipelines are located in Saudi Arabia and comprise 34% of the projects and 40% of the rooms in the total Middle East construction pipeline, Lodging Econometrics said.
Hotel operators with the largest pipeline in the Middle East include Accor Hotels (106 projects/28,580 rooms), Marriott International (98 projects/22,401 rooms), and Hilton Worldwide (96 projects/26,638 rooms), with Marriott and Hilton both posting “record-high project counts”.
Accor Hotels has 19 Ibis- and 16 Novotel-branded hotels in its pipeline, while Marriott’s pipeline includes 21 Courtyard- and 16 Residence Inn-branded hotels. Hilton’s top brands in the Middle East pipeline are Double Tree – at an all-time high for projects and rooms, with 29 projects – and Hilton Hotels & Resorts with 24 projects, Lodging Econometrics said.
