UAE
independent hospitality brand signs agreement with Saudi-based Al Fahd
Investments to form JV hospitality company – TIME to operate hotels in Riyadh
and Al Qurrayat and provide consultancy services on hotel portfolio
TIME Hotels Management, has
signed a joint venture agreement with Saudi-based Al Fahd Investments today
(Monday 26 April) on the sidelines of Arabian Travel Market 2016, which is taking
part at the Dubai World Trade Centre.
Under the terms of the
agreement TIME will be given two properties to manage in Riyadh and the
northern city of Al Qurrayat. TIME will also be tasked with providing
consultancy services on behalf of the new hospitality entity.
“Al Fahd Hospitality has a
budget of over $600 million, to fund its present and future pipeline of
properties which currently consists of seven mainly mid-market hotels, which
are all due to open within the next two years,” said Mohamed Awadalla, CEO, TIME
Hotels.
Al Fahd has a very strong
background in development, construction and contracting in Saudi Arabia, pioneering
some 500 projects over the past 30 years and completing more than 300
properties during the past decade.
“Al Fahd Investments
decided to form a joint venture with TIME Hotels because we were very impressed
with the way they managed and grown their own branded hotels. They have exceptional
regional experience and recognise the international standards we must achieve,
for our hotels and apartments to succeed in the Saudi market,” said Ahmed Al
Fahd, Vice Chairman of Al Fahd.
A key aspect of the new venture
is that TIME will manage two new mid-market hotels, one in the Saudi capital
Riyadh and one in the northern city of Al Qurrayat, a strategic gateway,
situated 15 kilometres from the Jordanian border.
The 26-storey, three-star
King Fahd Road project in Riyadh has 96 rooms and suites, an all-day
restaurant, indoor/outdoor café, three meeting rooms and a health club. The
hotel is expected to open in June 2017.
The hotel is close to the
Ministry of Interior building, other government institutions and only a short
drive to the commercial and shopping districts in the centre of Riyadh.
Depressed receipts from
Saudi oil revenues has led some government departments and private companies to
reduce their travel expenses, driving corporate demand for more mid-market
hotels, a category traditionally neglected in favour of more luxury properties
- a recent Tophotelprojects report estimated that out of the 49,000 hotel rooms
under development in Saudi, many were in the mid-range category.
“Given the current
stalemate between OPEC members over production quotas, and short term economic
outlook, this trend is set to continue,” said Awadalla.
The second hotel TIME is opening in Saudi Arabia is in the northern city of Al
Qurrayat, in Al Jawf Province, situated 15 kilometres from the Jordanian
border, a major and historic market place. The four-star hotel, which is due to
open later this year, consists of 137 rooms and suites, an all-day restaurant,
Café, health club and two meeting rooms.
“More
significantly, Al-Hadithah Port is the largest and one of the most
important land ports in the Kingdom, located just 30 kilometres away from Al Qurayyat.
That crossing provides a strategic link to the neighboring countries of Jordan,
Syria, Lebanon and Turkey, as well as an entry point for pilgrims coming to
perform Hajj and Umrah from Turkey, Russia and Chechnya,” said Awadalla.
For more information, log on to www.timehotels.ae
Picture
caption: L-R Mohammed Awadalla, CEO TIME Hotels; Mohammed Harib Al Mazrooei,
GGICO, owning company of TIME Hotel; Ahmed Ibn F. Al Fahd, Preseident of
Hospitality & Hotels Sector, Al Fahd