The FINANCIAL — InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) has signed a 20-year management agreement with Al Khorayef & Sons Co for a 189-key Staybridge Suites hotel in Al Khobar, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. This will be the first Staybridge Suites property in Al Khobar and the third to be announced in Saudi Arabia, according to IHG.
Al Khorayef & Sons Co is a group of companies established over 50 years ago in the Kingdom with an International presence. The group is diversified into several industries including real estate development, petroleum solutions, manufacturing, trading and government contracting.
IHG is the largest international hotel group in Saudi Arabia both by number of rooms and number of hotels. Staybridge Suites Al Khobar joins five other IHG properties operating under three brands in the city, including InterContinental Hotels & Resorts, Crowne Plaza and Holiday Inn.
The entry of Staybridge Suites is timed to meet the rising demand for extended stay properties in Al Khobar due to its rising popularity as a regional and international business hub on Saudi Arabia’s east coast. The city is also home to many employees of Saudi Aramco, the world's largest oil company, and benefits from a high number of leisure travellers during summer and winter school holidays that prefer to stay in hotels that give them access to home-like comforts on the road.
The strategic location of the hotel on Al Khobar’s King Fahd Road also makes it convenient for guests travelling to the nearby cities of Damman and Dhahran. Once complete, Staybridge Suites Al Khobar will form part of a larger mixed-use development which will include multiple retail and food and beverage outlets.
The Staybridge Suites brand launched in 1998 and the first Staybridge Suites in the Middle East opened in Cairo in 2008, and in Abu Dhabi in 2009. The brand is across the Middle East with seven properties in the pipeline for the region.
IHG currently operates 24 hotels in Saudi Arabia, with nine hotels due to open within the next three to five years, according to IHG.
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