The relationship between the owner and the hotel management chain is key in defining the success of a hotel, and it is even more ample in a volatile market such as the MENA. Hospitality News spoke to leading hoteliers and asked them about the way they assess investments in the industry in the region, how do they value and maintain their relationships with the owners in order to optimize ROI, their latest developments, as well as their future plans. We will be running these interviews across the coming days to share their insights.

Carlos Khneisser, VP, Development MENA & Turkey for Hilton

We’ve had a presence in the Middle East for nearly 50 years and now operate 42 hotels in the market.  We continue to see great potential here, reflected by the emergence of new source markets such as China and India, and expect to double the size of our portfolio in the coming years. With the number of visitors coming in to its main cities like Makkah and Dubai in particular now on a level with global destinations such as Paris, London and New York the market needs to continue to evolve to cater for this demand – and that means developing a more affordable or ‘midscale’ offering.  This is something we are committed to at Hilton having opened five Hilton Garden Inn hotels in the Middle East since 2015, and we are building on this by launching our Hampton by Hilton brand in the region with a 420 room property at Dubai Airport later this year.