AFTER a recent rebranding from Hilton Hotels to Hilton Worldwide, the company’s Mena arm has once again registered the best performances.
According to Jean-Paul Herzog, president, Hilton Worldwide, Mena, the Middle East continues to be the best performing region in the world achieving the highest occupancy, average room rate and revenue per available room thanks to the region’s geographical position, its mix of source markets, its growing importance as an aviation hub and the size of investments in the region.
“In Mena, we now operate 42 hotels with more than 14,000 rooms across 13 countries.
We introduced two new brands to the region – Hilton Garden Inn and Doubletree by Hilton, whilst signing a number of management agreements expanding our geographical presence tremendously,” said Herzog.
“We have experienced some delays to our projects in the upper-scale segment, but overall we are still on target. With any economic downturn there are also opportunities.
We are seeing great demand for our mid-market and focused-service brands and furthermore, developers are at an advantage thanks to reduced construction costs.”
Looking into 2010, the company will expand its footprint with 23 properties under development across the region and many more signings promised.
The Gulf will see more than 10 properties opening in the next three years and in 2011, the Conrad Dubai will open its doors.
In 2012 the company will launch the Conrad Bahrain on Reef Island, Manama, Hilton Doha Residence and Doubletree by Hilton in Al Khobar. Also signed are the Hilton Dubai Jumeirah Beach Residence and the Hilton Mina Al Arab Resort, Ras Al Khaimah.
The company also plans to open two properties in Jordan, the Hilton Amman Jordan Gate next year and Hilton Tala Bay Aqaba. The Hilton Marsa Alam Resort in Egypt is scheduled to open in 2011 and Hilton Beirut later.