Tourism leaders have voted international hotel group Le Meridien Hotels & Resorts the brand with the best working relationship with local owners.
The announcement came at the start of the Arabian Hotel Investment Conference in Dubai, and was the result of a survey of the 525 delegates. Le Meridien took 18 per cent of the votes, followed by Jumeirah International and Marriott (13 per cent) and InterContinental and Starwood (12 per cent).
InterContinental came top when asked which hotel brand would be the market leaders in the Middle East in five years with 17 per cent, followed by Starwood (15 per cent) and Marriott (12 per cent).
Meanwhile, market transparency was named the single biggest factor influencing the amount of foreign direct investment in real estate in the region.
More than three quarters of delegates believed that the current wave of hotel development and construction had impacted on the quality of infrastructure in Arabia.