THE Wyndham Hotel Group continues its expansion in the Middle East with the signing of agreements for the Wyndham Riyadh, Saudi Arabia and the Ramada Encore Doha, Qatar, both firsts in the region.
The announcement follows the signing of the five-star, Ramada Plaza Makkah hotel, the brand’s third property in the Holy City, and its opening of the Ramada Downtown Burj Dubai.
Bani Haddad, vice president of development Mena for Wyndham Hotel group said: “In most markets, because of our brand name, we still have very competitive occupancies and average room rates, especially in this region where the brand is very strong.
“The biggest decline has been in Dubai in percentages, but the revenue per available room is still at a decent rate and we expect Doha and Dubai to be among the first markets to recover.
“This is evident in our newly opened Ramada Downtown Burj Dubai, which is already picking up on occupancies. We have a huge demand from the corporate market and long-stays and that is what we are targeting.”
The Wyndham Riyadh, expected to open during the third quarter of 2011, will be the first Wyndham Hotel to open in the region. The brand is positioned as upscale five-star.
The Ramada Encore, Doha, another first in the region, is expected to open in the second quarter of 2010. “Encore is our mid-scale brand, very contemporary and modern. The property will also be the first branded budget hotel to open in Doha,” said Haddad.
The company will also open a Ramada at the Jumeirah Beach Residence and two properties in Abu Dhabi. “We opened out first property in Beirut last year; we have also expanded our presence in Morocco with two properties in Marrakesh and Taiz. We are actively looking for new partners to open more Wyndham hotels, the focus for the Wyndham brand is key cities, whereas the Encore brand fits in well with business parks and airports,” Haddad concluded.