{"id":123300,"date":"2026-05-20T20:42:40","date_gmt":"2026-05-20T17:42:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/syyaha.com\/?p=123300"},"modified":"2026-05-20T20:42:40","modified_gmt":"2026-05-20T17:42:40","slug":"fhs-saudi-arabia-pre-event-feature-hospitality-investment-outlook","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/syyaha.com\/en\/fhs-saudi-arabia-pre-event-feature-hospitality-investment-outlook\/","title":{"rendered":"FHS Saudi Arabia Pre-event feature: hospitality investment outlook"},"content":{"rendered":"

Riyadh, Saudi Arabia \u2013 20 May 2025<\/strong>. Saudi Arabia is set to deliver 358,000 new hotel rooms to meet rising tourism demand and prepare for major upcoming global events, unleashing a wealth of hospitality investment opportunities in the Kingdom.<\/p>\n

Future Hospitality Summit (FHS) Saudi Arabia<\/a>, taking place from 22-24 June at Mandarin Oriental Al Faisaliah in Riyadh, will bring together investors, developers, operators and policymakers at a defining moment for the region\u2019s hospitality sector. Positioned as the Kingdom\u2019s leading deal-making and investment platform, FHS connects capital with opportunity. The 2025 edition welcomed more than 1,100 industry leaders and generated over US$1.6 billion in business opportunities, reinforcing its role as a key deal-making forum. 254 investors attended FHS Saudi Arabia last year, managing $ 5.61 trillion in assets.<\/p>\n

In the run up to the event, seasoned hospitality leaders share key insight on the opportunities, challenges and priorities for KSA investment.<\/p>\n

With opinion from Dimitris Manikis, President, EMEA, Wyndham Hotels & Resorts; David Thomson, Senior Vice President \u2013 Development, The First Group Hospitality; Muin Serhan, Chief Executive Officer, Amsa Hospitality; and Dory Mouawad, Director of Operations at Ewaa Hotel Group.<\/p>\n

The outlook<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cKSA is a clear example of a market where tourism development is anchored by a long-term national strategy. Through Vision 2030, Saudi has created a roadmap for tourism growth, supported by infrastructure investment, regulatory reform and large-scale destination projects that expand tourism far beyond traditional gateway cities and create new hospitality markets,\u201d says Dimitris Manikis, President, EMEA, Wyndham Hotels & Resorts.<\/strong> \u201cWhile the region is currently navigating a period of uncertainty, KSA\u2019s long-term fundamentals remain strong.\u201d<\/p>\n

David Thomson, Senior Vice President – Development, The First Group Hospitality<\/strong>, is positive about KSA\u2019s hospitality outlook beyond 2026. \u201cExpo 2030 and Vision 2030 initiatives are creating sustained momentum. As a third-party operator, we are investing heavily in growing our brand footprint,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

The big opportunity<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/u><\/strong>While 75% of upcoming hotel rooms are in the luxury segment, a key opportunity for investment is midscale, experts believe.<\/p>\n

Muin Serhan, Chief Executive Officer, Amsa Hospitality<\/strong> says: \u201cThe biggest opportunity is scalable midscale in cities with real demand drivers. Well-positioned, efficiently operated hotels can deliver stable occupancy, repeat business, and strong returns without relying on luxury-rate assumptions.<\/p>\n

Dimitris Manikis<\/strong> echoes this view, pointing out that the midscale and upper midscale segments represent the deepest demand pools globally, because they serve a broad range of travellers while offering development economics that are more accessible for investors.<\/p>\n

For Dory Mouawad, Director of Operations, Ewaa Hotel Group<\/strong>, a big opportunity lies in extended-stay and mixed-use developments that capture long\u2011stay, corporate, and lifestyle demand with superior margins.<\/p>\n

The challenges<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Timelines and over-supply are among potential challenges facing the industry over the next few years according to David Thomson<\/strong>. \u201cLarge development pipelines require careful phasing. If openings cluster too tightly in specific spots, performance can be pressured in the short to medium term,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s a view shared by Muin Serhan<\/strong>, who adds that costs, timelines and staffing requirements can shift quickly, impacting returns more than most models assume.<\/p>\n

The evolving model<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

When it comes to the evolution of hotel development models, franchising is at the heart of Wyndham\u2019s model. \u201cWe are seeing strong momentum toward asset-light structures, particularly franchising, which allows owners to maintain control of their assets while benefiting from brand recognition, global distribution systems, loyalty platforms and operational support,\u201d says Dimitris Manikis. <\/strong><\/p>\n

Dory Mouawad<\/strong> also believes that models are shifting toward asset\u2011light, flexible agreements with lighter management contracts, performance\u2011linked fees, and selective franchising.<\/p>\n

The priorities<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/u><\/em><\/strong>Investors prioritise resilience, yield and growth potential \u2013 or a mixture of all three \u2013 in today\u2019s climate, experts say.<\/p>\n

Muin Serhan<\/strong> commented: \u201cInvestors still want growth, but they want it with resilience. They\u2019re prioritising assets that perform through different cycles, not only during high-demand periods. That means strong location fundamentals, operational efficiency, and brands and operators that can protect margins and maintain quality at scale.<\/p>\n

David Thomson<\/strong> adds: \u201cToday\u2019s investors are looking for resilient business models that can withstand market cycles. Yield remains important, but operational flexibility and long-term growth potential are increasingly central to investment decisions.<\/p>\n

The future-ready strategy<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Technology? Resilience? Sustainable ROI? What will a future-ready hotel investment strategy look like in 2030?<\/p>\n

For Dimitris Manakis<\/strong>, it\u2019s a combination of disciplined development, strong brand partnerships and alignment with long-term tourism strategies \u2013 like KSA Vision 2030 \u2013 while ensuring owners benefit from global distribution, technology and loyalty ecosystems that drive consistent demand.<\/p>\n

Muin Serhan<\/strong> says investors should back projects with proven demand drivers, flexible asset design, and operators who can protect margins, so performance remains strong in normal times, not only when markets are booming.<\/p>\n

Dory Mouawad<\/strong> believes a future\u2011ready strategy is tech\u2011enabled, demand\u2011diversified, operationally lean, and built for resilient long\u2011term cashflow, an opinion echoed by David Thomson<\/strong> who cites disciplined capital allocation and a clear focus on sustainable ROI where supply and market fundamentals are carefully balanced.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Riyadh, Saudi Arabia \u2013 20 May 2025. Saudi Arabia is set to deliver 358,000 new hotel rooms to meet rising tourism demand and prepare for major upcoming global events, unleashing a wealth of hospitality investment opportunities in the Kingdom. Future Hospitality Summit (FHS) Saudi Arabia, taking place from 22-24 June at Mandarin Oriental Al Faisaliah […]<\/p>","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":123302,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"jnews-multi-image_gallery":[],"jnews_single_post":[],"jnews_primary_category":[],"jnews_social_meta":[],"jnews_override_counter":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[74,15],"tags":[],"language":[],"class_list":["post-123300","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-travel-news","category-exhibitions-festivals"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/syyaha.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/123300","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/syyaha.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/syyaha.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/syyaha.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/syyaha.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=123300"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/syyaha.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/123300\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":123306,"href":"https:\/\/syyaha.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/123300\/revisions\/123306"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/syyaha.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/123302"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/syyaha.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=123300"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/syyaha.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=123300"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/syyaha.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=123300"},{"taxonomy":"language","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/syyaha.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/language?post=123300"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}