Introducing Ayara: A 50-hotel network across the Kingdom. Saudi conglomerate Abdel Hadi Abdullah Al Qahtani & Sons (AHQ) is setting up a 50-hotel network known as Ayara under a USD 1 bn agreement inked with US-based Patel Family Office, according to a press release. Under the agreement — inked at Miami’s FII Priority Summit — the hotels will be up and running by 2029.

Ayara aims to add 5k-7k rooms across “key economic corridors” and “emerging development zones” like Riyadh, Jeddah, Dammam, NEOM, and the Red Sea region, specifically serving corporate travelers and regional headquarters. The Patel Family Office is partnering with ATQ Hospitality Group (an AHQ affiliate) to launch and operate Ayara.

The pitch: Ayara is a vertically integrated platform that aims to bridge a gap in the Kingdom, where the surge in luxury hospitality has left a shortage in the corporate and business travel sector. By combining land acquisition, modular construction, and in-house manufacturing with hospitality management, Ayara plans to provide cost-effective and faster delivery.

Saudi Arabia’s hospitality market seems to be on the upswing, with recent entrant Brassbell Hospitality Group telling EnterpriseAM that the local tourism industry is on track for “sustainable double-digit annual growth,” late last year. Demand is expected to outrun supply especially in Jeddah and Riyadh, the firm said.

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