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H World International plans Saudi hotels development

May 2, 2025, 1:31 AM

Steigenberger Icon Frankfurter Hof. Hotel giant HWI will introduce multiple brands, including the renowned Steigenberger, to Saudi Arabia's growing tourism sector

Steigenberger brand focus
Potential in mid-market
Saudi top development target

H World International, a major hotel developer, will open multiple new properties in Saudi Arabia, including a branch of its 95-year-old Steigenberger brand.

“We are about to announce much more development in Saudi Arabia, specifically around Riyadh,” said Siegfried Nierhaus, the hotelier’s Dubai-based vice president and head of development for the Middle East, India and Africa.

Deutsche Hospitality, which has its headquarters in Frankfurt, rebranded as HWI in February last year following its acquisition in 2019 by China’s H World Group, the fourth-largest hotel company in the world by number of properties.

HWI already operates the IntercityHotel Riyadh Malaz in the centre of the capital.

It will announce a new Steigenberger, either as a Red Sea resort or as a city hotel, in Riyadh later this year.

“Steigenberger is our main target, but we have brands which are attractive to different destinations in Saudi,” Nierhaus said at the Arabian Travel Market exhibition in Dubai.

“We have nine brands to offer and we will see three different brands developing in Saudi very soon. This is all between mid-market and upscale.”

Knight Frank estimates that 362,000 hotel rooms will come online in Saudi Arabia before 2030, when Riyadh will host the World Expo, one of a number of large events planned that include the 2034 World Cup.

“We see a lot of potential in the mid-market development,” said Nierhaus, echoing comments made by other hospitality consultants, “so our Intercity brand will have a lot of attraction there.”

Nierhaus said the company also sees an opportunity for Intercity in secondary cities, which currently remain underserved. The kingdom is hoping to increase the number of annual tourists to 150 million by 2030.

He did not disclose H World’s internal targets for expansion in the kingdom, saying only that, outside of China, “Saudi is the biggest development market that we are targeting in the world.”