Year-to-date, the company has added six new properties and is scheduled to add five more in the country – bringing its portfolio in the UAE to 59 properties and over 17,000 rooms across six emirates by the end of the year.

Two of the company’s openings this year feature regional brand debuts – the eco-conscious Element Hotels brand, which opened earlier this year in Dubai, and the EDITION brand, which is scheduled to open in Abu Dhabi later this year.

Fuelled by a strong demand for its diverse range of well-established lifestyle brands, each offering different attributes that cater instantaneously to an ever changing and evolving marketplace, the company plans to further enhance its footprint in the UAE with the addition of more than 20 new properties in the next five years. The company expects this development pipeline could generate over 5,000 new jobs in the country.

The design-led Aloft Hotels made its debut in Dubai with three new openings – Aloft Palm Jumeirah, Aloft Me’aisam and Aloft City Centre Deira – all within the first half the year. The company launched its eco-conscious Element Hotels brand in the region with the opening of Element Me’aisam. In the luxury space, the Ritz-Carlton brand opened its fifth property in the UAE – The Ritz-Carlton Ras Al Khaimah, Al Hamra Beach in Ras Al Khaimah. The company also took over the operations of the Yas Island Hotel, which is scheduled to be flagged as a W Hotel early next year – marking the debut of the brand in Abu Dhabi.

Building off the momentum of the first nine months, the company is gearing up to open five more properties by the end of the year. These include the Courtyard by Marriott Al Barsha; Four Points by Sheraton Sharjah – the company’s second property in Sharjah; Aloft Dubai South – the first hotel to open in the Dubai South district; The Abu Dhabi EDITION – the EDITION brand’s first property in the region; and W Dubai – The Palm.