MILLENNIUM & Copthorne Hotels, Middle East and Africa, has signed four new hotels in Saudi Arabia with Taiba Holding Company. The signing is part of the group's strategic expansion plan, with more than 10,000 keys in the pipeline. The expansion will begin with the reflagging of two existing operations in Madinah. The 208-key Millennium Taiba Hotel Madina and 484-key Millennium Al Aqeeq Hotel Madinah are located close to the Grand Mosque and will serve the religious tourism market. Another property – the 299-key Grand Millennium Hotel Madinah – is set to open in 2018 and will be located on King Faisal Road, within walking distance from the Holy Haram. The group will also introduce the Biltmore brand to Riyadh in 2018, following the launch of the Biltmore Bateen Marina Abu Dhabi, the first outside of Los Angeles. Millennium and Copthorne MEA president and CEO Ali Hamad Lakhraim Alzaabi said: We are delighted to enter into a partnership with Taiba Holding Company. We believe in working with strong developers and in Taiba we have one of the most recognised and respected corporations in the region. “This agreement is just the start of an extensive expansion within the Kingdom and across our entire brand portfolio, which covers not only the holy cities of Makkah and Madinah but also extends across the Kingdom into locations in the North, South and Western Provinces.” Taiba Holding Company managing director and CEO Adel Mohammed Saad Al Zaid added: “We are pleased to enter into an agreement for these four hotel projects with a global hotel operator such as Millennium & Copthorne. With international expertise and a sound understanding of the local market, we believe that Millennium & Copthorne will ensure the success of our properties in the Holy City of Madinah and in Riyadh. We look forward to a long term and fruitful relationship.” Millennium & Copthorne Hotels operates more than 120 hotels with almost 40,000 rooms worldwide. In the Middle East and Africa, the group operates 22 hotels and has more than 10 hotels due to open within the next year, with plans to operate 50 properties by 2017. — SG
