Talking of big steps, I met Ian Carter and Matthew Hart of the Hilton International last Tuesday, only hours after the respective CEO and COO of the company had signed a deal to open the region’s first Conrad property in Abu Dhabi. Barely had the ink dried on the contract that they told me that the group aims to double its 34-hotel presence in the region in the next five years with its mid-range three-star properties set to make their debut in the future.
This comes fresh from the duo having toured the Middle East courting investors as well as having signed a massive 50 hotel deal in China and a mega property contract with development giant DLF (the same company that has just signed several multi-billion dollar developments in India with Nakheel) in India for a further 75 hotels. The pair also told me they have a gigantic 775 hotels in the global pipeline in the next three years, all signed. So much for tourism figures dropping off in the region and the rest of the world.
The hotel business has never been rosier.
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