Choice Hotels EMEA opens new property in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

Choice Hotels Middle East (CHME) and Seera Hotels, a fully owned subsidiary of Seera Holding Group and the largest publicly listed travel company in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, have opened a new property in Riyadh – Comfort Hotel Riyadh Olaya. 

The Comfort Hotel Riyadh Olaya has 88 guest bedrooms across eight floors. The hotel has three meeting rooms with conference capacity for up to 60 guests.

Strategically located in a busy area of Riyadh, the hotel serves as a great starting point to explore nearby local attractions including The Sky Bridge of the Kingdom Center, Tree Tower, World Sights Park, King Abdullah Park and the Boulevard Riyadh City.

Choice Hotels EMEA recently announced a refresh of the Choice Hotels EMEA branded guest experience including Comfort Hotels.  All refreshed Comfort hotels will deliver for today’s value-driven midscale traveller who wants the basics done brilliantly with exceptional convenience.  Exhibiting modern design, they will provide a warm, vibrant and friendly place to stay with energising casual spaces for socialising, relaxing, sleeping and working.

This opening is the third hotel of an agreement between Choice Hotels EMEA and Seera Holding Group to open at least ten hotels in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia within the next five years. The first two properties, Clarion Jeddah Airport and Comfort King Road Jeddah, opened in 2022.

Commenting on the opening, Choice Hotels EMEA CEO, Jonathan Mills said “Our master license agreement with Seera Hotels will see seven more hotels open in the Kingdom in the next five years. The first two properties, Clarion Jeddah Airport and Comfort King Road Jeddah opened at the beginning of 2022 and I am delighted that Comfort Hotel Riyadh Olaya has now joined our portfolio.

The new property has been designed with both a local and international audience in mind and I am sure our guests will be excited by its location and offering. Despite challenging times for hospitality, Europe and the Middle East have remained important growth markets for Choice Hotels and we maintain a firm focus on strategic growth that will drive brand preference and customer loyalty.

In addition to continued portfolio growth, our refresh programme of Choice Hotels’ EMEA brands, targeting a range of guest profiles and segments and informed by independent research of midscale traveller perceptions, is underway across the region. I look forward to welcoming more CHME properties to our portfolio in the future.”

Shuja Zaidi, Seera’s Chief Hospitality Officer said: “We are excited to open Comfort Hotel Riyadh Olaya catering to the ever-increasing number of travellers to the city. Through our master license with Choice Hotels EMEA, we continue to champion the travel and tourism sector of the Kingdom by building best-in-class hotels to serve the needs of discerning travellers, support the development of the hospitality infrastructure and drive forward the goals of Saudi Vision 2030.”

The opening of our latest hotel is the culmination of our continued efforts to develop a world-class hotel portfolio for our customers. With our ambitions to open at least seven more hotels in the next five years, CHME will expand the presence of Choice branded hotels across the Kingdom, with its signature offerings for a wide variety of travellers.”

Last year Choice Hotels EMEA embarked on a brand refresh with a re-energisation strategy focused on offering relevant brands that deliver value to guests and generate revenue for its franchisees.

Choice Hotels EMEA has five midscale brands for every guest need each with a distinct individual positioning. It is currently represented under the Clarion, Quality, Comfort and Ascend Hotel Collection brands. Comfort, Clarion and Quality are embarking on a refresh and the Sleep Inn brand, which is well established in other regions, has been newly introduced to EMEA. Plans for the Ascend Hotel Collection will be announced later this year.

Seera is at the forefront of travel and tourism recovery efforts in the Kingdom and beyond, and as part of the agreement, there are currently several identified projects for Choice Hotels brands throughout Saudi Arabia in various stages of development.