CAIRO: Global hospitality firm YOTEL will open the first hotel in Saudi Arabia’s floating port city OXAGON, located in the Kingdom’s giga-project NEOM, in 2025. The new property will also be the UK-based company’s first hotel in Saudi Arabia. The facility’s location will be at the heart of the integrated Research and Innovation district of OXAGON, and will feature 300 rooms with the company’s signature robotic concierge, motorized SmartBeds, along with more technological amenities. “OXAGON’s ambition to house hospitality assets where innovative design, sustainability and technologies converge, echoes our core values at YOTEL,” Hubert Viriot, CEO of YOTEL, said in a statement. Guests will have access to the brand’s signature multi-functional dining and co-working space, a 24-hour fitness center, and a café. The new announcement signifies YOTEL’s ambition to grow both management and franchised projects in the Middle East region, as part of its larger strategy to reach 50 hotels by 2025. “After a competitive selection process, YOTEL was the clear hotel brand of choice for the district, given our shared ambitions to focus on people-centric design, circularity and digital advancements,” said Vishal Wanchoo, CEO of OXAGON. In a marketing video released last week by NEOM, works were shown being undertaken in OXAGON, which is set to contain a cruise terminal and oceanographic research center. While speaking to Arab News at the World Travel and Tourism Council Global Summit in Riyadh on Nov. 30 Al-Nasr had noted that OXAGON also has all the potential to become a world-class tourist destination, where visitors can come and see how the future will be. “It is in OXAGON where all industries will be, and it is the port of NEOM. Yet, we would like to see tourists spending a day or two in OXAGON. They will see the future of industries in OXAGON. Everything in NEOM is built for the future era. We want them to come and see how future sea ports will operate,” said Al-Nasr.