RIYADH: In an effort to expand its hospitality portfolio in Saudi Arabia, a top official of hotel group Rotana announced five partnerships with the real estate development company Memar. In an exclusive interview with Arab News on the sideline of the Future Hospitality Summit in Riyadh on May 9, Guy Hutchinson, CEO of Rotana, said the additional rooms in Riyadh will increase Rotana’s portfolio by 618 keys. This is part of the company’s goal to reach 6,000 rooms over the following four years it operates across the Kingdom. Hutchinson said the projects are in various stages of completion, one is an existing property that they will almost instantly take over. “The other four are under construction and they’ll come into play at different points in time. But the first three or four will be there within 15 to 18 months,” the CEO said. Four of the hotels will be under the “Edge by Rotana” brand, while “Rayhaan by Rotana” will be the fifth. Hutchinson said: “The Rayhaan is a four-star property, a little bit more upmarket. It’s got banqueting facilities for weddings and events. And the Edge properties are more sort of a three- or four-star space, or a little bit more contemporary, a little bit more interesting, and it’s going to be very much that corporate traveler, and then for anybody who’s spending a weekend in Riyadh. But it’s going to be very business-focused,” he further explained. Hutchinson also stated that they will have projects coming up in Al-Baha, a city located in the Hejaz region of western Saudi Arabia. “We have a pipeline today of about eight hotels that are coming up in the Kingdom and we see that’s going to accelerate. We signed five at the beginning of this year, we’re going to see more and more signings as we go. The Kingdom is just really growing in terms of hospitality,” he continued. Hutchinson said that local talent contributes to the growth of the Saudi Vision 2030 and that it fuels this growth. “We have about 50 to 53 Saudi nationals in management development programs. We see this as being fundamental to success in the Kingdom. If you’re not developing local talent, if you’re not grooming and growing that local talent, you’re going to fall behind,” the CEO commented. “The hotel industry globally, historically, has always been seen as a school for hospitality, and that is very much what we see has been part of our responsibility here. We have the opportunity as a company to grow. In return, our contribution is to grow that talent and to grow that national workforce,” he concluded.