Christophe Landais, managing director, Accor Middle East, Abdulwahab Ahmed Saleh Kaki, vice president of Ahmed Saleh Kaki Sons Company, along with other senior executives of both companies pose for a group photo during the signing of management contract. French-based hotelier Accor has signed a management contract to develop the first Novotel hotel in Jeddah. The new hotel joins Accor's rapidly expanding Saudi network, which currently includes 12 hotels representing over 3,000 rooms. The management deal has been signed with Ahmed Saleh Kaki Sons Company, a family-owned diversified business group, Accor said in a statement. Christophe Landais, managing director, Accor Middle East, said: “We are pleased to join forces with our partner Ahmed Saleh Kaki Sons Company in this new business venture. We have a common objective to develop the tourism industry in the kingdom... we are rapidly growing our network in Saudi Arabia, which is a key market for us.” Accor has recently signed two new contracts for Sofitel and Suite Novotel in Riyadh, and has a pipeline totaling eight projects under construction in the Gulf kingdom. Novotel Jeddah is under advanced construction and is due to open by the end of 2013. It will feature 143 rooms and suites, a restaurant and lobby lounge, 350 sq m of meeting space, a health club and swimming pool. Abdulwahab Ahmed Saleh Kaki, vice president of Ahmed Saleh Kaki Sons Company, said: “We are delighted to partner with Accor, a trusted and globally recognized partner... we believe that together we can succeed in growing travel and tourism in Saudi Arabia, particularly in that mid-market segment that is so far not well served.” Two Novotel hotels are already operational in Saudi Arabia - Novotel Riyadh Al Anoud and Novotel Dammam Business Park, while Novotel Jizan Corniche is currently under development and is due to open in 2015. There are 10 operational Novotel hotels in the Middle East - four in Egypt, three in the UAE, two in Saudi Arabia and one in Bahrain. Accor's current portfolio in the region totals 59 hotels with 14,000 rooms and with Novotel Jeddah's recent signing, the Group has now 24 hotels in the pipeline representing 6,000 rooms. — SG
