Budget accommodation brand easyHotel is to expand its presence in the Middle East after entering into a partnership with a United Arab Emirates-owned investment group.
MAN Investments and easyHotel will built new hotels and convert existing hotels or office buildings in the UAE and Oman.
They expect to open an initial 600 rooms by 2017, with at least 1600 by the end of 2020.
MAN Investments has already secured land or properties for the openings in 2017, the first of which will be a 300-room property in Bur Dubai, the trading hub for the UAE.
"This flagship project will mark the start of intensive development under the new Master Development Partnership across these regions," it said in a statement issued today.
EasyHotel will enter into a franchise agreement for each hotel which will be developed. It currently owns three hotels in the UK and has a further 17 franchised hotels in Europe and one in Dubai.
The partnership with MAN was signed against a backdrop of continued growth in the UAE and Oman and in particular Dubai governmental support for the building of budget hotels, ahead of Dubai hosting the World Expo, Expo 2020.
The Dubai Ministry of Tourism is targeting growth of more than 30% in inbound tourism, to 20 million by 2021.
EasyHotel chief executive Guy Parsons said: "We are delighted to enter into this new partnership with MAN Investments.
"MAN has established a significant geographical foothold in the region in a number of business areas, many of which are targeted towards value conscious consumers, which makes them a great cultural fit for easyHotel. "With land prices currently at a premium, their capacity for speed and scale of development is impressive and a considerable competitive advantage.
"We expect the partnership to drive rapid growth for the easyHotel brand in the Middle East that should deliver further shareholder value. The partnership will greatly improve brand awareness in the Middle East, giving us a platform to consider further opportunities in the region."
A spokesperson for MAN said: "We are excited to be partnering with the easyHotel brand. We see a significant gap in the budget sector in the entire region. Currently there are no hotel brands offering a combination of great value and superb quality and we feel that easyHotel is perfectly designed to take advantage of this opportunity."
