Capital Builds Hotels. People Build Hospitality.

In the lead up to the Future Hospitality Summit - FHS Saudi Arabia, taking place from 22-24 June 2026 at Mandarin Oriental Al Faisaliah, Riyadh, we asked several industry partners about what's next for hospitality investment in line with this year's event theme: "Where Opportunity Meets Capital."

Saudi Arabia is one of the most compelling hospitality stories in the world right now. The scale of ambition is real, the investment is flowing, and the pipeline of new destinations, properties and infrastructure is transforming how the Kingdom presents itself to the world.

As someone who has been in hospitality for over three decades, a lesson that has stayed with me is: capital builds hotels, people build hospitality. That distinction matters as Saudi Arabia enters its next phase of growth, and it shapes how I think about what the phrase "where opportunity meets capital" really means in practice.

The Kingdom has already surpassed 100 million visitors and is pushing toward 150 million by 2030. Tourism employment has crossed one million jobs. The fundamentals are strong. But the real test of any hospitality market is not just how quickly it can grow but how that growth translates into experiences that guests remember and return for.

What Makes a Hotel Perform

When I joined Rotana, I visited more than 70 hotels across the group, and I listened. I did this to understand what was working, what the teams were proud of, and where the gaps were. A business hotel in Riyadh, a branded residence in Jeddah, each requires a different operating approach, and a unique understanding of the guest. This is where I think the industry conversation needs to deepen. The financing, the architecture, the brand agreements, these are the significant preconditions. Yet a hotel that also operates with the right talent, the right leadership, and the right environment, is where long-term value is built.

Recent months have reminded the region that hospitality does not operate in isolation. An increasingly uncertain regional landscape since early 2026 has tested travel confidence and tempered demand across parts of the Middle East. The true measure of a hospitality business is not how it performs when conditions are ideal, but how it holds when they are not. Hotels that held their ground did so because of their people.

Saudi Arabia's sector demonstrated real strength through that period. Domestic demand held, religious tourism continued, and new destination investment did not pause. Operational quality is what protects asset value when market conditions shift. Capital creates the entry point, but people determine whether the investment holds.

The Talent Equation

Saudi Arabia has an advantage that is sometimes underestimated: a young, ambitious population that is increasingly choosing hospitality as a serious career. At Rotana, we are investing in that directly. Our Duroob programme creates structured pathways into the industry for local talent across our host countries, including Saudi Arabia, where it is becoming one of the most meaningful parts of how we operate.

When local people grow within the industry, they bring an instinctive understanding of the culture, the community and the guest. The results show in satisfaction scores, in team retention and in the consistency of the experience delivered.

Partnership as a Foundation

Rotana currently operates across Riyadh, Jeddah, Makkah, Madinah, Al Khobar, Al Jubail and Dammam, with properties in the mountain regions of Al Baha and Abha in development. By 2027, we will have 20 hotels in the Kingdom, spanning commercial zones, heritage districts and family travel hubs. That range of destinations demands a range of local relationships.

Hotels work best when they are embedded in their destination. In each of our Saudi properties, we work to bring local suppliers, food and beverage concepts, wellness partners and cultural experiences directly into the guest experience. This is not corporate social responsibility. It is how good hotels operate. When a local business grows because of its relationship with a hotel, it validates their product, expands their reach and keeps value inside the local economy.

 In 2025 alone, Rotana directed significant investment through our supply chain to homegrown businesses across the region, working with local producers across food and beverage, in-room experience and guest-facing services. We are applying the same commitment in Saudi Arabia, and as our footprint grows across the Kingdom, so does the scale of that impact.

Guests who feel connected to the place they are visiting return. Destinations that feel authentic sustain demand. For owners and investors, that is not a soft outcome. It protects occupancy, drives repeat business and strengthens the long-term value of every asset in the portfolio.

Where Opportunity Truly Meets Capital

The demand is growing. The ambition is clear. But opportunity and capital only deliver lasting returns when they are matched by the right people, properly developed and genuinely committed to the guest.

The best hospitality brands are built through culture, through leadership, through teams who know how to deliver and adapt. At Rotana, that conviction has shaped how we have grown across more than 35 years and 12,000 colleagues in the region. For investors entering Saudi Arabia’s next chapter, the question worth asking is not only where to place capital. It is who will be there, every day, to make it perform.