DUBAI, United Arab Emirates: StayWell Holdings have announced today the commencement of an aggressive expansion project as part of their global market consolidation strategy across key growth regions.

The ambitious expansion plan, which breaks ground in Q4 2022, comes on the back of rebounding international tourism experienced in the first five months of 2022, with almost 250 million international arrivals recorded, according to the latest UN World Tourism Organization World Tourism Barometer.

The medium to long-term expansion exercise will include setting up to deliver 250 hotels in key bespoke hospitality destinations in critical regions. These include the UAE, which ranked second among the Middle Eastern countries with the most international tourist arrivals, receiving 8.08 million arrivals in 2020, and the Asia Pacific region.

StayWell’s expansion in The Middle East, which has also been earmarked to get the lion’s share of new hotels and resorts, is crucial to StayWell’s growth strategy especially at a time when tourist arrivals in popular destinations in the region, including United Arab Emirates, Egypt and Saudi Arabia are predicted to grow substantially over the next few years. We already have 4 operational hotels in the region and would like to add our luxury brand The Prince Akatoki here very soon. With this strong and positive growth outlook, we plan to further expand our portfolio of hotels in the region over the next 5 years and we would like to double that soon.

Other key regions that have been identified for the hospitality chain’s further expansion include Europe, United States and South East Asia, which are considered high-potential markets.

According to the spokesperson, these markets are strategic for the brand’s growth and also fit in with the group’s overall hospitality offering diversification plan.

"StayWell Holdings have always been at the forefront of delivering value-driven hospitality services throughout their global destinations. Our expansion plan is designed to bring our bespoke products and services to a wider and more discerning target audience. Growth in South East Asia including Thailand, Singapore and Vietnam has been on our radar as our next growth frontier.” said Simon Wan, President and Director, StayWell Holdings.

The expansion project, which is expected to be completed by 2032, will primarily focus on an asset-light model with a major portion of the portfolio managed directly by the group. Most of the new properties will be spread across popular leisure destinations with great tourism potential.

“Our main focus is to establish a strong presence in the regions that are aligned with our expansion strategy. Besides offering unique experiences across all our hotels and resorts, we also want to contribute to the growth of the respective tourism sectors, which will increase our brand visibility and recognition in global markets. Our vision is to explore growth opportunities by converting operating hotels, look at operating management portfolios and in turn position StayWell as the go-to tourism partner,” said Rohit Vig, Vice President Development, StayWell Holdings. 

Growing the network
The group recently signed a new hotel brand Park Proxi in Egypt - a unique hotel offering more flexibility for hoteliers. In addition, the first hotel under the Park Regis evolved brand banner, Park Regis by Prince Deira Islands, was recently signed in Dubai, UAE.  According to Simon Wan, adding these new hotels to the StayWell stable complements the brand's existing network of hotels in the region.

Resort-style hotel Park Regis by Prince Deira Islands is poised to be Dubai’s iconic holiday destination, crowning the group's expansion exercise. Expected to open its doors for guests by Q1 2023, Park Regis by Prince has been designed to set the ultimate standard in guest experience.

The upscale and premium brand is a significant evolution of the reputable Park Regis Hotel brand, which first launched in 2006. Following its positioning statement "The World's Most Thoughtful Hotels", Park Regis by Prince is the latest offering in the company's impressive line-up of brands. Designed to be exceptional yet accessible, guests traveling for business and leisure can enjoy the tradition and luxury of a beautifully curated classic hotel experience, blended seamlessly with modern technology.

Prince Hotels & Resorts and StayWell’s combined brand offerings include The Prince Akatoki, The Prince, Grand Prince Hotel, Park Regis by Prince, Park Regis, Policy, Park Proxi, Prince Hotel, Prince Smart Inn, and Leisure Inn. Each brand offers guests quality experiences ranging from luxury to lifestyle through to midscale.