Accor is widening its Saudi Arabia growth strategy beyond luxury hospitality as secondary cities create new opportunities for midscale and economy hotels.
The shift reflects an increasingly diverse Saudi accommodation market. While Riyadh, Jeddah and Makkah remain major development centres, emerging cities are attracting greater investor interest as tourism, business travel and domestic mobility expand across the Kingdom.
Accor can respond through its broad portfolio of more than 45 brands. Novotel and Mercure provide midscale options, while ibis, ibis Styles and ibis budget can address more price-conscious travellers.
For investors, these segments can create opportunities in locations where luxury supply may not match local demand. For travellers, meanwhile, expansion can provide wider accommodation choices across different budgets.
Saudi Arabia Becomes Important Accor Growth Market
Accor’s Saudi strategy forms part of a much larger global development programme.
At the end of June 2026, the group’s development pipeline exceeded 268,000 rooms across 1,595 hotels, representing an 11.4% increase. Accor has continued expanding across luxury, premium, midscale and economy hospitality rather than relying on one segment.
Saudi Arabia provides a particularly strong example of this diversified approach.
Luxury and premium hotels are growing alongside large midscale developments, allowing Accor to serve pilgrimage visitors, corporate travellers, leisure tourists, event delegates and longer-stay guests.
This gives the group flexibility as Saudi tourism expands into new destinations and travel segments.
Riyadh and Jeddah Strengthen Luxury Portfolio
Accor continues to invest heavily in Saudi Arabia’s largest urban markets.
Sofitel Riyadh Hotel & Convention Centre joined the capital’s luxury hospitality landscape in 2026 with 388 rooms and extensive convention facilities. Accor positions the property as a major destination for meetings, corporate travel and large events.
Jeddah has also gained a significant new luxury address.
Raffles Jeddah debuted on the Red Sea Corniche in May 2026, strengthening the city’s high-end accommodation offering with luxury rooms, suites, dining facilities, wellness services and major event spaces.
These developments demonstrate that luxury remains important to Accor. However, the company’s broader Saudi opportunity increasingly extends beyond the top end of the market.
Novotel Opens Midscale Growth Path
Midscale hospitality is becoming particularly important as investors examine destinations beyond established hotel hubs.
Novotel gives Accor a recognised platform for this expansion.
Novotel Makkah South Central is one of the clearest examples. The 2,058-key conversion project is designed to become one of Makkah’s largest midscale hotels, supporting year-round pilgrimage demand with substantial accommodation capacity and food-and-beverage facilities.
Accor is also advancing Novotel Dhahran Hotel & Residences.
The 334-key development combines hotel accommodation with a residential component and facilities serving business, leisure and extended-stay demand. Its positioning demonstrates how midscale brands can support cities where travel patterns extend beyond conventional short hotel stays.
Secondary Cities Create New Investor Opportunities
Saudi secondary cities could become increasingly important to Accor because they offer room for additional hotel supply across multiple price points.
Historically, much of Saudi Arabia’s internationally branded accommodation has concentrated around major business, pilgrimage and luxury destinations.
However, expanding tourism infrastructure is changing that pattern.
Cities outside the largest hospitality markets can require reliable accommodation for domestic travellers, government activity, corporate visitors, families and people travelling for regional events.
Midscale hotels may be particularly suited to these locations because they can combine recognised international branding with more accessible pricing and potentially lower development requirements than luxury properties.
Mercure can further support this strategy, while the ibis family gives Accor access to economy travellers seeking dependable accommodation without premium pricing.
Broader Hotel Choice Supports Saudi Tourism
The expansion of midscale and economy hotels could have important consequences for Saudi tourism.
A destination needs more than luxury properties to develop a balanced visitor economy. Different travellers require different room rates, service levels and lengths of stay.
More diverse accommodation can help destinations attract families, domestic visitors, younger travellers, small businesses and event participants who may not require luxury facilities.
New hotels can also create employment while generating demand for restaurants, transportation, retail and tourism services within developing destinations.
For secondary cities, recognised hotel brands can improve visitor confidence and strengthen their ability to host larger numbers of travellers.
Accor Builds Multi-Segment Saudi Growth Strategy
Accor’s Saudi expansion therefore represents more than a collection of luxury hotel openings.
The group is creating a multi-segment network capable of following tourism demand as it spreads across the Kingdom.
Luxury brands such as Raffles and Sofitel will continue serving high-end travellers, while Novotel, Mercure and ibis can expand accommodation choice in emerging markets.
With Accor simultaneously developing major projects in Makkah, Dhahran, Riyadh and Jeddah, the company is positioning itself for a Saudi hotel market that is becoming larger, geographically broader and more diverse.
As secondary cities attract investment and tourism activity, midscale and economy hospitality could become one of the next major chapters in Saudi Arabia’s hotel development story.
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