187 New hotels to open in the Middle East by 2027

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Jeddah, Saudi Arabia

The Middle East’s hotel construction pipeline hit an all-time high at the close of Q4 2025, setting the stage for 187 new hotel openings by the end of 2027, according to the latest data from Lodging Econometrics (LE). Saudi Arabia is out in front, accounting for more than half of all projects in the region’s record pipeline.

In total, the Middle East now has 710 hotel projects with 176,402 rooms in development, marking a 13% rise in rooms versus Q4 2024. Of these, 36 hotels with 10,104 rooms opened in 2025, with a further 93 hotels (18,511 rooms) expected to open in 2026 and 94 hotels (19,654 rooms) in 2027, signalling a steady uplift in regional room supply over the next two years.

Saudi leads the region by a significant margin, accounting for more than half of the Middle East’s total pipeline, with a record 394 projects and 106,521 rooms, up 25% and 28% year-on-year, respectively. This development is concentrated in key destinations, with Riyadh, Jeddah and Makkah all posting record or near-record pipelines fuelled by large-scale tourism initiatives.

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Riyadh has the largest city pipeline in the Middle East, with 107 projects and 20,936 rooms in development. Jeddah follows with 63 projects (14,358 rooms), while Makkah has 35 projects (22,829 rooms), underscoring strong religious tourism and long-stay demand.

Wider Middle East markets build momentum

Beyond Saudi Arabia, Egypt reached record highs with 140 projects and 31,104 rooms, up 17% in project count, while the UAE holds 104 projects and 25,459 rooms in its pipeline, reflecting continued diversification across key hubs such as Dubai and Abu Dhabi.

Oman follows with 28 projects (4,789 rooms) and Qatar with 11 projects (2,170 rooms), as secondary markets build out product to support leisure, adventure and business travel segments.

Cairo, Egypt

At city level, Cairo’s pipeline stands at 53 projects (11,258 rooms), while Muscat has 15 projects (2,479 rooms), pointing to sustained investor interest across North Africa and the Gulf beyond the region’s primary gateway cities.

Luxury and conversions reshape the landscape

Growth spans all chain scales, but with the luxury and upper-upscale segments particularly active as global and regional operators target high-yield travellers. Luxury projects reached 207 schemes with 45,780 rooms in Q4 2025, up 11% in projects and 6% in rooms, while upper-upscale rose to 168 projects and 42,376 rooms, up 16% and 14% respectively.

Upscale hotels account for 182 projects and 53,155 rooms, a 19% increase in projects and 21% rise in rooms, and the upper-midscale segment reached 61 projects and 16,248 rooms, up 24% in projects and 17% in rooms year-on-year.

Render: Wynn Al Marjan Island resort in Ras Al Khaimah

In Saudi, Egypt and the UAE, a wave of luxury and lifestyle resorts along the Red Sea and Arabian Gulf coasts is set to come online by the end of 2027. In Saudi, this includes eight new resorts on Shura Island and a cluster of wellness-focused properties at Amaala on the northwestern Red Sea coast. In the UAE, major openings include the landmark Wynn Al Marjan Island integrated resort in Ras Al Khaimah, with more than 1,000 rooms, along with new luxury brands debuting in Dubai such as Six Senses, Baccarat and Kimpton

At the same time, 81 renovation and brand conversion projects (19,772 rooms) were tracked in Q4 2025, up 37% in projects and 46% in rooms, highlighting owners’ focus on upgrading and repositioning existing assets alongside new-build growth to stay competitive as fresh supply comes online.

For more information, visit lodgingeconometrics.com