AccorHotels has signed a strategic management deal to develop 15 new Adagio aparthotels over the next five years in Saudi Arabia, strengthening its partnership with Saudi Arabian conglomerate Alesayi Group.

Five of the Adagio aparthotel projects have already been agreed upon and will be developed in Jeddah, Riyadh, Madinah and Jizan, with construction of the first hotel expected to start by the end of 2015.

Jean-Jacques Dessors, chief operating officer of AccorHotels Mediterranean, Middle East and Africa, said: “We are delighted to be partnering once again with Alesayi Group. We look forward to developing our Adagio brand with them. Saudi Arabia is a key market for us in the Middle East, and we are extremely proud to have 50 hotels committed in the kingdom.”

Sheikh Mohammed Omar Kassem Alesayi, CEO and president of Alesayi Group, said: “It was a natural next step for us to extend our relationship with AccorHotels, and to emphasise our commitment to bring branded hospitality facilities, offering quality we can rely on, to the kingdom. Accor’s Adagio is already Number One in its class and well-known among Saudi travellers to Europe.”

This agreement follows the strategic alliance formed between the two companies for a minimum of 10 ibis hotels in Saudi Arabia, signed in October 2013. Eight ibis hotels have been already secured in key locations in cities such as Riyadh, Jeddah, Makkah, Jizan and Al Khobar, totalling over 2,000 rooms.

The Adagio aparthotel brand, which was successfully launched last year in the Middle East to complement AccorHotels’ extensive regional brand portfolio, is a European leader in the market for medium to long-term stays.

Adagio aparthotels offer modern and spacious serviced apartments, providing the freedom of a home away from home, with the comfort of traditional midscale hotel services. This typically includes a 24/7 reception desk, lobby café and breakfast lounge, gym, dry cleaning services, space reserved for meetings, as well as a small shop carrying essentials and basic groceries.

So far, AccorHotels has opened four Adagio aparthotels in the UAE and Qatar and has 10 others under development in the region.

In the pipeline, AccorHotels currently has 32 properties under development across Saudi Arabia, bringing an additional 9,000 rooms and raising AccorHotels’ portfolio closer in line with its target of 50 hotels in the kingdom. In the Middle East, AccorHotels has 125 properties in operation and under development with close to 32,000 rooms.