WE STARTED business in a small complex called Al Faisaliah Complex in Riyadh,” reminisces Al Khozama Management Company’s managing director and acting CEO Abdulaziz Al Habib. “We continue to grow to this date - in the ‘brain-heavy’ asset line, as I like to call it.”
One of Saudi Arabia’s top 100 companies, Al Khozama has been a leader in developing, managing and investing in luxury commercial property since 1995. The company has the country’s first skyscraper, first multi-use complex and first 24-hour butler hotel to its credit. QUALITYThe core need in Saudi Arabia, and essentially the whole of the Middle East, is quality service,. Apart from a few pockets like Dubai, good quality service offerings are lacking in the region, he says. “We aim to provide the best service in hospitality, hotel management, facility management, property management and in ensuring that we get the maximum value for our investors,” the gentleman tells TTN in an exclusive interview. “So we’re investing, both on the hard side and the soft side. “We’re investing in people. In the next two years, my aim is to build a team that is second to none. “I’m hiring!” smiles the CEO. A recent report revealed that Al Khozama aims to make 5,000 hotel rooms in ten years, more than doubling its current inventory. “We’re expanding outside Saudi Arabia in terms of property management, facility management, overseeing investment, but hospitality-wise we’re sticking very much within Saudi Arabia. “This is because we have a mandate; some of our investors are strictly Sharia-compliant and keen to stay within the country. “And we’re not complaining – Saudi Arabia is a huge market. “We’re going to expand all over Saudi Arabia. A big project will be coming up in Jeddah – a resort in partnership with One & Only [the country’s first One & Only branded resort]. We don’t want to be all over the place, we want to be exclusive and we want to be unique in all our ventures.”MASSIVE INVESTMENTAl Faisaliah Complex in Riyadh is being renovated. “We’re putting SAR1.3 billion ($346 million) in upgrading the retail-hospitality-commercial complex. By 2016, however, the handover will begin for the five-star business-focused Al Khozama Hotel and the luxury property Al Faisaliah Hotel & Spa will follow the next year. “We will make Al Faisaliah Complex a destination for the Middle East, not just for Riyadh. We have hired top architects to change the face of the complex in the next 15 years. The year 2014 alone has seen the opening of the most exclusive, ladies-only spa in the Middle East, Al Faisaliah Spa by ESPA, open its doors in the heart of Riyadh, at Al Faisaliah Suites. Also in May this year, Manazel Al Ain Grand Hotel was signed. Al Khozama also signed two new upmarket hospitality properties in Al Khobar with Al Fahd Investment Company - the five-star deluxe Al Faisaliah Hotel & Spa and the Al Khozama Residence.“In Riyadh, currently we have an oversupply, but I believe the market will absorb all the rooms as Riyadh itself is growing, with its population increasing by about 4 per cent last year. “Out of seven million people in Riyadh, 5.7 million are Saudis. Most people don’t realise that unlike the other Gulf countries, where expats are more than locals, Saudi has a majority local population and that means that most of the demand comes from the locals. The expats are important, of course, but the locals have numbers on their side. ON DUBAISpeaking of expats, Al Habib used to work from Bahrain for some time and says that it was so convenient to go to Saudi Arabia from Bahrain and come back. But with problems happening in Bahrain, business moved to Dubai. “I got chatting with one of the senior guys and we discussed how Dubai has fed off the misery of everyone!” laughs the certified Black Belt in Six Sigma Quality Management. “On a serious note, Dubai has made the most of every opportunity thrown its way and I truly believe the direction here in Dubai has been very smart: be it in creative ideas, products or services. “I was here in Dubai when it was nothing and I see Dubai now; to create such a huge economy... I just love the leaders here! “They prove that there is no limit to creativity. The only limitation is the human mind – that’s the beauty of it,” concludes Al Habib. By Rashi Sen