The EMEA president on where the luxury tier stands
Hilton has spent years adding luxury flags in Saudi Arabia. Its president for Europe, the Middle East and Africa now says the upper end of the market is largely built, and the next wave of demand will come from mid-market brands and franchise agreements.
“We’ve got Conrads, Waldorfs, Hiltons, Curios, and DoubleTrees coming out of our ears over there,” Simon Vincent told Skift. “But it’s the mid-market we want to build out, and that’s how, very often, markets evolve.”
Turkey is the template
Vincent pointed to Hilton’s Turkish build-out as the proof. The Hilton Istanbul Bosphorus opened in 1955. Hilton marked its 100th hotel in the country on 12 August 2026 with the 485-room Hilton Istanbul Airport, one of 14 Turkish openings scheduled for 2026.
The growth came through mid-market brands away from the big cities. Vincent named Hilton Garden Inn in provincial towns and Hampton in secondary cities. “They are the best hotels in most of those towns and cities,” he said.
Regional trading fell 30 percent
Hilton’s own figures show the pressure behind the shift. Middle East and Africa comparable RevPAR was $93.65 in the second quarter, down 29.5 percent year on year for the three months to 30 June 2026. Occupancy fell 16.1 percentage points to 53.0 percent. Average daily rate slipped 8.1 percent to $176.72. First-half MEA RevPAR was $118.09, down 15.0 percent.
Hilton’s key points for the quarter put a direct EBITDA hit of more than $20 million on the regional conflict, and guide the region to a full-year 2026 RevPAR decline in the high single to low double digits.
Europe ran the other way. Hilton’s European portfolio posted first-half RevPAR of $121.51, up 5.5 percent, the largest gain of any region. Second-quarter European RevPAR rose 4.3 percent to $143.28.
Signings and the pipeline hold firm
Development appetite has not tracked the trading decline. Hilton approved 42,900 rooms for development in the second quarter, taking its global pipeline to 541,300 rooms at 30 June 2026, up 6 percent on the year. The company added 24,100 rooms and grew net units 6.1 percent. Skift reported that Middle East signings rose in the quarter despite the conflict, and that the Saudi pipeline is holding firm as the Vision 2030 giga-projects are scaled back. Skift puts the EMEA footprint at more than 1,100 hotels with nearly 600 more in the pipeline.
Saudi Arabia holds the pipeline
Hilton announced on 27 October 2025 that it had passed 100 hotels trading and in the pipeline in Saudi Arabia. The company operates 21 hotels there with another 83 in development. The plans span 14 of its brands and add more than 22,000 rooms. Hilton put the combined investment from owners and investors at $8 billion, with nearly two-thirds of the pipeline already under construction.
The Kingdom’s chief development officer for the region, Carlos Khneisser, tied the pipeline to visitor demand. He said the Kingdom welcomed a record 32 million tourists this summer, against a national goal of 150 million visitors a year by 2030. Tempo by Hilton makes its Middle East and Africa debut in the plan at Tempo by Hilton Riyadh Al Narjis, expected to open in 2029 with 135 rooms under a partnership with Al Theeb Hospitality.
Waldorf stays managed, the mid-market gets franchised
Vincent tied the franchise question to brand type. Luxury flags such as Waldorf Astoria stay under Hilton management to protect the guest experience. Mid-market and budget formats carry a formula that suits franchisees. That split is the mechanism for the Saudi plan Vincent described.