Shaza Hotels, an up and coming hotel brand, has recently acquired a membership of Global Hotel Alliance (GHA).

It is spreading its roots in the region with the opening of five hotels within the next 12 months. Chris Nader, vice-president, development, tells TTN, “The first hotel to open this year was Mysk by Shaza, Al Mouj in Muscat, marking the worldwide debut of its upscale brand. Mysk was launched in 2016 to fill a gap in the upscale market, especially in the GCC region, and several more Mysk hotels will soon be announced in markets including Dubai, Jeddah and Kuwait.

“The next hotel to open is our second property in Saudi Arabia, Shaza Makkah, just a few steps from the Haram and we look forward to welcoming our guests to the hotel within the next few weeks. Finally, the first half of 2018 will have us plant three new flags in Riyadh, Salalah and Doha.

“Shaza Salalah’s opening will be particularly interesting as the property will be our first resort. We have also been seeing a great deal of interest from investors in not only developing Shaza hotels in urban destinations, but also in resort locations where halal-friendly accommodation is in high demand.

“This appetite for resorts, for one, has encouraged us to look at South East Asia as a potential market for growth, and I am pleased to announce that we are currently in the stages of advance discussions for the management of two resorts in Indonesia.”