Choice Hotels International is to introduce and develop three brands in the Gulf region.
As many as 25 Clarion, Comfort and Quality-branded properties offering 8,000 rooms will be developed across the UAE and Saudi Arabia by 2021.
The US hospitality giant has signed a master development deal with Dubai-based hotel developer Equinox Group and travel service provider Al-Tayyar Travel Group of Saudi Arabia to enter the region.
The move comes amid growing demand for mid-market and budget accommodation.
Dubai, Riyadh, Jeddah and Makkah have been identified as being undersupplied with mid-market hotels, with many existing properties operating independently and without brand affiliation.
Equinox Group president Shuja Zaidi said: “We believe that the next wave of growth and expansion in our region belongs to the mid-market segment.
“To prepare for it, it was only natural that we partner-up with one of the largest and most globally recognised experts in the space.”
This agreement is the fifth market expansion in the Europe, Middle East and Africa region Choice has announced in the last six months, having signed deals to co-brand 19 properties in Germany, Austria and Hungary under the Comfort and Quality names, and to establish hotels in Belgium.
Choice is growing its presence in Germany with new Comfort hotels in Frankfurt and Düsseldorf, and recently introduced its upscale Ascend Hotel Collection in the UK and France.
Turkey is another strategically important market where the company has three hotels in Istanbul and one in Kahramanmaras, and a growing development pipeline.