Makkah Towers is getting a $100 million refit

Ageing hotels in Makkah are common sights these days. The hotel supply base has aged across the city's major hotel brands, as well as its smaller hotels.

This becomes particularly noticeable when we begin to see new hotels being introduced. Additions to Jabal Omar in recent years with the likes of Address, Jumeirah and Rotana have raised the bar on hotel standards, and pushed older operators to reconsider the need for fit-outs.

The latest operator to introduce a renovation to its hotel room stock is Makkah Towers, with a $100 million (SAR 372 million) renovation underway.

Whilst Makkah Towers has proved particularly popular in recent months, with the introduction of Salt and Joe & the Juice on its lower floors, the same cannot be said for its hotel offering. Amongst the 25 major hotel brands operating close to Masjid al-Haram, all score 8.0 or above on booking.com reviews. The proximity to the Haram is one driving factor behind the higher reviews.

However, amongst these hotels, Makkah Towers' rating scores 8.0 out of 10, the lowest rating across the 25 major brands.

Therefore, the fit-out is aptly timed and can be expected to deliver a much-needed uplift to an ageing building.

In particular, the rise of new hotels in Masar over the coming years can be expected to apply pressure on existing hotels to not solely rely on proximity to the Haram for customer demand.