Nick Pilbeam, Chief Commercial Officer at Cheval Collection

Breaking Travel News caught up with Nick Pilbeam, Chief Commercial Officer at Cheval Collection and put forward several questions on the company’s expansion in the Middle East.

BTN: How does the new Riyadh property fit into Cheval Collection’s wider expansion strategy in the Middle East

NP: Saudi Arabia is a key market for Cheval Collection. Our first property in the Kingdom, Cheval Ladun Living, is on track to open in 2027, and our newly-announced addition – Cheval Maison Sulaymaniyah – will be operational in 2028.

Both of these properties are partnerships with KSA-based Ladun Investment Company, enabling us to combine their local knowledge with our experience and brands to create projects which are successful for owners and guests alike.

BTN: What prompted the decision to deepen your presence in Saudi Arabia and how do you see demand for luxury serviced apartments evolving in the Kingdom?

NP: Cheval Collection is proud to support KSA Vision 2030, which includes promoting progress through tourism. Saudi Arabia’s unprecedented transformation in hospitality and tourism is raising the country’s profile as a destination for living and liesure and business travel, particularly in the luxury segment, which is what Cheval Collection is renowned for.  We are fortunate to already have loyal clientele in the region who we have hosted for many years in our UK and UAE properties. For them, Cheval Collection’s growth in the region represents the coming home of a familiar brand.

The serviced apartment sector in KSA continues to grow, with guests valuing the flexibility of a home-from-home product and investors appreciating the opportunity to own a luxury product with more agile operations than the equivalent hotel product. The evolution of the sector means that we no longer need to choose between the leisure and business markets but can enjoy both.

The Sulaymaniyah area – home to the new Cheval Maison – has significant investment in recent years, creating infrastructure to support it as a hub for economic activity with the added benefit of parks and green spaces to promote leisure and relaxation. This makes the location attractive to both our corporate and leisure guests. 

BTN: What learnings from the Dubai properties and the Ladun Living project are informing the approach to this new development?

NP: Our Dubai properties, Cheval Maison – The Palm and Cheval Maison – Expo City Dubai, have been a continued success since day one. Cheval Maison – The Palm opened in 2023 and, in its first year of operation, welcomed guests from 99 different countries who collectively stayed for almost 28,000 nights. This was a very strong base to work from with Cheval Maison – Expo City Dubai, which opened earlier this year and has also reported strong trading and an overwhelmingly positive response from guests.
We will be drawing on this success in KSA. But each market is different, so while Cheval Ladun Living and Cheval Maison – Sulaymaniyah will offer the same top-quality standards and amenities that our guests are accustomed to, the projects are being tailored to the KSA market and will each have their own unique character.  This is why we have chosen Ladun Investment Company and its unrivalled local knowledge and experience as our partner.

BTN: What early insight can you share about the vision for the guest experience and design direction for the Riyadh site.

NP: Cheval Maison – Sulaymaniyah is a new-build property with 150 luxury, top-spec, contemporary units, including studios and one and two-bedroom apartments. As with all of our properties, it will feature home-from-home living, comfort and service, along with a range of fitness facilities including a pool and gym. It also boasts a great location close to King Salman Park, one of Riyadh’s new mega projects, which offers excellent transport links, vast green spaces, cultural and sporting attractions and areas of natural beauty.

Cheval Maison – Sulaymaniyah will also be joining our other properties in the Cheval DISCOVERY loyalty programme in partnership with the Global Hotel Alliance, providing guest rewards and helping us hone our offering.

BTN: How does Cheval aim to differentiate itself within an increasingly competitive regional hospitality landscape?

NP: Serviced apartments have grown in popularity sector in recent years, and are now firmly established as mainstream when it comes to accommodation, because guests consider serviced residences alongside hotels and resorts when deciding where to stay.

Cheval Collection prides itself on offering a luxury product, supported by highly trained teams, which allows guests to live as they would at home, with spaces to entertain as well as spaces to live privately. This combination, honed from over 40 years of owning and operating, sets us apart.

BTN: Looking across your portfolio, how do you see the balance of growth between Europe, the Middle East and other target regions?

NP: The Middle East is a key target for Cheval Collection, and we are exploring a range of future locations and partners to help grow our footprint and enhance our brand presence in the region.  With increasingly strong demand from tourists and corporate executives in the Kingdom, we aim to open six or seven more hotel apartment projects there in the next three years.  As it stands, we have nine operational properties in London and two in Dubai, with plans for growth in both cities as well as other parts of the region.

BTN: What does this next phase of development signal about the evolution of the Cheval brand and your long-term ambitions?

NP: The launch of Cheval Maison – Sulaymaniyah strengthens our presence in the Kingdom, reinforces our commitment to expansion in the Middle East, and is a key milestone in our overall growth strategy.  We are continuing to pursue our global expansion through management contracts to drive growth and brand visibility across international markets. 

The opening of Cheval Maison – Expo City Dubai in March this year took our luxury apartment count to more than 950 across our entire project portfolio.  Between them, the two new properties in KSA will add a further 280.