IHG Signs Holiday Inn Cairo Al Obour, 170 Rooms

Published on Oct 31, 2025, 3:19 pm CDT

3 min read

Key points

IHG signs Holiday Inn Cairo Al Obour under a management agreement with Al Ashraaf Developments
170 rooms including 11 suites, four dining options, five meeting spaces and retail
Location on the Cairo-Ismailia Desert Road offers fast access to Cairo International Airport

Impact

Opening Window: New capacity planned for a high-demand corridor northeast of Cairo
Business Travel: Proximity to industrial and commercial zones supports corporate stays
Leisure Stays: Airport access and dining mix position the hotel for short city breaks
Meetings & Events: Five venues add mid-scale meeting options for local firms
Brand Experience: Open Lobby design supports work, dine, relax use cases in one space

IHG Hotels & Resorts signed a management agreement with Al Ashraaf Developments to launch Holiday Inn Cairo Al Obour, a 170-room mid-scale hotel planned in Al Obour City northeast of Cairo. Positioned along the Cairo-Ismailia Desert Road with convenient reach to Cairo International Airport, the project targets business and leisure demand tied to the area's expanding residential, commercial, and industrial footprint.

Holiday Inn Cairo Al Obour

According to IHG, the hotel will offer 170 contemporary rooms, including 11 suites, four food and beverage outlets, five meeting spaces, and on-site retail. It is designed to the brand's next-generation specs, featuring Holiday Inn's Open Lobby concept that merges reception, lounge, dining, and cowork zones into a single, flexible space for guests to work, eat, or relax.

Location and access

Al Obour City sits on the Cairo-Ismailia Desert Road, a key artery that links the capital to its eastern growth zones and the airport. Placing the hotel here should ease airport transfers and connect guests to nearby manufacturing parks, wholesale markets, and new residential districts, which have been driving steady travel demand in the corridor.

Why it matters

This signing expands IHG's Egypt footprint while addressing a practical gap for mid-scale rooms with modern shared spaces and small-to-mid-size meeting facilities near the airport approach. IHG currently operates eight hotels across InterContinental, Crowne Plaza, Holiday Inn, and Staybridge Suites in Egypt, and reports a pipeline of 22 properties scheduled to open over the next two to five years, underscoring continued investment in the market.

Background

Holiday Inn's Open Lobby is a long-running brand design that replaces separated front-of-house zones with a cohesive social hub. The concept has been rolled out across the Middle East and other regions to improve wayfinding and encourage casual work and dining without rigid boundaries. For travelers, it typically means more plugs, mixed seating, and clearer sightlines between check-in, coffee, and casual dining.

What to watch

As project milestones firm up, look for an indicative opening window, operator details for the dining venues, and whether the meetings inventory will include any divisible ballrooms. Given the site's highway frontage and airport access, expect the sales mix to skew toward corporate, crew, and short-stay leisure, with weekend shoulder demand from residents visiting the capital.

Final thoughts

Holiday Inn Cairo Al Obour adds scale where Cairo's growth has been fastest, combining airport-friendly access with the brand's flexible Open Lobby, a useful proposition for short business trips and quick city breaks alike.