Kerten Hospitality

Marloes Knippenberg has once again been named to Forbes Middle East's Top 100 Travel and Tourism Leaders, recognizing the executives shaping travel and tourism as one of the region's fastest-growing sectors. Since becoming CEO of Kerten Hospitality in 2015, Marloes has led the group's expansion across the Middle East and Africa, including 4,000 new keys signed this year alone. Beyond Kerten Hospitality, she sits on the boards helping shape where the wider industry is headed: as Ambassador for the Sustainable Hospitality Challenge at Hotelschool The Hague, an advisory board member on the Sustainable Hospitality Alliance's Sustainable Markets Initiative Committee, and a board member of Arabian Travel Market. See the full list: https://lnkd.in/d-cYxV55 #KertenHospitality #ForbesMiddleEast #TravelAndTourism #Leadership #Hospitality #MiddleEastBusiness Forbes Middle East

Two sessions, one perspective. At Kerten Hospitality, we believe hospitality's future isn't about the room, it's about the whole destination people choose to keep coming back to. We build that through curated projects around our lifestyle pillars: community, wellbeing, art and collaborations. We brought that point of view to the Hospitality Leaders Summit yesterday, part of Hotel & Hospitality Expo Saudi Arabia 2026 in Riyadh. Our COO, Mina Anziani Wildhaber, made the case on "Understanding tomorrow's customer: Meeting changing expectations across hospitality." Our Senior Director of Projects & Operations, Maria Bou Eid, moderated "Beyond the hotel: Creating destinations people choose every day." More on the event: https://lnkd.in/gj67aDrf #KertenHospitality #SaudiArabia #Hospitality #LifestyleHospitality #HotelShowSaudi

A community room won't get your neighbours talking. A hotel lobby will. That distinction is at the heart of what our CEO Marloes Knippenberg explored on the Cityscape Global Podcast with host Olivia Kinghorst: why hospitality-driven spaces create connection in ways standard building amenities rarely manage — and how a brand earns its place as lifestyle hospitality gets more crowded. Worth a watch if you're thinking about what makes a space somewhere people actually want to be: https://lnkd.in/gDFTKAy3 #KertenHospitality #CityscapeGlobal #LifestyleHospitality

Wellness tourism has crossed $990 billion and is projected to reach $2.4 trillion by 2035 but the real shift isn't in the numbers. It's in what travellers now want: not more, but more meaning. The move is towards intentional wellbeing with radical simplicity over excess, digital detox over distraction and experiences shaped by place rather than a standard treatment list. With over a third of travellers reaching for their phones within five minutes of waking, the appetite to disconnect and be present has never been stronger. At Kerten Hospitality, this is how we think about wellbeing. At Dalila Spa of Dar Tantora The House Hotel in AlUla, it takes the form of treatments drawn from local traditions and the surrounding desert, soon deepened through a new partnership with Italian skincare house Lávika. These are some of the trends shaping wellness travel in 2026. https://lnkd.in/dpAxfgMs See how we think about wellbeing: https://lnkd.in/dvAYDNae #KertenHospitality #Wellbeing #WellnessTourism #Hospitality #AlUla #DarTantora #DalilaSpa

Innovation creates the greatest value when it strengthens human connection. At ITB India 2026 in Mumbai, our Chief Experience Officer, Antony Doucet, joined industry leaders for a panel on “Balancing Innovation and Tradition” — exploring how hotels use technology without losing sight of people, place and purpose. Antony’s take: “The key is to keep it purposeful. Technology should simplify, not complicate. Over-engineered systems that make basic things difficult can actually hurt the experience. Investment needs to be future-focused, improve the guest journey, and deliver a clear return.” This community-centric, lifestyle-driven philosophy is exactly what’s powering our momentum in India. Since entering the market this year with House Hotel, Cloud7 and HOSME, developer interest has only accelerated — and our first Indian property opens next month, the first of many milestones ahead. India remains a cornerstone of our global growth, and we’re just getting started. #KertenHospitality #ITBIndia #HospitalityInnovation #GuestExperience #LifestyleHospitality Antony Doucet

Jaume Puigdengolas Rey Kerten Hospitality’s Corporate Executive Chef since 2018 — the creative force behind our F&B portfolio, and the reason Joontos just found its second home in Kuwait. Now open at Ray Hotel by Cloud 7 in Mangaf, Joontos is a growing concept built on togetherness: hand-made breads, seasonal ingredients, global traditions through a local lens. “Wherever we travel, the moments we remember most happen around a table,” says Jaume. “Joontos celebrates those moments of connection.” It’s “bespoke at scale” — same soul, different identity per destination. The original, at Dar Tantora AlUla, earned a Bib Gourmand in the Michelin Guide. Kuwait is the next chapter in Joontos’ growth. As CEO Marloes Knippenberg says, Joontos is “rooted in people, place and genuine human connection” — food, for us, is never a standalone outlet. #KertenHospitality #Cloud7Hotels #Joontos #Kuwait #FoodAndBeverage #Hospitality

A proud moment for our The House Hotel Al Khiran. Our team has been recognised with four awards at the Haute Grandeur Global Excellence Awards 2026: •⁠ ⁠Leading Lifestyle Experience Hotel  •⁠ ⁠Leading Luxury Boutique Retreat  •⁠ ⁠Best Artistic Hotel Design  •⁠ ⁠Best Coastal Getaway Hotel Four wins across global and regional categories, a strong marker for the story we've been building in Kuwait since Al Khiran opened in 2021, and a direct reflection of the team's dedication, creativity and commitment to the guest experience, day after day. Congratulations to the entire team at The House Hotel Al Khiran, Kuwait, this recognition is yours. Abbas Rahal #KertenHospitality #TheHouseHotel #AlKhiran #Kuwait #HauteGrandeurAwards #GlobalExcellenceAwards2026 #LifestyleHospitality #BoutiqueHotel #AwardWinningHotel #MiddleEastHospitality

Art is becoming the Gulf's next great piece of infrastructure, and hospitality can't afford to treat it as an afterthought anymore. That's the case made in the latest issue of CEO Middle East Magazine by our Group Marketing & Communications Director, Giacomo Nicolodi. His argument, in short: art works best when it's part of a hotel's DNA from day one, not bolted on once the walls are up. He points to Cloud 7 in Rome, where an in-house curator worked with architects and local artists from the very first design sketches, so the collection belongs to the neighbourhood as much as it belongs to the hotel. It's the same instinct we try to bring to every Kerten property: let the place tell its own story, and build the art, and everything else, around that. Read the full piece in CEO Middle East, Issue 246 (pages 48–49): https://lnkd.in/d7_DWJJK #KertenHospitality #Cloud7Hotels #ArtAndHospitality #CulturalHospitality #LifestyleHospitality #ExperienceDesign #HospitalityDesign #GulfHospitality #CEOMiddleEast

Maria Bou Eid, our Senior Director of Projects & Operations, attended the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding for the Saudi Arabia Hospitality Ambassadors Program, part of a strategic partnership with hotels and resorts in Al-Ula Governorate. The program gives Saudi nationals on-the-job training within leading international hotels, building the professional, operational and leadership skills to shape the future of the Kingdom's tourism sector. The signing took place at the Ministry of Tourism's headquarters in Riyadh, in the presence of H.E. Abdulmohsen bin Mohammed Al-Mazyad, Vice Minister of Tourism. The MoU was signed with H.E. Engineer Razan Al-Aaed, Deputy Minister for Human Capacity Development. Also attending from Kerten Hospitality were Hassan Alhibishi, Hotel Manager of Dar Tantora The House Hotel, and Basim Alruhaili, alongside Cloud 7 ambassadors Salma Albalawi, Afkar Albuwi and Nawaf Najdi. At Kerten Hospitality, we're proud to support this initiative under Saudi Vision 2030, giving Saudi talent the chance to gain international experience across our hotels, from AlUla to Rome, through cross-training, cultural exchange and hands-on learning. Thank you to the Ministry of Tourism and everyone who made this possible. Together, we're investing in people and shaping the future of hospitality.

This July, Cloud 7 Residence Ayla Aqaba is no ordinary stay. We're thrilled to share that our Cloud 7 Residence Ayla in Aqaba has partnered with Pandora for an exclusive summer collaboration: Pandora on Cloud 7 - Summer Styled by Pandora. An upscale apartment within the property has been completely transformed from lobby to terrace into a fully immersive Pandora experience. Think soft ivory, blush sand, powder blue and warm gold tones inspired by the Red Sea coast. Every detail, from the furniture and lighting to the kitchen and bathrooms, has been reimagined to reflect Pandora's summer aesthetic. Lucky winners from Pandora's community will have the chance to stay in this one-of-a-kind branded apartment, with Royal Jordanian Airlines flying them in from Amman for the full experience. This is what we mean when we talk about building destinations that go beyond hospitality. Not just a beautiful space, but a co-created experience where two brands come together to offer something guests will never forget. At Kerten Hospitality, we believe the best collaborations happen when both partners bring their full identity to the table. Pandora on Cloud 7 is exactly that. Running all July in Aqaba, Jordan. #KertenHospitality #Cloud7 #PandoraOnCloud7 #SummerStyledByPandora #Pandora #Aqaba #Jordan #LifestyleHospitality #BrandedExperience #AylaAqaba