Qatar’s Katara Hospitality has said its plans to renovate and extend more of its hotels.

CEO Hamad Abudulla al-Mulla told MEED on the sidelines of the Arabian Hotel Investment Conference (AHIC) that plans were progressing with the upgrades. “Most of our hotels are a little old. It’s time to do renovation.”

Work is under way or being planned for both its Qatar-based and international hotels. The company, which has 3,342 rooms in Qatar today, is spending “billions” of Qatari riyals on its renovation programme, Al-Mulla said, but would not provide an exact figure.

In Qatar, Lebanese consultant Dar al-Handasah has been appointed to produce a masterplan for the redevelopment of the Doha Marriott. Plans will include the renovation of rooms, a new parking lot and to extend some of the outdoor spaces.

“We have a lot of land [surrounding the hotel] and we don’t use all of it,” he said.

Renovation on the Ritz Carlton in Doha is already under way, with about half of the work completed. Work on Doha Marriot will not begin until the Ritz Carlton renovation has been finished. The scheduled completion date is the first quarter 2017, with Doha Marriott work expected to begin before the end of the second quarter.

He said initial work on the Doha Marriott may be for outside areas first, before moving on to interior areas, but would not give a date for when the work will be tendered.

“In two or three weeks Dar al-Handasah will submit their masterplan,” Al-Mulla said. “We need to review [the plan], evaluate it and study the concept. We have a partner and an operator. If both sides are happy [with the plan], we will go from there.”

Work is being phased both among the hotels and within hotels themselves, to avoid their complete closure. “We have limited hotel rooms in Doha, so we need to keep [as many] rooms [as possible] open,” he explained.

He said now was the right time to undertake renovations as business is quieter. “It’s the right time to start renovations, because business is a bit low. A lot of travellers have stopped and occupancy is a bit low. We have to focus on the future.”

Sealine Beach Resort in Mesaieed is also being renovated, with work expected to be complete in six months. Here work includes the construction of 20 seashore villas. Internationally, the Royal Savoy in Lausanne, Switzerland, opened in 1906, is also being upgraded. Work is due for completion in September and includes the addition of a new wing.