Plan develop 25 new hotels in South Africa over the next ten years
ISO Leisure chief executive, Gavin Watson, said today that the group’s first new property, in Cape Town, would open 1st March.
ISO Leisure has an exclusive agreement with the InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) to develop Holiday Inn Express hotels in South Africa.
“Developed at a cost of R130-million, the 175 room Holiday Inn Express in St George’s Mall, in the heart of Cape Town’s revived and vibrant CBD, will be the first to open. This will be followed by the R112-million Sandton Woodmead in mid-June, Pretoria Sunnypark (R180-million) in March 2009, and the R200-million Umhlanga property in 2010.
“These projects total R622-million in new investment, and are indicative of our confidence going forward in the country’s economy, especially its leisure and tourism sector”.
Watson said that the group planned to develop 25 new hotels in South Africa over the next ten years, and was assessing opportunities elsewhere in Africa.
“Our four new properties will add 900 keys to the country’s stock of quality hotel rooms. We have three further projects in the immediate pipeline with a probable cost of R595-million, adding a further 680 rooms to our inventory. We expect to be able to make an announcement soon regarding these hotels.
“Holiday Inn is the world’s leading hospitality industry brand, and just four years ago, was voted South Africa’s top performing hotel brand. We have every reason to believe that our new properties, ideally located as they are in South Africa’s leading commercial and tourist centres, will be every bit as successful”.
Watson said that ISO Leisure’s partnership with IHG yielded both technical and operating assistance, as well as marketing support. This included invaluable access to IHG’s global network of reservation systems and the world’s leading hotel loyalty programme; Priority Club Rewards. Over 31 million people were members of Priority Club Rewards today and as Holiday Inn Express grew in South Africa, many more South Africans would be able to enjoy the rewards and benefits of Priority Club Rewards. Additionally IHG’s reservation systems would empower ISO Leisure to market its hotels and the destinations both domestically and around the world.
“The limited service sector will be increasingly important across the country over the next few years as the market matures and diversifies to accommodate a burgeoning new tier of traveller looking for a smart, fresh, welcoming place to stay, and of course, value for money,” he said.
