Carlson Rezidor has launched Destination 2022, a five-year expansion drive that aims to grow its current portfolio from 78 to 120 hotels in Africa by the end of 2022.
Andrew McLachlan, Senior VP Business Development Africa & Indian Ocean, says the group will also introduce a new brand into Africa early next year. He declined to elaborate, except to say that the brand would be pitched between the Group’s Radisson Blu and Park Inn products.
Meanwhile the first alternative-style Radisson Red property is due to open at Cape Town’s V&A Waterfront Silo Precinct on September 12. There are plans to open 10 Radisson Red hotels in Africa over the next five years, in Johannesburg, Durban, Maputo, Nairobi, Addis Ababa, Luanda and Lagos.
In addition, three luxury Quorvus Collection hotels are under construction in Lagos, Abuja and Kampala. Ten Quorvus Collection properties are planned for Africa, including one in Johannesburg, to be announced in the next six months.
McLachlan says Carlson Rezidor’s accelerated growth strategy in Africa has seen the Group sign a new deal every 37 days and open a hotel every 60 days over the past two years. This has accelerated to a new hotel opening every 45 days this year. All Carlson Rezidor’s 78 hotels and 16 500 rooms in Africa are operated under management contracts. In general, 13% more hotels have been built in Africa over the past 12 months, totalling 417 properties under development at present, he says, 84% of which are under management contracts.
McLachlan says 77% of Carlson Rezidor’s current Africa portfolio consists of the market leader, Radisson Blu brand, and it will remain the largest, followed by Park Inn, with Radisson Red and Quorvus making up 15% of the mix. The plan is to have Park Inns in at least eight of the nine provincial capitals in South Africa, as well as multiple Park Inns in numerous locations in Angola, Mozambique, Tanzania, Kenya, Ethiopia, Nigeria, Ghana and Ivory Coast.
Positioned as a ‘lifestyle select’ hotel aimed at ‘Millennial thinkers’, the new Radisson Red in Cape Town will be an entry-level four-star hotel with a difference. “The brand is all about music, art, fashion and being tech-savvy,” explains McLachlan. “The reception is an art gallery with art rotated from the neighbouring Zeitz Museum of Contemporary Art Africa and the focus will be on showcasing South African music and design talent. There will be no reception desk as guests self-check-in with an app on their cellphones or tablet. They also use the app for keyless entry into their room, to watch movies, or order room service. The GM is called a curator. Staff are cross-trained to perform multiple tasks,” he says.
