Protea Hotels has set its sights on Angola as part of its ongoing expansion in Africa, says new group marketing and advertising manager, Nicholas Barenblatt.
 
He says Angola has become the local hotel giant’s next big focus area in Africa after Nigeria, where the group already manages 11 hotels. Other future growth areas include Botswana; Mozambique (starting in Maputo); further expansion in Nigeria; and South Africa, where Protea intends to bring more hotels into the luxury African Pride Hotels fold. The company already manages 130 hotels in nine African countries, with a footprint in Ghana, Kenya, Namibia, Uganda, Tanzania, Zambia, Nigeria and Malawi.
 
While Protea’s online bookings are seeing the biggest growth, Barenblatt doesn’t foresee a future where the company will be selling solely online. “We have the largest sales team of any hotel group in Africa and the trade is still a huge distribution network for us. We’re merely marrying what the trends dictate. Consumers still want human interaction but they are also becoming more web-savvy. So we have to provide an online platform that is relevant, a destination seller that offers real-time confirmation of bookings.”
 
He says Protea also has had to adapt its marketing strategy to a recessionary market where consumers are watching their pockets, want more product choice, more value; await specials and book at short notice.