South Africa is in for a boom in new hotel builds, with both international and local brands planning a stronger presence in the country and beyond in the next five years or so.

The hospitality sector last experienced such a growth spurt ahead of the World Cup in 2010. Cape Town is the central focus of the expansion.

Global group, Carlson Rezidor, is particularly ambitious and aims to have 20 hotels open or under development in South Africa by the end of 2020.

Andrew McLachlan, Senior Vice President, Business Development, Africa & Indian Ocean for the Rezidor Hotel Group, told Tourism Update that South Africa was a key country for the group, which currently has eight hotels operating in the country, and a further five under development.

“Over the next 12 months we will open three of the five hotels that are under development,” he said. Among them is the very first Radisson Red in Africa, which will be in the V&A Waterfront, Cape Town, offering “an upscale lifestyle select 252-room hotel product with a focus of art, music and fashion”.

In addition, the group will open its fourth Park Inn by Radisson in Polokwane – an upper-midscale 160-room property. “Radisson is the brand we will take into the depths of the South African market,” says McLachlan.

The third property will be the group’s first hotel and apartment product in South Africa, a 23-storey, 320-room upscale Radisson Blu Hotel & Residence in Cape Town. It is expected to open in six to eight months.

A first for Radisson Blu is safari product, now in design phase.  The tented safari lodge with 120 luxury tents will be developed inside the Kruger National Park.

“The Carlson Rezidor Hotel Group is also in advance negotiations for more hotels across key locations within South Africa, which includes Durban and Pretoria, which we hope to announce during the second half of 2016 and bring to market within 30 months,” comments McLachlan.

Local chain, Tsogo Sun, is developing a 500-bedroom hotel complex in the Cape Town city centre on the corner of Buitengracht and Strand streets, for a total investment of R680 million, consisting of two hotels, a 200-bedroom SunSquare hotel and a 300-bedroom StayEasy hotel. Included in the complex will be banqueting and conference facilities. Expected completion date is September 2017.

“This investment represents our continued commitment to the area and brings the total number of Tsogo Sun rooms in the Cape Town city centre to over 2 000, which is very substantial indeed,” says CEO, Marcel von Aulock.

Sun International is set to open Time Square at Menlyn Maine in the eastern suburbs of Pretoria next year, an entertainment complex with five-star hotel that will become its flagship property.

Through its empowerment partners, Emfuleni Resorts, it is involved in a R1.3 billion (€74.2m) mixed- use proposal for further development of the Boardwalk Precinct in Port Elizabeth.  A hotel features as one of the options for inclusion and, according to Michael Farr, Group General Manager: Brand and Communications, there is sufficient space on the site. However, viability still has to be assessed.  Should the project go ahead, the hotel will fall into the three- or four-star category, so as not to compete with the existing five-star Sun Boardwalk.

At Emperors Palace Hotel, Casino, Convention and Entertainment Resort, next to OR Tambo International Airport, a R112m (€6.4m) expansion of the select-services, three-star Peermont Metcourt hotel by 100 rooms is currently under way, with the planned opening in December. Emperors Palace will then offer 757 rooms over four hotels.

The Peermont Metcourt was designed primarily for business travellers and convention centre guests, however the need has arisen to offer more family-friendly rooms and to cater for large groups on a budget, such as NGOs, sports and religious associations. The new king and twin bed configurations offer solutions for a variety of new markets.

Also due for opening in December is the R22m (€1.3m) 20-key extension of the Peermont Metcourt at Khoroni Hotel, Casino and Convention Resort in Thohoyandou.  The extension will add 18 rooms to the current 87. In addition, Peermont is upgrading other properties to the tune of R168m (€9.6m).

Premier Hotels recently announced plans for three new properties in the next five years, in Umhlanga, Fourways and Sandton.

The City Lodge Hotel Group has no new properties on the drawing board, and although it believes the market to be fully traded in most parts of South Africa, it continues to keep an eye out for expansion opportunities.  Most recently, it opened a 148-room City Lodge in Newtown, Johannesburg and a 90-room Road Lodge in Pietermaritzburg. 

While Protea Hotels has no new South African hotels in the pipeline, the addition of a 15-storey tower block at the Protea Hotel Umhlanga in the third quarter of the year will add substantial capacity to the beach resort. The project adds 119 bedrooms to the complement which will total 240 on completion. Conference facilities hold capacity for 150 delegates. Recently the group boosted the Protea Hotel Edward in nearby Durban by 30 rooms.

Last year Marriott International announced the signing of the first Marriott-branded properties in South Africa, in partnership with The Amdec Group, developers of the Melrose Arch precinct in Johannesburg. The 150-room Johannesburg Marriott Hotel Melrose Arch and 200-unit Marriott Executive Apartments Johannesburg Melrose Arch are expected to open in February 2018.