Radisson announced the hotel group will add six new hotels to its African portfolio as it edges closer to having over 100 hotels across 32 African markets.
Two of the six hotels will be launched in South Africa and located in Johannesburg and Durban.
Radisson Hotel & Convention Centre Johannesburg will open by the end of 2020 and will introduce the group’s upscale Radisson brand to Johannesburg. Located on a private estate in Bredell in Kempton Park, the hotel has easy access to major highways joining Johannesburg and Pretoria and is approximately 10 minutes’ drive away from OR Tambo International Airport.
Park Inn by Radisson will also complement the national business circuit with a Park Inn by Radisson in each of the three major cities of South Africa.
It will be the first hotel within Dube Trade Port Special Economic Zone, which forms the heart of the first purpose-planned aerotropolis in Africa, around King Shaka International Airport. The 168-room hotel, scheduled to open in 2022, will have a lobby bar, rooftop all-day dining restaurant and rooftop pool terrace with eight different meeting & event venues.
Other properties to be introduced to Africa include Radisson Collection Hotel Bamako in Mali, Radisson Blu Hotel Abuja City Centre in Nigeria, Radisson Hotel Addis Ababa and Radisson Hotel & Apartments Accra in Ghana.
The executive vice president & chief development officer at Radisson, Elie Younes, said the group believed in Africa's potential.
"The addition of the six hotels, following the announcement of Radisson Hotel Saint Denis earlier this year, places us firmly on track to reach over 150 hotels in operation and under development across the continent within the next five years. The new hotel announcements include our debut in new markets, the introduction of additional brands and the strengthening of our presence in cities we’ve identified for scaled growth," he said.
The vice president, Development, Africa & Turkey for Radisson Hotel Group, Ramsay Rankoussi said it aimed to accelerate its presence across the continent through conversions, especially as liquidity remains a critical challenge.
"We have revisited our brand architecture to enable us to quickly integrate existing hotels to our network. This strategy will be reinforced as our brands continue to demonstrate a better value proposition to our owners. Following our revised strategy, we believe we are now geared in providing solutions to the investment community for every type of asset, every segment and at every stage, from funding to construction and repositioning," said Rankoussi.