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Hilton Worldwide is one of the big players in global hospitality with over 4,500 hotels in nearly a hundred countries. That portfolio is growing,...

Ed Frost believes the global airline industry is in as tricky a place as it has ever been since 2008. That’s off the back...

Along with the likes of Emirates, Etihad and Qatar, Turkish Airlines is one of the more aggressive airlines in the world, in terms of its growth and route network expansion. So, it seemed prudent for editor Dylan Rogers to join Johannesburg General Manager Muhammed Mehdi Tunc for a coffee and a Turkish Delight at WTM Africa in Cape Town, to get more on the airline’s African plans.

Amadeus Southern Africa has a new General Manager in the form of Scotsman Andy Hedley, with the former Head of Technical Business at Travelstart taking office in November – giving him just enough time to see what he’s in for, before treating editor Dylan Rogers to lunch at the Amadeus office in Johannesburg.

It’s been a year since Bidvest announced that it would no longer represent Budget Car Rental in the South African market, with Avis Southern Africa granted the brand representation. So, the time seemed right to pick the brain of Avis Budget Rent a Car, South Africa CEO Rainer Gottschick on all things car rental-related.

Hilton Worldwide is one of the big players in global hospitality with over 4,500 hotels in nearly a hundred countries. That portfolio is growing, with Africa very much part of that development strategy, including the roll-out of a host of mid-market Hilton Garden Inn properties, as explained by Africa & Indian Ocean Vice-President Jan van der Putten to editor Dylan Rogers over coffee in Johannesburg.

Sun International has always been a gaming group with hotels, but that focus began to blur with the emergence of some of the group’s more iconic properties. As a result, the last three years of introspection have brought the South African gaming giant back in line with a more clearly-defined strategy, as explained by CEO Graeme Stephens to Dylan Rogers in Johannesburg.

It’s been a year of change for Dreams, the South Africa-based outbound tour operator, with a new owner and a host of new products to now offer its customers. Erica Barrett remains head of the operation, but now also heads up Songhai Travel. She joined editor Dylan Rogers for a coffee in Johannesburg to explain the new structure.

Cruises International is nearly 25 years old, with CEO George Argyropoulos making the move from Greece and starting the company in 1992, with the sole purpose of marketing and selling cruise holidays, conferences and incentives.

Such is the diverse nature of travel management, that to be too prescriptive in terms of what one expects from a chat with two senior level TMC execs, is to run the risk of shutting oneself off from an array of interesting thoughts on a wide range of topics. So it proved over coffee in Johannesburg, with Morne du Preez and Claude Vankeirsbilck holding court on everything TMC-related.

Birchwood Hotel & OR Tambo Conference Centre is currently not where it should be, performance-wise, according to director and original owner Kevin Clarence. But Clarence is also confident that he can turn one of South Africa’s largest conference facilities around, as explained over coffee to editor Dylan Rogers in Johannesburg.

Legacy Hotels & Resorts is a South African hotel group with a host of 4- and 5-star properties, and even though the group’s portfolio includes a selection of resorts and lodges, corporate travel remains its priority, as Managing Director Paddy Brearley explained to editor Dylan Rogers over a coffee at Legacy’s Michelangelo Hotel in Sandton.