Industry comment

Faircity Hotels & Apartments was started nine years ago by Lukas van der Westhuizen and Gustav Holtzhausen – energetic entrepreneurs who brought fresh eyes and ideas to the hospitality industry. Not being limited by the approach of “this is how it has always been done”, they have been able to think outside of the norms to create an experience guided by guests’ needs and expectations. Van der Westhuizen took some time out to shed light on the company.

I have to say that getting new hotels open in Africa is so frustrating. I looked back at an article I wrote for Business Traveller Africa last year, welcoming the forthcoming opening of such hotels as the Noom in Conakry, Marriott in Accra, Four Points in Ikot (Nigeria), the Ramada Plaza in Lagos, the Kempinski in Accra and others.

The burning question on my mind today is: why are airlines still levying fuel surcharges when fuel prices are at an all-time low?

Hard Rock has chosen Lagos as its second city in sub-Saharan Africa to open one of its iconic Hard Rock Cafes. Okay, so Johannesburg beat us to it, but that restaurant is a long way away, and this one is right here, in Victoria Island, overlooking the Atlantic Ocean.

Despite its troubled financial situation, South Africa’s national carrier is making strides to recover its favourable standing. SAA spokesperson Tlali Tlali outlined some of the recent changes to the airline’s route map and fleet and updated Business Traveller Africa on the effect the oil price and exchange rate have had on the airline.

In its nearly 20 years of operation, Birchwood Hotel and O.R Tambo Conference Centre has made a name for itself as the go-to venue for large corporate or government conferences. But the times are changing, and so is this stalwart establishment. Kevin Clarence chatted to Dylan Rogers about what’s been happening at Birchwood over the last 18 months.

Since the outbreak of Ebola in West Africa in 2014, the region’s tourism business has taken a huge knock. While Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone were hardest hit, surrounding countries suffered a severe drop in visitor numbers last year. Thankfully, with infection numbers on the decline, life is starting to flow back into West Africa. But Ghana experienced a double whammy of a badly performing economy on top of the medical crisis. This is no reason to count the country out, however. Axel Hauser, General Manager of the Moevenpick Ambassador Hotel in Accra, is confident that despite these setbacks, Ghana has what it takes to fully recover, and is already seeing occupancy figures rise.

Robyn Christie looks back on her journey at ASATA and says her final goodbye.

Your friend in Africa - Ewan Cameron - talks about the future of commercial aircraft in Africa.