South African Airways, Tsogo Sun, HRG Rennies Travel and Avis were the big winners at the third annual Business Traveller Africa Awards, held in association with Gautrain at the Maslow Hotel in Sandton, Johannesburg on the 2nd of September 2014.
SAA picked up the top award in two categories – ‘Best African Regional Short-Haul Airline’ and ‘Best African Long-Haul Airline’, whilst it lost out in the ‘Best Business Class’ category to Middle Eastern airline Emirates, which also picked up the ‘Best International Long-Haul Airline’ prize.
In the main hotel category, the ‘Best Hotel Group’ award went the way of Tsogo Sun, as it did in 2013, ahead of fellow nominees City Lodge, Legacy Hotels & Resorts, Protea Hotels, and Sun International.
Another repeat winner was HRG Rennies Travel, which edged out American Express Travel Services, BCD Travel, Carlson Wagonlit Travel, and Harvey World Travel in the ‘Best Travel Management Company’ category.
Avis also successfully defended its ‘Best Car Rental Company’ title, holding off the challenge of Budget Rent a Car, Europcar, Hertz and Tempest.
This year saw four new categories being contested – ‘Best Global Distribution System’, ‘Best International Hotel Group’, ‘Best Small Conference Venue’, and ‘Best Travel Credit Card Provider’ – with Travelport, Hilton, the Maslow Hotel, and Visa the inaugural winners in these categories, respectively.
As in 2012 and 2013, the Business Traveller Africa Awards also handed out the ‘Business Travel Personality of the Year’, which in 2012 went to outgoing Avis CEO and OUTA Chairman Wayne Duvenage, and in 2013 was awarded to Comair CEO Erik Venter. The 2014 recipient is the Association of Southern African Travel Agents (ASATA) CEO Otto de Vries, for the work he has done in challenging the recent changes to South Africa’s immigration regulations on behalf of his members and the broader industry.
De Vries took part in one of three business travel-related panel discussions at the event, with his discussion looking specifically at the industry implications of the changes to this immigration legislation. The other two looked at the state of the South African aviation and hospitality sectors, respectively, whilst there was also an exclusive one-on-one video interview with new Minister of Tourism Derek Hanekom, who was put through his paces by renowned TV news anchor and Business Traveller Africa magazine consulting editor Jeremy Maggs.
The Business Traveller Africa Awards was hosted by Future Group – the publishers of Business Traveller Africa magazine – in association with headline sponsor Gautrain, research partner TNS, corporate partners Bidvest Bank, Carlson Rezidor, ExecuJet, and Travelport, and display partners Hotel Verde, HRG Rennies Travel, Preferred Hotel Group, Air Mauritius and Fairlawns Boutique Hotel & Spa.
The full list of nominees and winners is as follows (in alphabetical order):
African Long-Haul Airline
- Air Mauritius
- Air Namibia
- Ethiopian Airlines
- Kenya Airways
- SAA (winner)
African Regional Short-Haul Airline
- Airlink
- Air Mauritius
- Comair (BA & Kulula)
- Mango
- SAA (winner)
Airport Business Lounge
- Bidvest Premier (ORTIA – International) (winner)
- Emirates (ORTIA – International)
- SAA Baobab (ORTIA – International)
- SLOW Lounge (ORTIA – International)
- Virgin Atlantic (ORTIA – International)
Business Class
- British Airways
- Emirates (winner)
- Qatar Airways
- SAA
- Virgin Atlantic
Business Hotel in SA
- Hyatt Regency Johannesburg
- Maslow Hotel (winner)
- Radisson Blu Gautrain
- Radisson Blu Sandton
- Michelangelo Hotel
Car Rental Company
- Avis (winner)
- Budget Rent a Car
- Europcar
- Hertz
- Tempest
Forex Supplier
- American Express Foreign Exchange
- Bidvest Bank (winner)
- Travelex
Global Distribution System
- Amadeus
- Sabre
- Travelport (winner)
International Hotel Group
- Carlson Rezidor
- Fairmont
- Hilton (winner)
- Hyatt
- Starwood
International Long-Haul Airline
- British Airways
- Emirates (winner)
- Lufthansa
- Qatar Airways
- Virgin Atlantic
Large Conference Venue
- Birchwood Hotel & OR Tambo Conference Centre
- Cape Town International Convention Centre
- Emperors Palace
- International Convention Centre Durban
- Sandton Convention Centre (winner)
Luxury Hotel in SA
- Michelangelo Towers
- One&Only Cape Town (winner)
- Oyster Box
- Saxon Hotel Villas & Spa
- Table Bay Hotel
Private Aviation Operator
- Bateleur
- ExecuJet (winner)
- Federal Air
- NAC
- United
Small Conference Venue
- Focus Rooms
- Maslow Hotel (winner)
- Radisson Blu Gautrain
- Radisson Blu Sandton
- Radisson Blu Waterfront
South African Hotel Group
- City Lodge Hotels
- Legacy Hotels & Resorts
- Protea Hotels
- Sun International
- Tsogo Sun (winner)
Travel Credit Card Provider
- American Express
- Diners Club
- MasterCard
- Visa (winner)
Travel Management Company
- American Express Travel Services
- BCD Travel
- Carlson Wagonlit Travel
- Harvey World Travel
- HRG Rennies Travel (winner)
Travel Sales Team
- Avis
- HRG Rennies Travel (winner)
- Pentravel
- Protea Hotels
- Tsogo Sun
Visa Service Provider
- MDS VisaPak
- ROSE
- Swiftline
- Visa International (winner)
- Visas Direct
The Business Traveller Africa Awards is an event for the South African business travel trade. The objective is to reward excellence in South African business travel and to acknowledge those brands/entities that have performed with excellence over the past 12 months. Future Group has partnered with global independent research company TNS to interrogate the industry, collate the results, and come up with the winners in each category.