Bite

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 Management Company MD Lindiwe Sangweni-Siddo went from strutting her stuff at the Sandton Sun to launching her own company, becoming a Holiday Inn franchisee, opening the Soweto Hotel, and then taking up her current position, all in the space of about seven years. BT Africa editor met her for coffee in Sandton and set about picking her brain.

So, you get BCD Travel South Africa and you get Rennies Travel, which is now part of the BCD Travel global network. Two separate TMCs,...

It’s been a tough couple of months for the African aviation industry, with the effect the Ebola virus has had on African travel. Running an airline operation out of Nigeria also presents its share of challenges, according to Rodger Whittle, Arik Air Senior Vice-President, Standards & Specials.

Being responsible for the busiest airport in Africa is some responsibility. But, you wouldn’t think so, when first you meet Tebogo Mekgoe, the General Manager of O.R. Tambo International Airport.

Editor Dylan Rogers chats to the Regional Manager of Southern Africa & Latin America for Air Mauritius, Carla da Silva, about her views on what the industry should be concentrating on, and the role that government plays in the development of the aviation industry.

Did you know that KLM is the world’s oldest airline still operating under the same brand it started under? Or even the fact that the...

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.

Hilton Hotels & Resorts has a healthy African development pipeline of 52 hotels, and the group plans to enter 14 new countries over the...

Indaba Hotel and Conference Center operations director, Rob Mickel, pulls no punches, as he reflects on the state of the South African hospitality industry, the post-2010 dip, and the way forward for properties in a similar space.

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.

Legacy Hotels & Resorts is in a good space, with a diversified portfolio of hotel and resort properties that ensure the South African-based group...