Kate

An audience with Lance Smith, Avis Budget’s Executive: Sales is always an hour or two well-spent, as one of the South African car rental industry’s most respected executives is a stickler for detail and numbers, always willing to provide a revealing snapshot into the state of his industry and the ‘road ahead’, as editor Dylan Rogers found, once again. It’s...

After a 17-year absence from African skies, Italian airline Alitalia recently reinstated direct f lights between Italy and South Africa. As of 8 April there are four weekly f lights connecting Johannesburg and Rome. Fabio Lazzerini, Alitalia’s Chief Commercial Officer, provides more information on the f light and the airline. Q: What was the business case behind the reintroduction of...

Apartment hotels are a growing trend worldwide and Africa is getting its fair share. On 5 April, Mövenpick opened the Mövenpick Hotel & Residences Nairobi in the Westlands district of Kenya’s capital city. Neelma Maru, Director of Sales and Marketing, offers more insight into the new property and Nairobi itself. Q: What was the thinking behind an ‘apartment hotel’ as...

BACKGROUND: The national flag carrier of South Africa, SAA services 56 local and international destinations from O.R. Tambo International Airport, its hub. SAA flights to Tanzania depart from Johannesburg every day, at different times and arrive at Dar es Salaam three hours and 20 minutes later. Return flights depart Dar es Salaam mid-afternoon and arrive in Johannesburg in the...

BACKGROUND: Marriott International acquired Starwood Hotels and Resorts in 2016, creating the world’s largest hotel company. You wouldn’t know it to look at the hotel – the property didn’t change its appearance at all; the acquisition influenced only the corporate segment. Members of the old Starwood loyalty programme still earn points and rewards and have access to the SPG...

InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) has announced the opening of the Crowne Plaza Nairobi Airport, located at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport. The 144-room hotel is three minutes from the terminals and offers a free pick-up and drop service to guests. Crowne Plaza Nairobi Airport has a fully-equipped business centre with high-speed internet and is run by a professional secretarial team who are...

Thanks to ease of access, an ambitious national airline, a growing hotel landscape, an active convention bureau, and a stunning conference centre, Kigali is starting to flex its muscles as an African business travel destination of choice. Kigali is the capital and largest city in Rwanda, located in the geographical heart of the country. It has been Rwanda’s economic, cultural,...

Paris is a well-connected European city and many view it as a less pricey alternative to the likes of the UK and Germany. If you find yourself headed to the French capital, you’re in for a treat, as Kate Kennedy discovered. America’s third President, Thomas Jefferson once said: “A walk about Paris will provide lessons in history, beauty, and in...

The African MICE space is evolving nicely, with organisers and suppliers under healthy pressure to take the industry forward and push the boundaries of what’s possible in this space, together with generally positive sentiment as it relates to the current and future spend in the sector. Reed Exhibitions – one of the world's leading event organisers with a portfolio of approximately 500 events...

AccorHotels has announced that it has signed an agreement with Mövenpick Holding and Kingdom Holding to acquire Mövenpick Hotels & Resorts. Mövenpick operates in 27 countries with 84 hotels (more than 20,000 rooms) and has a particularly strong presence in Europe and the Middle East. The group also plans to open 42 additional hotels by 2021, representing almost 11,000 rooms,...

April marked Birchwood Hotel and OR Tambo Conference Centre’s 20-year anniversary of being in hospitality and truthfully, it could not be more perfectly timed. The property and its facilities have never presented better aesthetics, service levels or overall offering. It feels as though the last 20 years have been building towards this very special time for the hospitality giant. From...

Did you know that over 50% of African citizens still need visas to visit their African neighbours? Only 24% of African travellers can get visas on arrival when travelling on the continent, and only 22% don’t require visas at all, according to the African Development Bank’s Visa Openness Index. As the growth in the economies of several African countries begin to...