AFRICA – Hilton hotels and Resorts have reached the 100 hotels milestone after the signing of Hampton by Hilton Sandton Grayston, a deal which marks the first for the brand on the African continent in its centenary year.
A franchise agreement was signed with Afrirent Pty through its Indalo Hotels & Leisure subsidiary, a level one Black Economic Empowerment (BEE) third party operating company.
Patrick Fitzgibbon, Hilton Senior Vice President, Development, Europe, Middle East & Africa said; “With this being our 100th year, reaching the milestone of 100 hotels allows us to reflect on our rich legacy of pioneering tourism on the African continent but also to look to the future.
“We continue to step up the pace of our growth, especially in the mid-market segment which presents a tremendous opportunity as evidenced by the rapid expansion of Hilton Garden Inn on the continent since its debut in 2016″.
Indalo will be the operator of the 158-guest room Hampton by Hilton hotel in Sandton, the financial capital of South Africa. This mid-market property will join Hilton’s flagship upscale Hilton Sandton, offering additional choice for travellers to the district commonly known as ‘Africa’s richest Square Mile’.
Construction is scheduled to begin at the site on Grayston Drive in early 2020 with first guests set to be welcomed by mid-2021.
Hampton by Hilton serves value-conscious and quality-driven travellers at more than 2,500 properties across the world. It offers high-quality accommodation and amenities, such as complimentary WiFi, free hot breakfast, and a thoughtful service defined as Hamptonality, with guest happiness being the number one priority.
Hilton has enjoyed a rapid period of expansion in the focused service segment through the Hilton Garden Inn brand which has operational hotels in six African markets and a further ten under development. Hampton by Hilton is expected to compliment this growth and provide owners and customers with greater choice.
2019 has seen Hilton open four properties in Africa, entering three new markets whilst also further strengthening its multi-brand pipeline. These include; Canopy by Hilton Cape Town Longkloof, Hilton Kampala in Uganda and Hilton Kinshasa DR Congo.
Others are; Hilton Garden Inn Gaborone, Botswana, Hilton Garden Inn Kampala, Uganda and Hilton Garden Inn Mbabane, Eswatini.
It continues to establish its footprint in Morocco with the opening of Hilton Tanger Al Houara Golf Resort & Spawith the Hilton Taghazout Baydue to open in 2020.