IN RESPONSE to rapidly increasing business travel to Zambia, Protea Hospitality Group said on Monday it was expanding its Protea Hotel Lusaka.
As part of its African expansion drive, the group will add a large wing to the hotel. This will more than double it capacity from 100 rooms to 237 rooms.
While the group did not disclose the value of the project, it said the total value of its projects throughout Africa was about $100m.
Group sales, marketing and revenue director Danny Bryer said Zambia, "like many economies in Africa", was showing "phenomenal growth" and as business expanded so did the need for accommodation with a well-known hotel brand.
"Protea Hotel Lusaka’s prime position in the capital, as well as its superior accommodation and service offering means the demand is there to invest tens of millions of dollars in the creation of this large new wing."
The hotel, which also offers conferencing facilities for up to 80 people, expects to open its new wing in February 2014.
The extension of the hotel is one of several projects across Africa under the group’s Protea Hotels and African Pride Hotels brands. These include hotels in two new locations — Rwanda and Ghana.
In June, the group signed a deal to open a 25-room hotel in Kigali in the last quarter of 2013. Rwanda will be the 10th African country where Protea will open a hotel.
Group CEO Arthur Gillis said at the time Rwanda had shown "tremendous economic growth over the past few years". Further he said the country’s government was strongly focused on developing tourism because it recognised the sector "as one of the foremost economic drivers and the largest foreign exchange earner".
Protea Hospitality Group is one of many branded hotel groups looking to establish themselves as leading hospitality providers on the continent. Africa is being targeted thanks to its rapid economic growth relative to subdued economies in more established markets.
Earlier in July, the Carlson Rezidor Hotel Group announced its 50th hotel deal in Africa — the Park Inn by Radisson in Kigali.
According to research released earlier in 2013 by consultancy W Hospitality Group, companies leading the way in terms of African expansion are Hilton Worldwide, with 6,230 rooms in its African pipeline; Carlson Rezidor, with 5,947; Accor, with 5,165; and Marriott, with 3,900.
Hilton Worldwide’s vice-president of operations for Africa and the Indian Ocean, Jan van der Putten, said in May the company was targeting key capital cities across Africa.
