Hotel firms strive to offer familiar brands to U.S. travelers in Africa

Posted by Travel Weekly

Major international hotel brands have opened properties in Africa, as they say they see huge potential on the continent. This is good news for U.S. travelers, who tour operators report tend to favor familiar brands when booking.

"If you look at many of the bookings that the USA market makes online, I would say USA brand preference is a big consideration," said Craig van Rooyen, Tour d'Afrique.  He explained that many have a preferred status or hotel points with a specific chain that can be redeemed to either purchase or upgrade their rooms, and that does play a role in their decision-making when booking a hotel.

Onne Vegter, CEO Wild Wings Safaris, said that for certain U.S. travelers, brand recognition is hugely important, and they prefer to stay with trusted brands that they know. He is quick to add, however, that local brands are doing a splendid job of positioning themselves as trusted brands through building a strong online reputation, not least via the power of social media and review sites such as TripAdvisor.

One of the brands that is accelerating its growth strategy in Africa is Carlson Rezidor. In 2016, Carlson Rezidor Hotel Group opened five Radisson Blu properties on the continent: Radisson Blu Hotel Nairobi Upper Hill in Kenya (271 rooms); Radisson Blu Hotel, Marrakech Carre Eden in Morocco (198 rooms); Radisson Blu Residence with 187 luxury hotel apartments in Maputo, Mozambique, the group's first residence concept in Africa; the Radisson Blu Hotel Abidjan Airport Ivory Coast (261 rooms), West Africa's tallest hotel; and Radisson Blu Hotel 2 Fevrier in Lome, Togo (320 rooms).

Wolfgang M. Neumann, president and CEO of the Rezidor Hotel Group, said: "Africa is Rezidor's biggest growth market. Our group's total portfolio comprises 69 hotels in 28 countries, with over 15,000 rooms in operation or under development. Radisson Blu leads the way with more hotel rooms under development than any of the other with 85-plus hotel brands active in Africa today. Our ambition is to be the leading player in the travel and tourism sector across the continent."

Carlson Rezidor has also announced plans for its first Quorvus Collection in Africa, a five-star, 244-room, luxury Emerald Grand Hotel & Spa in Lagos, Nigeria. The group also plans a new Radisson Blu Hotel Harare in Zimbabwe with 245 rooms; a Radisson Blu Hotel in Durban Umhlanga, South Africa, with 207 rooms; and a Park Inn by Radisson in Quatre Bornes, Mauritius.

Marriott International is strengthening its brand in Africa, too, as the group has rebranded the Protea Hotels division that it acquired in 2014. The rebranding to Protea Hotels by Marriott also includes an updated and modernized logo.

"Consumer research conducted in South Africa in 2015 shows that the endorsement of Protea Hotels by a large, international brand company such as Marriott would elevate brand perception and preference, further supporting the strategic move to endorse the brand," said Alex Kyriakidis, president and managing director Middle East and Africa, Marriott International.

IN, OUT OF AND OVER AFRICA

Posted by Wag Magazine

After you’ve packed your suitcase and your passport, be prepared with one more thing before departing for a safari in Kenya — an answer to the question, “Aren’t you scared?”

Once considered the Gold Standard for safaris, the Kenyan safari has seen the number of visitors from America plunge over the past few years, according to the Kenya Tourist Board. People with experience selling African travel insist those fears are unwarranted.

“Kenya is safe,” says John Spence of Aardvark Safaris, a California-based travel company. But he acknowledges “It has struggled through tough times,” checking off violent events that were unrelated to tourism and far from the country’s many game parks. Even Ebola, a threat only on the other side of a vast continent, scared away visitors, says Old Greenwich-based safari specialist Diane Lobel of African Portfolio.

But, she adds, “We’re comfortable continuing to send clients to Kenya,” which is starting to see a resurgence in travel.

After two weeks exploring the capital city of Nairobi and visiting two of the nation’s premium parks, I noticed security in public places is higher than here in the States, where Americans saw 372 mass shootings, including 62 school shootings, in 2015.

One can view Kenya’s beefed up security, including metal detectors at the entrances to hotels and airport perimeter screening, as alarming or encouraging.

The rest of the world doesn’t seem to be worried about Kenya like the Americans. There’s a building boom underway across the East African nation, fueled by the construction of luxury hotels for business and leisure travelers.

City hotels tend to cluster in two areas. They’re situated near the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport, which is conveniently — if incongruously — at the north edge of Nairobi National Park. There the Ole-Sereni would be my choice, both for its stellar views of the animals and for its clubby, colonial-era décor. The hotel’s history includes two notable recent events. It was leased to the Americans after the 1998 bombing of the U.S. Embassy, and Prince William and Kate Middleton celebrated their engagement there in 2011.

Still, many visitors opt to stay in the chic suburb of Karen, named after Karen Blixen, the Danish writer better known by her pen name Isak Dinesen, whose brief and unlucky time there was the subject of the memoir and subsequent film “Out of Africa.” There former colonial homes have been turned into guest houses a short drive from the Karen Blixen Museum, the Giraffe Center, restaurants and galleries. I spent a half-day hiking the grounds of the Giraffe Center where the endangered Rothschild is being reintroduced into national parks. Nearby, the artists at Ocean Sole: the Flipflop Recycling Co. turn cast-off beach shoes into whimsical and environmentally-friendly souvenirs. And at Kazuri, a cooperative of local women transform Mt. Kenya clay into unusual jewelry and ceramics. But the bulk of Kenya tourism is about the wildlife.

Twenty years ago, trying to see more than one of Kenya’s 51 game parks and reserves meant a lot of driving as Kenya is the size of Texas. Now, several domestic airlines, Air Kenya and Safarilink among them, offer flights timed so that passengers can leave one park in the morning and be in another in time for an afternoon game drive followed by the obligatory sundowner.

I had the chance to see how ultra-high end travelers might do it, when I spent an afternoon flying over Maasai Mara National Reserve as the guest of  Scenic Air Safaris, which offers seven- and 14-day tours in an eight-passenger, luxury-outfitted Cessna Caravan. Pilots like Murtaza Walijee, with whom I flew, point out the sights as the plane flies at low-level over Kenya’s magnificent terrain.

“Flying safaris are very good,” Aardvark Safaris’ Spence says, because they can minimize transit time. He cautions travelers should be careful they don’t use the plane to cram too much into a trip, because it’s important to appreciate time on the ground. That’s where interaction with locals will happen.

Because Kenya’s been in the safari business for longer than many other African countries, it has “more diversity in terms of price points,” African Portfolio’s Lobel says, with accommodations and amenities that range “from motels in the bush to very luxurious individual units.”

The camps where I stayed — Tortilis Camp in Amboseli National Park and Karen Blixen Camp in Maasai Mara — were deluxe by my middle-class standard, with solicitous service, two game drives with experienced guides each day and three delicious meals, all priced between $450 and $650 a day. One can go higher, of course, with villa-sized camps complete with spas and game drives where guests are unlikely to encounter any other tourists while watching the lions hunt or the elephants frolic.

With all the information available online or from specialists like Aardvark and African Portfolio, coming up with the perfect trip won’t be difficult. Your only challenge will be explaining to your fellow Americans why their fears won’t keep you from a Kenyan safari.