Business Day Reporter

AIRPORTS Company SA (Acsa) has selected City Lodge to operate three hotels at its airports in Johannesburg, Bloemfontein and Port Elizabeth.

All three of the hotels, which will be developed at a total cost of about R290m, will be subject to long-term land and building lease agreements between City Lodge Hotels and Acsa.

Work on a 305-room, three-star City Lodge at OR Tambo International Airport — which will be the biggest hotel in the City Lodge Hotels group — is expected to begin early next year with completion scheduled for April 2010. The hotel will be built above the multi storey car park being built at the airport.

The hotel is one of a few hotel developments planned at or close to OR Tambo airport. Protea Hotels, in partnership with Comair, is planning a hotel on the airline’s land in Bonaero Park.

The other two City Lodge hotels will both be one-star Road Lodges, with their completion also expected before the middle of 2010. The Bloemfontein Road Lodge is expected to have 68 rooms while the Port Elizabeth Road Lodge is expected to have 90.

“This is an exciting new growth phase for our group and we are looking forward to providing hotel accommodation for both business and leisure travellers at these three airports,” said Clifford Ross, CE of the City Lodge Hotels group.

City Lodge opened it first airport hotel at Cape Town International a few years ago.

The development of these three airport hotels will boost the number of hotels to 52 and room capacity to 6318 by mid-2010 across the Courtyard, City Lodge, Town Lodge and Road Lodge brands.

Source: Business Day