“We are pleased that we were able to successfully conclude this transaction. It has always been our vision to diversify our business interests into the tourism sector. We managed to secure the right international partners in Top Toyo Investments and Hampton by Hilton,” says CEO of Afrirent Holdings Senzo Tsabedze. The interest in the venture will be held through Afrirent’s 100% wholly-owned subsidiary, Indalo Hotels & Leisure Management.

Afrirent Holdings also has fleet management, insurance and tracking businesses from which it generates more than R400 million a year.

This is the first focused service Hampton by Hilton franchise on the African continent. The development will have about 161 rooms and is well-positioned in the Sandton area. The construction phase of the project is expected to create over 100 construction jobs and 50 permanent jobs when finished. The project is expected to be completed by December 2020.

In terms of the arrangement, Top Toyo will develop the property, which will be managed by Indalo Hotels & Leisure Management through a franchise agreement with the focused service Hampton by Hilton Brand under the wider Hilton brand.  Hampton by Hilton currently has 2338 Hotels with 237 334 Rooms globally in operation with a further 585 Hotels comprising 74 127 rooms in their pipeline. This new South African addition to the brand will see Indalo Hotels & Leisure Management becoming one of the few industry players in the tourism space with Level 1 BBB-EE  – the others being Tsogo Sun, Sun International, Peermont and aha Hotels.

Tsabedze says the timing of the investment is perfect as the tourism sector is poised for growth. The sector is now the second largest in terms of job creation in the country's economy. This is according to the latest Tourism Satellite Account (TSA) released by Statistics SA.

“Our strategy is to become a major black-owned hotel management company. We intend to make more announcements in the coming months about other investments,” concluded Tsabedze.

About Indalo Hotels & Leisure Management 

Indalo Hotels & Leisure Management is a 100% black-owned subsidiary of Afrirent holdings which is venturing into the tourism and hospitality space within the African continent. Indalo Hotels & Leisure will become a “White-Lable” hotel management company or Third Party Operator “TPO”, which operates various hotel brands under franchise agreements. Indalo Hotels & Leisure will be headed up by Andrew Rogers, an industry veteran with over 27-years of hospitality experience in Southern Africa, and who has previously established similar ventures under The Cullinan Hotels and under hospitality management company, Extrabold, both having been acquired by Tsogo Sun. Rogers said that the benefit to developers and owners by making use of the TPO model is to have the local hotel operating management expertise alongside the global benefit of the international hotel brand.

Each site will be assessed to determine the ideal brand fit. Indalo Hotels & Leisure Management’s focus is squarely on corporate, conference and leisure tourism and travellers.  Ultimately, it will also include vehicle rental (through Afrirent Car Rental), accommodation, dining management and leisure activities.