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Thai Hotel Group Expanding In Africa, Partnering With Sun City

Thai Hotel Group Expanding In Africa, Partnering With Sun City

Thailand-based Minor Hotel Group has partnered with Sun International to expand hotel and casino operations in Africa, including owning and operating eight properties in five African countries, TravelDaily reports.

Sun International is a resort hotel and casino chain created by South African Sol Kerzner. Its flagship property is Sun City Resort near Rustenburg in the North West Province.  

The idea is for Minor Hotel Group to manage the hotels and Sun International to manage the casinos, said Minor CEO Dillip Rajakarier in the TravelDaily report.

Minor Hotel Group is taking over over management of the 196-room Gaborone Sun in Botswana. It has invested $63.9 million US to buy a 50-percent stake in two Zambian properties; 37.5-to-80-percent stakes in six other properties – one each in Botswana and Namibia; and two properties in Lesotho and Swaziland.

The Thailand-based hotel group already has ownership stakes in eight luxury safari lodges and resorts in Kenya and Tanzania, and five hotels in Mozambique, known as the Elewana Collection.

The majority of properties in the Sun partnership will become Minor Hotel Group’s upscale AVANI brand, bringing the total number of properties it has in operation in 19 countries to 118.

Minor Hotel Group will take over hotel management, marketing and distribution of properties under its AVANI and Anantara brands, while Sun International will continue to manage on-property casino operations.

The properties include:

– The 173-room Royal Livingstone Hotel and the 212-key Zambezi Sun in Zambia.

– The 196-room Gaborone Sun in Botswana.

– The 158-room Lesotho Sun and 105-room Maseru Sun in Lesotho.

– The 149-room Royal Swazi and the 202-room Ezulwini Sun in Swaziland.

– The 173-room Kalahari Sands in Namibia.

Seven of the eight properties will be rebranded to AVANI. There are currently five AVANI
properties operating in three countries, with three to be added before the end of the year, in addition to the seven African properties. The well-known Royal Livingstone Hotel will not be rebranded and will be marketed through Anantara’s distribution channels, TravelDaily reports.

“Minor Hotel Group is strategically expanding its hospitality business into many regions and Africa is a key focus where we have seen substantial growth potential,” said Rajakarier. “Starting with these existing African properties, it is the intention of this new partnership to explore together other hotel and gaming opportunities that may arise in Africa and Asia, where MHG would manage the hotel component and Sun International would manage the casino component.”

The new partnership will allow MHG to invest in properties, committing to new capital expenditure. This fits with MHG’s ongoing strategy of expanding its global footprint and increasing the group’s presence in Africa, according to the report.