Hotel giant Radisson Group eyes opportunities across Zimbabwe

GLOBAL hotel giant, Radisson, is eyeing more opportunities in Zimbabwe, with premier tourism resort Victoria Falls being the immediate area of focus, after the top hotel brand partnered with leading local real estate developer, WestProperties (WestProp), for its first foray in the country.

The entry of one of the world’s largest hotel groups is an endorsement of Zimbabwe as an investment destination, after Dubai-based Albwardy Investments last year rebranded Harare’s iconic The Meikles Hotel following a management partnership with leading global hotelier, Hyatt Regency.

WestProp’s partnership initiative for a serviced apartment hotel at the Millennium Heights in the heart of Harare will be operated under the acclaimed international brand Radisson Apartment Hotel.

A serviced apartment is a form of accommodation that combines the comforts of a traditional apartment with hotel-like amenities and services.

It’s essentially a self-contained, fully furnished living space offering amenities like a kitchen, living area and separate sleeping quarters, while also providing services such as housekeeping, reception and sometimes even a gym or concierge.

The groundbreaking ceremony for the 147-room multi-storey hotel initiative, whose development will cost US$13,5 million, was held in Harare yesterday.

The historic occasion was attended by Local Government and Public Works Minister Daniel Gwarwe.

Minister of State for Provincial Affairs and Devolution for Harare Metropolitan Province, Senator Charles Tawengwa, also graced the event along with several stakeholders in the real estate industry.

The initiative is part of WestProp’s, a Victoria Falls Stock Exchange-listed property developer, grand plan to put 1 billion bricks on the ground by 2030. To date, the ambitious real estate development company is sitting on 87 million bricks.

WestProp is developing several prominent real estate projects in Zimbabwe, including Gunhill Rise, Millennium Heights, Pokugara residential estate, Pomona City, Warren Hills Golf Estate and the Mall of Zimbabwe. These projects often involve mixed-use developments, including residential and commercial areas, and are designed to offer a premium lifestyle.

Zimbabwe becomes the 35th country Radisson has established a presence in, out of the 54 on the continent.

Radisson Hotel Group vice president, development, Africa and Turkey, Ramsay Rankoussi, said the decision to come to Zimbabwe, which marked the first of more forays for opportunities in the country, followed the discovery of the right partner.

“Zimbabwe was one of the countries (in Africa) where we were not yet present. We are the most diverse in terms of presence across the continent, where we cover more than 30 countries out of the 54. Zimbabwe was one of the few that were missing.

“Why now? There are many factors, but one of the main ones is that we have found the right partner. We had to find a partner that has local knowledge and the capacity to deliver the project. To clarify, Radisson does not develop the real estate, but comes as a partner.

“WestProp is the developer and owner of the hotel here in Harare, and we, as an international brand, will manage the hotel for the partner, that is the business model of Radisson globally,” Mr Rankoussi said, stressing the quality of the partner in its decision to come to Zimbabwe.

He pointed out that the group’s decision was influenced by the allure of the Millennium Heights location, in the plush Borrowdale area, and high-quality standards of the real estate, which continue to grow, while Harare had unlimited potential as a tourist destination.

Mr Rankoussi noted the growing demand for high-grade service apartments in a community and city that lacks quality international standard hotel services.

Radisson is not limiting its presence to the capital city, following its historic entry, but will scan for opportunities across the country, with Victoria Falls the immediate focal point.

“We certainly want to grow further outside Harare, with Victoria Falls the priority, as you know, we are already present on the Zambian side in Livingstone, which has been extremely successful and we want to repeat the same on the Zimbabwe side,” he said.

Radisson also has a presence in South Africa, Kenya and Tanzania, Rwanda, among others, including West and North Africa.

Across the continent, Mr Rankoussi said the acclaimed hotel brand operates more than 100 hotels.

The hotel group will scout for more lucrative opportunities across major cities and towns across the country, but given Zimbabwe’s strong performance in the safari and lodges segment, Radisson will look to explore opportunities in that space as well.

“We certainly want to enter into that segment, but probably as a second priority, but the priority for us is always establishing ourselves in key cities as business hotels and entering Harare was the first,” he said, adding the group would also consider investing in areas with potential for business conventions, exhibitions and luxury resorts, key among them Victoria Falls.

Mr Rakoussi said Radisson’s involvement will entail investing in tools, training, providing support and creating job opportunities and not the direct development of physical hotel infrastructure.

WestProp founder and group chief executive, Mr Ken Sharpe, said the Millennium Heights plan was developed with a target for 1 000 flats, meaning there were always opportunities to innovate around many business opportunities, given the initiative’s model, a city within a city, which is also a smart city.

“When we looked at Block 5, which is the building that we are now having, about a year ago, we decided we needed to do something different in the market, which had not been done before and we are a company that is looking at innovative ways of bringing solutions that have not yet been brought to the market.

“We designed Block Five, specifically as a serviced apartment hotel, and we started talking to some of the brands, and as it turns out, Radisson was not in Zimbabwe, but were thinking about it and were not quite pursued that they should come.

“We met them at the ZimReal Conference and we took the discussion further and we said ‘why not start with serviced apartments’, because it is an entry level and its affordable for the people, maybe a US$100 a night, its in Borrowdale; it’s branded, it’s safe, it’s in a secure development.

“The ideal was fleshed out towards the end of last year, we signed the initial agreement on December 3 and the substantive agreement on May 15, we concluded the binding International Management Agreement. They have now come, they are onboard, they are excited for the product; 147 rooms, about US$13,5 million,” Mr Sharpe said.

He added that while WestProp was happy with the capacity at Millennium Heights, the group was looking at the possibility of similar arrangements for two other sites in Harare. “We do think that there is more capacity for hotels in Harare and we would like to bring two more brands to Harare,” he said.

Radisson Hotel Group is a global hospitality company with a portfolio of over 1 500 hotels across 95 countries. They own and operate 10 distinct hotel brands, catering for a wide range of travellers and budgets. The company’s headquarters are in Brussels, Belgium.

Minister Garwe applauded the WestProp-Radisson partnership, saying it would drive smart real estate development in Harare in line with the dictates of the National Human Settlement Policy, launched by President Mnangagwa in 2021.

“In 2021, Ken (Sharpe and I) were here, before all these buildings were up and the President had just launched the National Human Settlements Policy. One of the pillars in that policy was Building Better Vertically. When we marketed the policy, the nation was divided.

“There were the doubting Thomases. As Usual, you know what they said, they started bastardising, saying no this will not work, this is not Dubai, this will not happen in this country. And they were those who were futuristic and very ambitious; they said this is the way to go.

“So, we joined hands with those who were futuristic and ambitious and said this is the way to go,” the minister said, adding that they prayed for the manifestation of the National Human Settlements policy, in terms of building better Vertically, which had started manifesting, including through WestProp’s Millennium Heights initiatives.

“I invited a lot of developers to my offices, I was still the Minister of National Housing and Social Amenities, some understood what we were talking about, some did not, some thought it would not be done, but I am happy, let me testify, that almost 90 percent of meaningful developers that we have in the country, want to build flats, want to build better vertically.”

“But as we build better vertically, I encourage all of us to build better backwards, we have got a lot of archaic infrastructure in the country that needs to be transformed. Harare needs transformation, Mbare needs transformation, Dzivarasekwa needs transformation, every place in the city that is old needs transformation, and it will only be done by the built environment, we are the champions,” he said.-herald