Radisson Hotel Group is at the forefront of hotel growth in French-speaking Africa, announcing during FIHA (Forum de l’Investissement Hôtelier Africain) Conference, that the Group plans to more than double its hotel portfolio in the Francophone market over the next five years.
Radisson Hotel Group today, has 96 hotels and 18,500+ rooms in operation and under development across 31 countries in Africa, and is firmly on track to reach 130 hotels and 23,000+ rooms by 2022. The Group currently has 28 hotels in operation and under development in Francophone Africa across 13 countries. This includes six hotel deals signed during 2018 in markets such as Morocco, Ivory Coast, Tunisia, Niger and Republic of Guinea.
To support and drive the rapid growth of its African portfolio, Radisson Hotel Group has reinforced its development team with the introduction of senior development professional Ramsay Rankoussi, Vice President, Development, Middle East, Turkey & French Speaking Africa. Ramsay has been with Radisson Hotel Group for over 5 years, initially overseeing the growth of the company in the Middle East & Turkey and now leading the development activities across French Speaking Africa. He is supported by Erwan Garnier, Director, Development French & Portuguese Speaking Africa. Together, they seek to accelerate the introduction of all Radisson brands in the region with a focus on key capital and economic cities. The new organizational structure follows the recent appointment of Frederic Feijs who leads operations as Regional Director Africa – French Speaking Countries for Radisson Hotel Group, and who will play a significant role in strengthening the group’s network in the region and increasing operational synergies, for the greater benefit of owners.
Ramsay Rankoussi, Vice President, Development, Middle East, Turkey & French Speaking Africa said, “I am thrilled to be expanding my geographical focus, to include French-speaking Africa. We have ambitious plans for this important market and it is imperative that we have the right resources in place to support our growth. This means communicating effectively with owners and investors, as well as providing first class levels of expertise as we establish long-term relationships with our business partners in this market. We are proud that each of our development team members fits this criterion for success.”
“We are rapidly growing our Francophone Africa portfolio with hotel deals strategically aligned to deliver our five-year development plan across the continent, the introduction of new brands and a scaled growth in Africa’s key destinations. We plan to continue this accelerated growth through further expansion in our focus markets across this flourishing continent. With our new brand architecture, countries like Morocco, Senegal, Ivory Coast, Cameroon and Mauritius have the potential for a critical mass strategy across all our brands to be implemented with,” added Rankoussi.
Radisson Hotel Group plans to open a further five hotels across Africa in 2019, four of which are located in the Francophone market, pushing the African portfolio to more than 50 hotels in operation before year-end. These openings include the first Radisson Blu hotel in Casablanca, which is the Group’s second hotel in Morocco, scheduled to open within the next six months, as well as their first hotel, and the countries first internationally branded hotel in Niger, with the opening of Radisson Blu Hotel Niamey in Q2 this year.
“Our strategy will most certainly reinforce our presence in key markets not only in the Francophone markets, but across Africa, as we continue to focus on delivering on our expanding pipeline,” concluded Rankoussi
As part of the company’s rebranding announcement early last year to the Radisson Hotel Group, a new global hotel brand architecture was introduced, which included two new brands being introduced in Africa. Radisson Collection, positioned as the premium lifestyle and affordable luxury and Radisson as the upscale hotel brand.
