Best Western Grows South Africa Portfolio

Orion will manage the hotels and play an integral role in Best Western's growth elsewhere in the region

By July 2016, Velmoré Hotel Estate in Erasmia, outside Pretoria, and Hotel Promenade in Nelspruit will be branded as Best Western Plus, and the Magoebaskloof Hotel in the Limpopo province will become a Best Western. Orion's remaining 10 hotels will complete rebranding, which includes adapting to brand standards, by the end of the first quarter of 2017. Best Western also has the Best Western Cape Suites in Cape Town.

Phase one will see the addition of Velmoré Hotel Estate (Erasmia) and Hotel Promenade (Nelspruit) to the Best Western Plus portfolio and the Magoebaskloof Hotel to Best Western. The rebranding of the three hotels is projected to be complete by July 2016. The remaining 10 hotels will rebrand by the end of Q1 2017.

Each of the 13 hotels will adapt Best Western brand standards, but will operate under the management of Orion Hotels. The two companies plan to further expand throughout Africa as Orion Hotels continues to lease, manage or acquire new properties, which will also be branded with one of the Best Western Hotels & Resorts brands.

Best Western has an existing presence throughout Africa including locations such as Nairobi, Kenya; Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania; and Lagos, Nigeria. In the development pipeline are the Best Western Premier Garden Hotel Entebbe in Entebbe, Uganda and two Best Western-branded hotels in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, to launch later this year.