The construction of a 244-guest room property on 1200 sq metres in the upscale Nakasero suburb in central Kampala is already underway.
The complex will comprise several high end meeting and conferencing facilities including a ballroom for up to 500 guests, a 518-car park, spa and fitness centre and outdoor swimming pool.
It will include multiple restaurants offering a wide range of dining outlets to include a destination sports bar and a sky bar with city, golf course and lake views. Guests will be able to choose between upscale guest rooms and a range of suites, including a Presidential Suite.
The Hilton hotel brand is one of the biggest and most luxurious hotel chains in the world, operating over 4,000 hotel facilities in over 113 countries. However, many of these properties are franchised to independent operators and companies.
Its brand portfolio is said to be the highest performing and most-diverse in the industry with 12 brands, over 715,000 hotel rooms and a workforce of over 155,000 worldwide.
In Africa, the hotel chain operates 43 hotels and is embarking on an exciting period of growth, with plans to double its portfolio of hotels on the continent during the next five years.
This will include entering new markets such as Botswana, Ghana, Swaziland, Uganda, Malawi and Rwanda. So far, development of 53 properties is in the pipeline.
Uganda is a country very close to my heart, so I am very proud to have been able to be personally present at the unveiling of this fantastic hotel, said Patrick Fitzgibbon, Hilton's Senior Vice President in charge of development for Europe, Middle East and Africa during the unveiling of the plan.
This development comes as the hotel chain managers plan to open its 96 guest room Hilton Garden Inn Kampala in the coming months.
This is a landmark year for Hilton in Uganda as we prepare to welcome guests for the very first time at our upcoming Hilton Garden Inn Kampala, so no better time for us to be signaling our commitment to the market than by partnering with TWED to bring our flagship Hilton Hotels & Resorts brand to the country.
We couldn't be happier to be entering the field alongside Hilton, an operator with a strong commitment to the market and 100 years of industry expertise, said Dr Dan Twebaze, the managing director, TWED Property Development Company.
The Hilton Hotel brand could have entered the country's hotel industry much earlier through the management of AYA Property, now known as Pearl of Africa Hotel. Instead, the South African based Sovereign Hotels was granted the management contract.
Tourism industry executives say that Hilton's investment in Uganda is a plus for the tourism industry as it will attract a number of tourists who have been yearning for their services.
Hilton opens Uganda to a different segment of clientele. It is a very positive development for Uganda in terms of international reputation and quality, said Lilly Ajarova, the executive director at the Uganda Tourism Board.
Meanwhile, Marriott International announced recently that Uganda is among several countries where it expects to add nearly 20 properties under its Middle East and Africa portfolio this year.
This follows the acquisition of two properties previously owned by the South Africa-based Protea Hospitality Holding, where it has been operating as Protea Hotel for the past five years.
Marriott management said they plan to open up two more properties in Kampala - Hotel Naguru and Naguru Skyz.
Hilton Garden Inn globally recognized midscale hotel brand, is celebrating strong growth in Africa with four open properties and an additional 14 in the pipeline just three years after opening its first hotel on the continent in 2016.
Many of these properties represent first-in-country openings for Hilton Garden Inn and for the Hilton enterprise as a whole, including Botswana, Zambia and Uganda.
Speaking from Africa’s Travel Indaba, John Greenleaf, global head, Hilton Garden Inn said, We have positioned Hilton Garden Inn for success in Africa with a prototype developed specifically for the region.
This prototype has been curated to meet the expectations of both travelers and owners throughout Africa, while maintaining the brand’s signature light, bright and airy design as well as the consistent, core guest offerings and amenities that the brand is recognized for around the world.
Each hotel is built in the Hilton Garden Inn tradition featuring modern guest rooms perfect for work and comfort. Guests may unwind in a relaxing social setting, enjoying handcrafted cocktails, light bites or dinner.
The Shop, a 24-hour, grab-and-go retail space, offers an upscale mix of healthy, indulgent and fresh foods, varietal beverages and a self-serve specialty coffee bar.
To date, Hilton Garden Inn has four properties and nearly 800 rooms open in Africa, including:
Morocco: Hilton Garden Inn Tanger City Center Opened March 2016 – Hilton Garden Inn’s initial entry into Africa, this property is steps away from the beach and the famed Tanger City Mall with stunning views of the city and Mediterranean Sea
Kenya: Hilton Garden Inn Nairobi Airport Opened February 2018 – Hilton Garden Inn’s first property in Kenya is a welcoming oasis close to Nairobi’s international airport with a rooftop infinity pool
Zambia: Hilton Garden Inn Lusaka Society Business Park Opened August 2018 – Zambia’s first Hilton hotel, this Hilton Garden Inn property is centrally located in the heart of Lusaka City, perfect for business travelers
Botswana: Hilton Garden Inn Gaborone Opened February 2019 – Hilton’s first hotel in the country, this Hilton Garden Inn property is centrally located in the city's new Central Business District
Countries such as Botswana and Uganda are some of the fastest growing economies in the world, with impressive visitor offerings.
The Hilton Garden Inn brand appeals to the rise of middle-class travelers into and across Africa, providing an opportunity for us to open hotels and meet guest demand in key destinations, said Jan Van Der Putten, VP Operations, Africa and Indian Ocean, Hilton.
With 14 hotels and nearly 2,400 rooms in the Africa pipeline, Hilton Garden Inn Kampala in Uganda and Hilton Garden Inn Mbabane in Eswatini are in the pipeline to open this month as first-in-country properties for both Hilton Garden Inn and the Hilton enterprise.
The pipeline also projects Hilton Garden Inn Windhoek in Namibia to open later this year, another first-in-country for Hilton Garden Inn.
Other African countries in the Hilton Garden Inn pipeline include Malawi, Uganda, Ghana, Egypt, Democratic Republic of Congo, Ethiopia, Ghana, Nigeria and South Africa.
As Hilton Garden Inn expands in Africa, the Hilton enterprise as a whole is also expected to double its footprint across Africa from 44 hotels today to almost 100 over the next several years.
Hilton, which is celebrating its 100th anniversary this month, has a rich legacy of hospitality leadership in the region. As shared in The Hilton Effect, Hilton was the first international hotel brand in the newly created capital of Abuja more than 30 years ago.
Hilton produced infrastructure, created sewage and electric systems, built factories, paved roads and recruited Team Members from around the world to quickly teach locals, many of whom had never set foot in a hotel to deliver five-star service to nearly 1,000 government officials.
Hilton Garden Inn is part of Hilton Honors®, the award-winning guest-loyalty program for Hilton’s 17 distinct hotel brands.
The award-winning Hilton Garden Inn brand provides business and leisure guests upscale, affordable accommodations and unexpected amenities for an experience that is ‘Simply on Another Level.’ The Hilton Garden Inn Promise affirms the brand’s goal to make each guest’s stay better and brighter.
Guaranteed. Team Members at more than 820 hotels in 42 countries around the world ensure today’s busy travelers have a bright and satisfying experience, starting with the first hello.
As a recognized F&B leader, Hilton Garden Inn serves locally-sourced food and beverage at its full-service restaurants and bars, featuring cooked-to-order breakfast, handcrafted cocktails, and on-trend small plates.
Hilton Honors members who book directly through preferred Hilton channels have access to instant benefits.
Over the coming decade, affluent Africans—and visitors to the continent—will have a lot more hotel options to choose from. That’s because some of the world’s largest hotel chains are betting big on expansion plans in Africa.
AccorHotels, the largest hotel operator in Africa with brands like Sofitel, Novotel and Ibis, set the pace back in July with an ambitious partnership with Qatar-based Katara Hospitality for a $1 billion fund to drive expansion in sub-Saharan Africa’s hotel market.
AccorHotels currently operates over 100 hotels on the continent.
Marriott, the chain which currently operates brands in 21 African countries, is doubling down on the continent as well with plans to increase its hotels in Africa by 50% by 2023.
As well as expanding in several markets where it already operates, Marriott is opening in new markets including Benin, Botswana, Ivory Coast, Mauritania, Mozambique and Senegal. Marriott’s expansion will boost its Africa presence to 38,000 rooms across 200 hotels.
It’s a total that’s currently much higher than the 41 hotels operating under brands owned by Hilton. But with 53 hotels currently planned, the US-headquartered chain is also looking to double its Africa footprint over the next five years.
Much of its plans come under its Hilton Africa Growth Initiative, a $50 million expansion drive to open 100 new hotels with 20,000 rooms across the continent mainly by converting existing hotels to Hilton brands.
Hilton is also looking to have a footprint in new African countries with debut hotels planned in up to 13 African countries.
Hyatt, a less dominant player in the continent’s hotel space, is also stepping up development plans with nine new hotels expected to open by 2020.
Eyeing a much quicker development pace, Radission Hospitality plans to open 10 new hotels across Africa over the next nine months.
The running theory among hospitality experts is that several Africa countries with growing economies and rapidly developing urban centers are a high-growth market for hotels.
Indeed, hotel chains began ramping up expansion plans in Africa back in 2016. Marriott thinks the continent is still under capacity when it comes to branded hotels.
Some of the demand is seen in growing tourist arrival numbers on the continent: between 1995 and 2014, international tourist arrivals more than doubled, growing at a rate of 6% every year.
Africans are also traveling more around the continent and now account for four in every 10 international visitors on the continent. And with the newly established Single African Air Transport Market expected to result in cheaper flights between African cities, that share could well increase.
But as hotel chains expand, they will also face competition from a now familiar adversary in Airbnb as the hospitality startup gains a stronger foothold on the continent, too.
Since launching in Africa in 2013, Airbnb has notched up over 130,000 listings which have welcomed over 3.5 million guests with around half of those arriving in the past year alone.
Even more, seven African countries recorded over a 100% increase in Airbnb guest arrivals over the past year and the continent now also accounts for three of Airbnb’s eight fastest growing markets globally.
Tourism Observer
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