ONE OF THE ORIGINAL LODGE OPERATORS IN SOUTH AFRICA NOW HAS THE MIGHT OF ACCOR BEHIND IT TO GLOBALLY EXPAND A CONCEPT PERFECT FOR THE MOMENT .
PERSONALITIES by JEFF WEINSTEIN , EDITOR IN CHIEF
Mantis CEO Gardiner
has eco-warrior brand visions
Paul Gardiner wants Port Elizabeth , South Africa-based Mantis to become “ the global eco-warrior brand .” That is part of the reason his family-led eco-lodge business sold half of its share to Accor about three years ago – to offer other eco-lodge developers and owners around the world access to Accor ’ s distribution might and loyalty program , either through a Mantis franchise or management contract . It seemed like a great idea at the time , but shortly thereafter came COVID , and the momentum screeched to a halt .
By mid-summer of this year , the conservation-focused hotel group with some 25 hand-picked luxury hotels , eco-lodges , waterways and impact experiences ( a few owned by the Gardiner family ), had reopened it properties and revived its aspirations to become the leader in eco-lodge expansion . Business is slowly coming back and just before HOTELS interviewed Mantis CEO Gardiner in October , he spent two days with Accor leadership to reenergize their initiatives to integrate more lodges into the Mantis [ Man and Nature Together Is Sustainable ] system .
The pilot project to gain critical proof of concept for the Mantis- Accor partnership is the original Gardiner family lodge , the Mantis Founder ’ s Lodge in South Africa , created by patriarch Adrian Gardiner , which has always been used as the model for Mantis ’ expansion . The nine-room property is located adjacent to the Shamwari Game Reserve – the first Big Five reserve in the Eastern Cape – which
46 hotelsmag . com January / February 2022