SINCE EARLY 2021 , WE SEE STRONG RETURNING TRAVEL AND HOTEL DEMAND , AND CURRENTLY WE JOINTLY HAVE A PIPELINE OF AROUND 1,000 ROOMS . |
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– EUAN MCGLASHAN |
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developed by Vaal Real Estate and is set to open in April 2023 .
Moving forward , Valor Hospitality Partners Co- Founder and CEO Euan McGlashan said part of the reason behind the tie-up was Diar Group ’ s ongoing ability to scale CityBlue in the sub-Saharan African market over the past 10 years .
“ In the past several years , both Valor and Diar have independently been working on many hotel opportunities within East Africa , both new builds
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and conversions , and the majority of these projects stopped or stalled due to the pandemic ,” McGlashan told HOTELS when the deal was done in mid- September . “ As the post- COVID recovery takes hold globally , a number of these projects are now being re-energized and confirmed . The partnership announced between Valor and Diar now offers owners and developers a very strong , proven and unique solution of a regional African brand ( CityBlue ) and a globally respected and highly successful third-party operator ( Valor ). We think our collaboration offers considerable value and USPs for our clients .”
Valor , with 80-plus hotels its international portfolio , already has a presence on the continent
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and a joint venture should accelerate growth for both groups via the popular CityBlue brand .
“ The East Africa region has undergone significant growth of hotel demand over the past 10 years , and considerable new hotel developments have opened or are at final planning stages ; clearly this was disrupted over the past two years with the pandemic ,” McGlashan adds . “ However , since early 2021 , we see strong returning travel and hotel demand , and currently we jointly have a pipeline of around 1,000 rooms .”
Jameel Verjee , principal of The Diar Group and founder of CityBlue and a hospitality management arm Diar Hospitality , adds , “ Valor ’ s visionary leadership recognizes that its global strategy must include all of Africa and
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not just South Africa .”
Verjee adds that The Diar Group takes long leases of hotels and / or signs management contracts , having built up its proprietary CityBlue brand from the groundup starting in 2013 . It has also developed its own Africa-based management team to go with its four sub-brands , which include CityBlue Hotel & Suites , Urban by CityBlue , Residences by CityBlue and Lodges by CityBlue . “ With Valor , we see scope to jointly manage CityBlue and non-CityBlue properties , especially in our specialist middle and upper-middle market sector ,” Verjee says . “ This is especially so in the post-pandemic era , which should be a once-in-ageneration opportunity to build a portfolio and create significant scale .”
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