American international hotel chain, Radisson, has added Abuja, the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) as part of plans to expand its African portfolio.
The company disclosed that it planned to open The Radisson Blu Hotel, Abuja City Centre, in 2024.
It is the group’s first hotel in the city, complementing the existing nine in operation and under development in Nigeria.
Located in the heart of the central business district of Nigeria’s Federal Capital, the 258-room hotel will boast five different food and beverage outlets from a specialty restaurant and all-day-dining restaurant to a lobby bar and café, a picturesque pool terrace and a premium business class lounge. The leisure facilities will include a 555sqm wellness spa, a gym and a swimming pool to maintain guest’s wellness.
The expansion drive includes new properties in sub-Saharan Africa –Mali, Ghana, Ethiopia, and two in South Africa. Currently, Radisson manages about 100 hotels in 32 African markets.
Elie Younes, Executive Vice President/Chief Development Officer, Radisson Hotel Group, said: “We believe in the vast potential of Africa.
“The addition of the six hotels, following the announcement of Radisson Hotel Saint Denis earlier this year, places us firmly on track to reach over 150 hotels in operation and under development across the continent within the next five years.
“The new hotel announcements include our debut in new markets, the introduction of additional brands and the strengthening of our presence in cities we’ve identified for scaled growth. We thank our hotel partners for their invaluable trust in Radisson Hotel Group and its people.”
In his comment, Ramsay Rankoussi, Vice President, Development, Africa & Turkey, Radisson Hotel Group, stated, “Our growth has been well balanced between greenfield projects and strategic take-overs of existing hotels.
“We aim to further accelerate our presence across the continent through conversions, especially as liquidity remains a critical challenge.
“We have revisited our brand architecture to enable us to quickly integrate existing hotels to our network.
“This strategy will be reinforced as our brands continue to demonstrate a better value proposition to our owners. Following our revised strategy, we believe we are now geared in providing solutions to the investment community for every type of asset, every segment and at every stage from funding, to construction and repositioning.”
Aside from Nigeria, Radisson also plans to launch first a new hotel in Bamako, the capital and largest city in Mali, within the next six months.
Others are the Radisson Hotel & Convention Centre Johannesburg, O.R. Tambo; Radisson Hotel Addis Ababa in Ethiopia scheduled to open in 2021; Radisson Hotel & Apartments Accra, Ghana; and Park Inn by Radisson, Durban Intl. Airport, Dube, South Africa.
