City Lodge Hotels is expanding its South African hotel portfolio, with upgrades scheduled at six properties and further expansion planned in key markets.
The group plans to complete its current refurbishments at City Lodge Morningside Sandton and Road Lodge Gqeberha during the first half of its 2027 financial year. A further four hotel refurbishments are expected to start during the year at City Lodge Fourways, Town Lodge Roodepoort, Town Lodge Gqeberha and Road Lodge Johannesburg International Airport.
The construction of the 53-room expansion at City Lodge Waterfall City is scheduled to begin in September and to be completed in June 2027.
The group is also pursuing expansion opportunities in key markets such as the Western Cape and KwaZulu-Natal.
The plans were outlined in City Lodge’s first-half 2026 financial results, which reported revenue of R2,2bn, up 10% on last year’s results. The group achieved its highest occupancy in nearly a decade.
“The first half of the year achieved robust occupancy from domestic leisure and business travel, which resulted from improved consumer and investor confidence in South Africa,” said Andrew Widegger, CEO of City Lodge Hotels.
However, in the last quarter of the financial year, geopolitical tensions in the Middle East contributed to higher fuel costs, inflation and interest rates, which made domestic travel more expensive. This led to a softening in occupancy in the last quarter, as weekend stays and leisure breaks were particularly subdued over this period.
