Polana's sights set on chain of hotels

RECOVERING from the Karos/Mövenpick failure, the Polana Hotel in Mozambique has set up its own central reservations and sales office in Johannesburg, and established gsa agreements in overseas markets. Chairman Stan Hoffman said that plans to develop a Polana chain were also in the pipeline, comprising properties in Mozambique and further afield. "We're looking at three or four sites further north in Mozambique, and have been approached by other lodges in the country with a view to setting up marketing and management alliances," he stated. The Johannesburg-based sales office is located in Thrupps Centre in Oxford Road, Illovo, where a small sales team is being managed by Gill Shiel. Margaret Hoffman will soon join the team to take charge of the corporate and conference market, which is intended to be a major focus of the hotel's marketing efforts. The local market can look forward to the introduction of off-season packages directed at South Africans, and, with the imminent completion of the Johannesburg-Maputo toll road, the launch of drive-stay packages. Hoffman advised that gsa agreements had been struck with representatives in Lisbon, Madrid and the UK, designed to encourage international patronage. The Polana is also seeking an international hook-up with a global chain and has held discussions with Leading Hotels of the World, Radisson and Meridien Hotels. (Michelle Coleman)