PROTEA Hotels has
rebranded to ‘Protea Hotels
by Marriott’ to engage SA’s
emerging middle-class, which
favours international brands,
says Nicholas Barenblatt,
group marketing manager.
The move is a strategic
next step in the continued
integration of Protea into
the Marriott stable, he
says, adding that, although
international hospitality
brands haven’t yet
established a significant
presence in South Africa,
this will change with the
emergence of a new middleclass
market that aspires to
international brands. “We’ve
seen examples of this with
Starbucks and Burger King.”
Other industry authorities
disagree and argue that cost
is still what matters most to
this segment.
Tshifhiwa Tshivhengwa,
ceo of Fedhasa, says while
the local middle-class have
been exploring different
international brands – and
that the introduction of more
international hotel brands to
SA has made an increasingly
competitive landscape –
when it comes to choice of
hotel brand, travellers are
still more influenced by what
they can afford. He says
international brands often
cater for high-end markets
and predicts that, because
of this, local brands in the
four- or five-star categories
will receive more competition
from international brands
than those in the lower
categories.
It is going to be tough for
any international brand to
break into the South African
market, says ceo of the
City Lodge Hotel Group,
Clifford Ross. “The market
is dominated by very strong
brands that have been in the
country for years and years.”
He says the middle-class is
still a market that is growing
in South Africa, and that
many people in this segment
don’t travel for leisure
purposes. Rather they tend
to travel for family functions,
such as weddings and
funerals. For this reason, he
says these travellers look for
value for money .
