City Lodge Hotels has recently announced several senior management appointments.
Emile van der Merwe has been appointed to the City Lodge Hotels Executive Committee (Exco) as Divisional Director: Property and Development from August 1.
He joined the company in August 2008 as Property Investment Manager, responsible for sourcing and securing new hotel opportunities, co-ordinating the concept and final design of new hotels, and negotiating and concluding feasibility assessments and contractual agreements.
After five years in this role, he was promoted to Head of Property and Development, responsible for the full property spectrum for the group.
His portfolio will continue to focus on green and brownfield hotel opportunities, hotel refurbishments, procurement, property-related legal matters, large-scale maintenance, and management of stakeholder relationships.
Edwin Louw had been appointed Group Revenue Manager as of September 11.
He adds a wealth of experience to the group, with over 20 years in the commercial finance industry at senior management level. He joins City Lodge from Deloitte Consulting, where he held the position of Senior Financial Analyst and Consultant.
Riaan Loots has been appointed GM of 66-room Road Lodge Bloemfontein Airport. He joined City Lodge Hotels as a night auditor at 151-room City Lodge Hotel Bloemfontein in 2009, and in 2012 was appointed as assistant manager at Road Lodge Bloemfontein Airport, before taking up his current position as Assistant GM at City Lodge Hotel Bloemfontein in 2014.
Johan Prinsloo has been appointed GM of 90-room Road Lodge Cape Town International Airport, and was previously GM of Road Lodge Mbombela.
He joined City Lodge Hotels as Assistant GM at Road Lodge Rustenburg in 2008. He was later appointed Assistant GM at Town Lodge Menlo Park in Pretoria in 2010, and Assistant GM at City Lodge Hotel Fourways in Johannesburg in 2013. In 2017, he headed up Town Lodge Gaborone in Botswana, moving to Road Lodge Mbombela as GM in 2018.
Jannie Kotze has been appointed GM of 95-room Road Lodge Mbombela, effective October 1.
He is currently GM of 102-room Town Lodge Polokwane. He joined City Lodge Hotels as a night auditor and receptionist of City Lodge Hotel Bloemfontein in 2002, moving to Town Lodge Polokwane as Junior Assistant GM in 2004, and promoted shortly thereafter to Assistant GM and later Senior Assistant GM of Town Lodge George.
In 2008, he was appointed Assistant GM of City Lodge Hotel Sandton, Morningside, and the following year took up the GM post at Road Lodge Richards Bay. In 2012, he was promoted to his current position of GM of Town Lodge Polokwane.
City Lodge Hotels also announced on September 11 that, after 17 years of distinguished service, Stuart Morris has elected to retire from the board and as Chairman of the audit committee and member of the remuneration and nominations and risk committees and not to make himself available for re-election at the forthcoming annual general meeting.
His retirement will take effect after the annual general meeting, scheduled for November 23. Morris, appointed to the board on March 1 2006, has been an integral member of the team and instrumental in leading the company through the challenges presented by the COVID-19 pandemic.
The board has elected not to fill the vacancy following Morris’s retirement. Mathukana Mokoka will assume the role of Chairperson of the audit committee and has been appointed a member of the risk committee effective November 23.
TMACC welcomes van Aswegen back to the team
Table Mountain Aerial Cableway Company (TMACC) has recently welcomed back Collette van Aswegen as its Executive in charge of communications and marketing.
Van Aswegen served as Marketing Manager at the Cableway between 2006 and 2019. She officially re-joined the organisation on August 1, and now looks after both marketing and sales.
“Once you have worked at the Cableway, it becomes a part of you, and you will always remember it with fondness. My role this time is a little different, whereas in the past I focused purely on marketing. I have kept contact with the amazing and dynamic TMACC team over the years and it was an easy decision to say yes when this opportunity became available,” said Van Aswegen.
Collaborating with other stakeholders in the tourism sector remains a key focus for her and the team at TMACC.
“We simply cannot do it on our own. We want visitors to the city to leave with positive memories that they will share with their friends and families. To achieve this, everyone involved in their visit to Cape Town needs to deliver only their very best.”
Bill Harrop’s appoints new hot air balloon pilot
Bill Harrop’s “Original” Balloon Safaris has recently appointed a new commercial hot air balloon pilot, Michael Maja.
Maja has undergone rigorous training and successfully achieved his 100-hour flight mark on August 20, qualifying him as a commercial hot air balloon pilot.
Bill Harrop’s “Original” Balloon Safaris CEO, Dale de Klerk, said: “We are so proud of Maja’s accomplishment, and we look forward to producing many more successful hot air balloon pilots with the support and resources of Bill Harrop’s “Original” Balloon Safaris.”
Maja said: “I could not have done this without the support and dedication of the entire team at Bill Harrop’s “Original” Balloon Safaris. Thank you for making this dream come true. I look forward to sharing the skies with my mentors and friends.”
