#AfricaMonth: Making Africa greener, one hotel at a time

Verde Zanzibar main entrance

What are Verde Hotels’ expansion plans for Africa?

Verde Hotels' management model suits the African continent and it speaks to the goals and vision as set out by African leaders with regard to growth, poverty alleviation, tourism growth, job creation and most of all, their impact on global warming as the African continent has experienced the impact of this more so than most countries. The support and commitment by local governments on the UNDP SDGs allow the opportunity for a hotel management company like Verde Hotels to advocate their commitment to these goals and contribute to the sustainable growth within the African continent.

We are currently in the negotiating phase with two projects within Africa for new hotel construction developments, and our next hotel opening will be in Zanzibar towards the end of this year, where the five-star resort will showcase that luxury and sustainability is not mutually exclusive and with the aim of achieving a five-star GBCSA certification we will proudly showcase Zanzibar’s Greenest Hotel.

Why expand into Africa?

With our pilot project and now successful showcase hotel, Hotel Verde Cape Town, we managed to achieve many firsts for Africa within the building and operations of a sustainable hotel, often referred to as Africa’s greenest hotel – for now. We would obviously want to continue on this success and expand into Africa.

For the socially, conscious investor, developer and hotelier, only Verde Hotels offers the sustainable solution that is not just responsible and sustainable, but thrivable, incorporating people, profit, and planet.

Verde Hotels is expanding the brand not only within Africa but certainly also globally, but being an African established company, this is certainly where we feel we can add the most value.

What does the hotel market in Africa look like at the moment and how does this influence Verde Hotels’ expansion plans?

It is a known fact that the most trajectory economic growth is currently within Africa, however, one needs to ensure that you minimise economic risk within your business and adapt to the change on a global level. Building or retrofitting and operating a thrivable hotel embeds certain principles in the business model that will future-proof the hotel and mitigate these risks. Verde Hotels is set on retrofitting and building only sustainable hotels as this fits in with our vision. Although each hotel will adapt in its design to its own environment, the “DNA” of the hotel will encapsulate all elements of sustainability and be certified independently to showcase and demonstrate its thrivability.

Samantha Annandale, CEO of Verde Hotels

What challenges and opportunities does Africa present in building a sustainable hotel such as Hotel Verde?

Challenge: As the need for change in how we build and manage hotels has certainly been identified, it is still unfortunately slow in the uptake of this concept. We continuously advocate the above average IRR, saving of natural resources, unique and powerful marketing case, greater bottom line profit, all whilst ensuring a greater social economic impact. We can only trust that this reality becomes more prevalent and takes higher focus within the investor and tourism sectors and that there is definitely no other alternative but to partner with a company that takes sustainability to the next level.

Opportunity: The opportunity is now to showcase that Africa can lead in sustainability, minimising carbon footprint and set the example globally on slowing down global warming, whilst continuing economic growth. One of our most important values is how we, as a green sustainable management company, focus on the wellbeing of our employees by not only creating opportunity but working with them to reach their full development potential as individuals. Our employees, after all, are the brand ambassadors of the Verde brand and making a difference in people’s lives transcends into their own homes and families where the benefits are dynamically felt.

Mario and Annemarie Delicio of Dematech are the owners behind Hotel Verde. Dedicated and passionate about sustainability, they have transformed what was initially just a sensible business proposition into a showcase for some of the most advanced, environmentally conscious design features, technological installations and operational practices in the world. The Delicio family is German, but has made Cape Town their home for the last 20 years. Mario Delicio has various business interests throughout Africa. Hotel Verde at Cape Town Airport is his first fully owned hotel.

What are your wishes for Verde Hotels in the year(s) to come in terms of developing in Africa?

Simple, to make a positive difference to our planet, resources, and people whilst achieving greater sustainability and profitability for our investors. And making the African continent greener than ever before, one property at a time.