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The Bench

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    • Matthew Weihs, Managing Director, The Bench
    • Daniel Silke, Political Economist
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The Africa Hospitality Investment Forum (AHIF) Heads to Cape Town for the First Time for its 13th Edition

New Format Promises Enhanced Networking, Hands-on Workshops, Interactive Insights and Country Showcases

The Africa Hospitality Investment Forum (AHIF), Africa’s premier conference for tourism and hospitality investment, is gearing up for its 2025 edition in Cape Town. Taking place from 17 to 19 June at The Westin Cape Town, AHIF 2025 will introduce an innovative, dynamic format aimed at fostering new partnerships and…

The Bench

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    • Olivier Granet, Managing Partner and CEO, Kasada Capital Management
    • David Damiba, Managing Partner and CIO, Kasada Capital Management
    • Matthew Weihs, Managing Director, The Bench
    • Nangula Uaandja, Chairperson and CEO, Namibia Investment Promotion and Development Board
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Namibia's Landscape to Shine at the Africa Hospitality Investment Forum 2024

The weekend before AHIF will feature various inspection trips to see some of Namibia’s best hospitality investment projects and tourism attractions

The Africa Hotel Investment Forum (AHIF), which is the premier tourism and hotel investment conference in Africa, attracting many prominent international hotel owners, investors, financiers, management companies and their advisers, will take place on 25 - 27 June 2024, in Namibia. The venue will be the Mövenpick and Mercure hotels…

Bench Events

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    • Trevor Ward, Managing Director, W Hospitality Group
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    • Egypt and Marriott power hotel development in Africa
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Source: Bench Events |

Egypt and Marriott power hotel development in Africa

Egypt not only leads the country table, with almost 25,000 rooms in 103 hotels, but is streaking ahead of the pack

When it comes to hotel development across Africa, Egypt and Marriott are the two phenomena to watch. This insight comes from this year’s African Hotel Chain Development Pipeline report, widely acknowledged as the industry’s most authoritative source, documenting and analysing the number of hotels being planned and built across the…

Bench Events

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    • Jon Howell, Founder and CEO, AviaDev
    • Matthew Weihs, Managing Director of The Bench
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A Mega Week for Tourism Investment in Nairobi

Bringing Africa Hospitality Investment Forum (AHIF) and AviaDev Africa together into the same week will enable the exploration of synergies between the aviation and hospitality industries and government

The Africa Hospitality Investment Forum (AHIF), the premier tourism and hospitality investment conference in Africa, will return to Nairobi on 12-14 June 2023. Overlapping it, AviaDev Africa, the leading aviation route development conference for Africa will take place on 14-16 June. Both events will be hosted at the Radisson Blu Hotel…

Bench Events

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    • Matthew Weihs, Managing Director, The Bench
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Big guns target Africa Hospitality Investment Forum (AHIF)

Agenda boasts multiple ministers and Africa’s hospitality leaders

The Africa Hospitality Investment Forum (AHIF) has revealed an impressive speaker line-up for its 2022 conference. The programme features several government ministers, the Chair of Morocco’s tourism development agency, the Chair & CEO of Royal Air Maroc and a battery of Africa’s most influential hotel industry executives with the fire…

Bench Events

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    • Matthew Weihs, Managing Director, The Bench
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Africa hotel development: It’s Egypt, Morocco, Accor & Marriott

This year’s annual survey, which is widely acknowledged as the industry’s most authoritative source, has, as of Q1 2022, a record 42 global and regional (African) contributors

Just four words are needed to sum up the main findings of this year’s African hotel chain development pipeline survey conducted by W Hospitality Group, in association with the Africa Hospitality Investment Forum (AHIF); those words are Egypt, Morocco, Accor and Marriott. This year’s annual survey, which is widely acknowledged…

Bench Events

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    • Matthew Weihs, Managing Director, The Bench
    • Imad Barrakad, Chairman & CEO, SMIT
    • Fairmont Taghazout Bay
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Africa Hospitality Investment Forum (AHIF) Returns to Morocco

The event creates a dialogue and drives deals between international investors and hospitality owners on the whole African continent

The Africa Hospitality Investment Forum (AHIF) will return as an in-person event in 2022, taking place  on 2 - 4 November, at the luxurious Fairmont Taghazout Bay, a five-star resort with leisure  and business facilities, next to Agadir. AHIF is Africa’s premier meeting place of leaders in the hospitality sector,…

Bench Events
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Bench Events partners with the Trusted Executive for third episode of Hospitality Tomorrow

The virtually global conference’s final episode of 2020 will focus on innovation, leadership and finding your mojo as the hospitality industry gears up for 2021

Following the success of the first two episodes of Hospitality Tomorrow (www.HospitalityTomorrow.com), Bench Events (www.BenchEvents.com) has released details of the third episode set to take place on 15 December 2020 from 11:00am to 6:00pm GMT. Powered by Bench Digital, Hospitality Tomorrow was launched to support the hard-hit international hospitality community during Covid-19, by…

Bench Events
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Future Hospitality Summit Unveils Line-up of Global Hospitality Leaders & Change-Makers as Special Guest Speakers

Media registration for the hybrid summit is now open

Future Hospitality Summit will welcome a comprehensive line-up of hospitality and government leaders, industry captains, founders, change-makers, insight experts, and media, on 26-27 October; The jam-packed line-up includes Arne Sorenson (Marriott International), Arnold W. Donald (Carnival Corporation), Gloria Guevara (WTTC), Alexandre de Juniac (IATA), Geoffrey JW Kent (Abercrombie & Kent), and…

Bench Events
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COVID-19 threatens to ruin a record year for Africa’s hotel developers

Tourism is such an important industry in Africa, because of the direct and indirect jobs that it creates and sustains, as well as its strong foreign currency earnings

African hotel development had returned to growth at the start of 2020, with more than 78,000 rooms in 408 hotels in the pipeline, according to the 12th annual survey by W Hospitality Group, acknowledged as the industry’s most authoritative source. However, the COVID-19 outbreak is now shattering the dreams of…