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A new hotel brand Home* Suite Hotels has recently been launched by Gidon Novick.
For the past few years Novick ran a hotel fund called Lucid. The strategy of the fund is to build an operate boutique hotels in prime locations in SA.
"We identified hotels as the most attractive area to invest in. Hospitality and construction are great job creators," he told Fin24. "Our belief is in the tourism potential of SA. We think it is the industry in the country with the biggest potential. SA has one of the best tourism products in the world and the weak rand makes it very affordable for overseas visitors. Globally tourism is a very fast growing industry."
In his view, SA is well positioned to take advantage of the growing numbers of people from China and India who travel abroad.
"SA obvisously has to look at obstacles like visas and security, but those are being dealt with," said Novick.
From an investment point of view, he said another upside of the tourism industry in general is property as an asset. That is why sectional title units form part of the ownership structure in the Home* Suite Hotels units. These are, therefore, sellable at any point in time, collectively or individually.
The company has interests in developments like the Onyx and Triangle House in Cape Town, as well as the Regency Hotel in Menlyn.
"Our strategy is to build our own hotels from scratch, but potentially we would also look at existing buildings," said Novick.
He said accessibility and nature of tourism accommodation has changed dramatically due to disruptors like Airbnb. At the same time, traditional hotels still operate.
"We saw an opportunity lying between these two models - aiming to provide the best from both. People value the predictability and security of a big hotel and the 'feel at home' approach of the Airbnb model. It is about finding that happy middle ground," said Novick.
Currently there are six projects in the pipeline. One is running already in Rosebank, Johannesburg, two are under construction (one in Sandton and one in Sea Point); and three are having feasibility studies done.
"We saw the opportunity to be innovative and create a service offering - to create experiences for people. I am bullish about the potential of hospitality to make an impact on economic growth and job creation. Tourism is a sunrise industry," said Novick.
