Lonrho and easyGroup to open their first easyHotel in Africa

150 150 Daniel Fountain
  • 0

Lonrho and Sir Stelios Haji-Ioannou’s easyGroup are delighted to announce the opening of their first hotel in Johannesburg for later this year. Branded as part of Sir Stelios’s “easyHotel” chain, the 120 room budget hotel will be created from the conversion of three floors of the classically designed landmark building, formerly Stuttafords department store. Work will start next month and the hotel is expected to receive guests in November 2012. Situated at the corner of Rissik and Pritchard Streets in the heart of Johannesburg’s Central Business District (“CBD), the no-frills but comfortable hotel occupies one of the most high profile locations in the country. Rissik Street neighbours retail stores Jet and Edgars as well as the Johannesburg High Court. The CBD is also home to many central and local government offices as well as the headquarters of several international mining companies.

The easyHotel.com Rissik Street is the first hotel under the exclusive 20 year master franchise agreement (“MFA”) that Lonrho enjoys with easyHotel.com. Together, easyHotel and Lonrho are committed to establishing an easyHotel network across Africa. The MFA provides Lonrho with the exclusive rights to the easyHotel.com brand in Africa and sets out an agreed opening schedule for fifty properties by 2016. Opening its first easyHotel at the heart of the Johannesburg, the commercial capital of South Africa, demonstrates Lonrho Budget Hotels’ corporate objective of operating hotels in Africa’s high demand, high growth destinations.

easyHotel will be the first trans-continental hotel brand in Africa specifically designed to be accessible to many, not a select few. easyHotel’s unique low-cost business model permits the customer to enjoy an international standard bedroom at a highly competitive price. The “easy” brand is one of the world’s most recognised and successful value for money brands and easyHotel.com Rissik Street will be built and operated to easyGroup’s exacting international standards, providing clean, safe and branded hotel accommodation for people travelling on business, leisure and visiting friends and family.

David Lenigas, Executive Chairman of Lonrho commented:
“This new hotel project between Sir Stelios and Lonrho starts the roll-out of easyHotels.com throughout Africa. easyHotel.com Rissik Street (a Lonrho Hotel) will be the first of many hotels designed to give Africans and visitors to Africa a first world hotel experience at a budget price starting from as low as US$29 per room per night. There is a large gap in the market for a quality budget hotel and the easyHotel.com room offering is ideally suited to fill this much needed gap across the Continent.

“Lonrho is already a significant brand name across Africa. We believe that combining it with the “easy” brand, which is well-known for highly successful budget operation, to create the Lonrho easyHotel.com chain will satisfy the growing demand from consumers across the Continent.”

Sir Stelios Haji-Ioannou, Chairman of easyGroup commented:
“easyHotel is all about simple comfort and great value . So I’m delighted to bring our first African hotel to Johannesburg. The city has a wealth of attractions and events of interest to both leisure and business visitors, and this new easyHotel will allow them to enjoy the best of what Johannesburg has to offer – without the expense. I’m confident that easyHotel fans will soon be putting South Africa on their destinations wish list.

“I’m looking forward to working closely with David Lenigas and his team as we begin bringing quality, value-for-money services to Africa.”

Daniel Fountain / 14.04.2012

Editor, Hotel Designs

Share

  • 0

Fun fact: I’m usually the person friends rely on to organise trips, schedules, and group plans.

Workhighlights: Successfully coordinating events from planning through to delivery and seeing everything come together on the day.

Fun fact: I’m a keen cyclist and will happily bore people with copious amounts of cycling chat. My top cycling experience (so far) would have to be riding in the spectacular mountains of Crete.

Work highlights: Charles joined Forum Events in 2022. With a background in publishing, editorial media and events, Charles brings a wealth of experience to his role as Senior Production Manager. Having being involved with SPACE from the outset, he is excited to see the brand grow and develop.

Fun fact: People tell Sienna she gives off Bridget Jones vibes, and she loves to bake, always making sure there are shortbreads floating around the office

Work highlights: Sienna joined Forum Events & Media Group while studying Communications and Media, starting in the sales team where she managed and helped launch the first the PA Life Leading Venues of London SHOWCASE, where she built relationships with luxury venues across the capital. Drawn to the stories behind these spaces, she naturally transitioned into the editorial team, creating social media and editorial content. Upon graduating in June 2026, she is excited to be joining as Assistant Editor for Hotel Designs and SPACE.

Fun fact: When not working, Jess can usually be found tending to her kitchen garden in the Sussex countryside or foraging for herbs in the nearby woods. A keen grower, she recently studied a RHS Level 2 Diploma in the Principles of Horticulture during her spare time.

Work highlights: Jess joined SPACE magazine in 2022 and has since progressed from Assistant Editor to Editor. During this time, she has worked across many aspects of the publication – from shaping editorial strategy and overseeing operations to contributing to art direction and representing the brand on stage at industry events including Surface Design Show and WOW!house.

Alongside her role at SPACE, Jess has built a creative career spanning the arts, culture, design and travel sectors. Prior to joining the magazine, she spent more than a decade in the commercial art industry, in artist liaison, gallery management, and curating collections for the hospitality sector across hotels and cruise ships. During this time, she also worked on freelance projects as a writer, photographer, and creative content producer.
 
Jess studied photojournalism at London College of Communication and the Danish School of Media and Journalism and holds a first-class BA (Hons) in Culture, Criticism and Curation from Central Saint Martins.

Fun fact: Katy has spent years perfecting all kinds of accents and loves a good impersonation!

Work highlights: Katy has been with Hotel Designs since the beginning, way back in 2015 when Forum Events & Media Group acquired the brand.

During this time, she has fostered many meaningful relationships with clients from across the hospitality spectrum, as well as playing a pivotal role in the launch of The Brit List Awards, Hotel Designs MEET UPs, client-led roundtables and panel talks, brand and website redesigns, HD Wellness Sets, DESIGN POD podcast, Hotel Designs LIVE panel talk series, Accessible Design Talks and more. Katy is always on the lookout for the next opportunity to help grow the Hotel Designs brand even further.
 
Most recently Katy has stepped in to the role of Publisher at SPACE magazine, the printed bi-monthly publication focused on hotel design, architecture, and development.

Together these platforms offer a comprehensive 360-degree service encompassing digital media, print publishing, and live events – providing unparalleled value to advertisers, partners, and readers alike.