Lonrho and Sir Stelios Haji-Ioannou’s easyHotel Group will open their first hotel in Johannesburg later this year. Created from the conversion of the former Stuttafords department store building, the 120-bedroom budget hotel on three floors is expected to receive its first guests in November 2012. 

Situated at the corner of Rissik and Pritchard Streets in the heart of Johannesburg’s Central Business District (CBD), the hotel is the first under the exclusive 20-year franchise agreement  between Lonrho and easyHotel.com. The agreement provides Lonrho with the exclusive rights to the easyHotel.com brand in Africa, and sets out an agreed opening schedule for 50 properties by 2016.  

"We are pleased to be bringing one of the world's leading consumer brands to the South African hotel market. After securing such a landmark property, Lonrho Hotels looks forward to making South Africans and visitors happy, offering branded, comfortable and affordable accommodation in the heart of Johannesburg's CBD," says Ewan Cameron, CEO of Lonrho Hotels.

easyHotel.com Rissik Street is the latest addition to the Lonrho Hotels portfolio, joining the Hotel Cardoso in Maputo, Leopard Rock in Zimbabwe, the Grand Karavia in Lubumbashi, and the Grand Kinshasa. But Lonrho’s arrival in the South African market is significant for the location of the property and the fact that it comes at the budget end of the market.

Gautrain, the high-speed direct rail connecting O.R. Tambo International Airport with Sandton, Pretoria, Rosebank and the Johannesburg CBD, will connect Rissik Street directly with the airport, making easyHotel Rissik Street ideally placed to service a new market of hotel consumers wanting affordable quality accommodation in downtown Johannesburg.

“easyHotel is all about comfort and value, so I’m delighted to bring our first African hotel to Johannesburg," says Sir Stelios Haji-Loannou, Chairman of easyGroup. "I’m confident that easyHotel fans will soon be putting South Africa on their destinations wish list."