Tibiyo TakaNgwane Managing Director Dr AT Dlamini has described a probable Hilton partnership for the Royal Swazi Spa as a ‘done deal’, raising expectations that the Ezulwini-based hotel will reopen soon.
Dlamini said this on the sidelines of the UAE Leadership Cocktail Event at Hilton Garden Inn, Mbabane on Monday, where Hilton Group Vice President of Operations for Sub-Saharan Africa and the Indian Ocean Victor Chalfoun, was the guest of honour.
He said negotiations and due diligence on the partnership were substantially complete and expressed confidence that the hotel would reopen in a few months’ time.
“I told Victor from Dubai that I used to work for the bank, Central Bank. When we did business, especially on dealing, we used to say my word is my bond. So even now, I told him that, please, may your word be a bond,” Dlamini said.
The MD also stated that Chalfoun’s indication that the process had reached the stage of determining what remained before reopening was encouraging.
“The due diligence, it has to be done as quickly as possible, and I’m sure it is being done. I know I have seen it,” he said.
Dlamini subsequently gave his strongest indication yet of the anticipated reopening timeline, saying: “Ladies and gentlemen, we are hoping that soon the hotel will be open.”
Further during the interview, Dlamini was even more emphatic about the status of the Hilton arrangement.
“This deal is concluded. And yes I have faith. I don’t do things without believing they would happen. Many things I can tell you, because I said this and they happened. This deal with Hilton is good as finished. That’s why I said reopening is imminent,” he said.
He said the reopening would bring back employees while contributing to economic activity at a time when tourism was becoming increasingly important.
“The employees will come back. And the economy is taking off. Things are changing in the world now. Tourism is the thing.
“So we are happy, and we’re also happy with the partners,” Dlamini said.
The partnership is expected to involve Tibiyo TakaNgwane, the Public Service Pensions Fund (PSPF) and Hilton Group.
However, Chalfoun struck a more measured tone when asked about the possibility of Hilton expanding its presence to the Royal Swazi Spa and potentially other properties in Ezulwini.
He confirmed that Hilton was happy with its relationship with the hotel’s owners and said the group was “currently exploring other opportunities”.
“We are always looking for opportunities, so we are evaluating the possibility of further partnerships,” Chalfoun said.
He added that Hilton would only make an announcement once its evaluation process had been completed.
“We like to evaluate the opportunities very well. And then once that is done, we’ll be able to share more information about it,” he said.
PSPF CEO Masotsha Vilakati also expressed optimism about the Royal Swazi Spa reopening, describing it as a “known secret” that the properties would be operational soon.
Vilakati recalled a recent tourism event where the Royal Swazi reopening was discussed, saying Prime Minister Russell Mmiso Dlamini had questioned why stakeholders continued talking about the reopening instead of simply opening the hotel.
Nonetheless, the CEO said PSPF was looking forward to making the partnership work and confirmed that the organisation already had other ventures with Tibiyo TakaNgwane.
“I think there are other ventures. I’m not going to say what, but they are there — more than one, definitely,” Vilakati said.
But for the Tibiyo MD, the focus is now on completing the remaining work and turning the long-awaited reopening into reality.
“We have to work hard, very hard,” he said, adding that the vision behind the project was now nearing completion.
