Hilton Hotel, another Covid-19 casualty, closes doors

The Hilton group has decided to close down more than a thousand of its hotels globally due to a reported steep decline in revenue.

The Hilton Hotel in Durban, one of the most prestigious hotels in the KwaZulu-Natal province, has become the latest tourism casualty of the COVID-19 pandemic.

One of the most prestigious hotels in the KwaZulu-Natal, the Hilton Durban closes its doors on Monday 11th January, albeit temporarily. This is after the iconic hotel was unable to financially support operations due to the global COVID-19 pandemic.

The Hilton group has decided to close down more than a thousand of its hotels globally due to a reported steep decline in revenue.

The American hotel giant also stopped operating the ‘Hilton Hotel’ in Cape Town last year.

The Hilton Hotel in Durban has become the latest tourism casualty of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The iconic 5-star hotel has been operating since 1997. The 19-storey high glass building towers over several businesses and can be seen almost anywhere in the Durban Central District.

The Hilton is synonymous with high-profile events. It has hosted countless dignitaries from heads of state, international celebrities, and even royalty.

The Hilton has a strategic location and indeed a partnership with the Albert Luthuli National Convention Centre which has been the most successful Convention Centre for some time. Due to the nationwide lockdown, the ICC had to cancel several local and international events and conferences which usually rake in millions. This has had a severe impact on the hotel.

The Hilton Durban, however, isn’t the only hotel in the province to suffer a major knock from the pandemic. The Fairmont Zimbali Hotel underwent business rescue in September 2020.

The general manager of Fairmont Zimbali, Wayne Krambeck, said the decision to undergo business rescue was made to safeguard the interests of its stakeholders, as the tourism industry faced disruptions because of the virus.

“The consequent stagnation in global economic activity together with the South African government-imposed national state of disaster has impacted negatively on our business,” Krambeck said.

Two other major players in the South African hospitality industry, Sun International and Tsogo Sun, also faced financial challenges as both their share prices declined significantly during the year.

SUI owns and operates around 19 resorts across South Africa, as well as two hotels in Latin America.

The Tsogo Sun Group (JSE: TSG), another huge South African hotel and casino operator, saw its shares decline by more than 57%.

Tsogo Sun operates 92 hotels across South Africa and another eight throughout the rest of the continent.

The group also operates two hotels abroad, one in the UAE and another in Seychelles.