Minor Hotels appoints Phenyo Marumo to oversee the marketing of its African portfolio | The Planner
Phenyo Marumo is the newly appointed Regional Marketing & Communications Manager for Minor Hotels Africa

Minor Hotels is pleased to announce the appointment of Phenyo Marumo to the Johannesburg, South Africa offices, as the Regional Marketing & Communications Manager for Africa. He will lead all marketing and PR activities for the brand’s Africa portfolio, including the well-known Anantara and Avani brands.

A proven track record

Phenyo brings a proven track record of marketing excellence to the role. Previous roles include:

  • Marketing Manager of The Big Hole Visitor’s Centre in Kimberly. Here he left his mark by achieving several accolades, including the Diamond Arrow for most interesting heritage site from the PMR Awards and a Silver Award for Excellence from the Cape Outdoor Adventure Show.
  • Integrated Marketing Campaigns Manager for the ABSA Group where he played a key role in securing a successful Northern Cape Government Account bid, planned the first ABSA Art Exhibition in Kimberly, and initiated and chaired the first Marketing Consultants Forum. His efforts were recognised with the Manager’s Award for building and strengthening strategic partner relations.
  • Senior Marketing Manager at SANParks. In this role he developed relationships with Provincial Tourism Authorities and marketing bodies, and, during lockdown, launched more affordable travel for the non-traditional market called β€˜SANParks Stokvels and Travel Clubs’.

Looking forward

In his new role, Phenyo will focus on infusing meaning into the brand’s marketing. He explains, β€œIn the travel industry particularly, brands need to be or mean something to everyone e.g. A getaway or place of rest to some, a sabbatical for others, conduct a business or celebratory, tick off a bucket list item, not forgetting a place to capture the next best image for content-creating influencers.”

He adds that the adoption of technology will also be a key focus for him. β€œMarketing in the current day requires leveraging technology, adopting new and innovative ways of communicating, and adapting to change swiftly and adequately,” he explains.

Minor Hotels operates in 50+ countries across Asia Pacific, the Middle East, Africa, the Indian Ocean, Europe and South America, with a diverse portfolio of over 535 properties. Currently their African portfolio includes 29 properties including Namibia, Lesotho, Zambia (Victoria Falls), Botswana, Mozambique, Kenya and Tanzania.

RELATED: How women are driving recovery in the tourism sector