Global Hotel Alliance (GHA) is the world’s largest alliance of independent luxury hotel brands and owns the award-winning loyalty programme DISCOVERY. On 01 February 2021, it announced that Sun International will be joining its network in mid-2021.
GHA’s portfolio includes over 35 independent brands and 570 hotels in 85 countries. However, Sun International will be the first South African brand to join their impressive network.
“They will immediately have access to a global audience of over 17 million DISCOVERY members; and we know from our research that South Africa is a popular destination for our customer base.”
Chris Hartley, GHA’s CEO, says, “Finding a strong partner to enter South Africa has long been a priority for GHA, and this positive news reflects our optimism that the travel industry will soon be on the road to recovery. We are proud to welcome Sun International as GHA’s member brand in South Africa, and we are confident that they will benefit greatly from joining the alliance. They will immediately have access to a global audience of over 17 million DISCOVERY members; and we know from our research that South Africa is a popular destination for our customer base.”
Anthony Leeming, CEO of Sun International, adds, “Joining Global Hotel Alliance marks an exciting step for Sun International and our guests and represents an important evolution in our guest recognition and rewards strategy. In parallel with Sun International’s Most Valued Guest (MVG) loyalty scheme, our recognition programme for gaming members, GHA’s DISCOVERY loyalty programme will enable us to better recognise and reward our hotel guests and welcome new customers.”
He continues, “Notwithstanding the challenging environment faced by the global hospitality industry, our decision to join GHA could not happen at a more critical time in our company’s history, and we look forward to a successful partnership with GHA.”
Sun International is one of the largest gaming and hospitality groups in the country, with flagship properties such as Sun City, The Table Bay in Cape Town (cover image) and The Maslow in Sandton, Johannesburg (pictured above).
The Table Bay hotel in Cape Town is expected to go live on the GHA network first. This will happen in April.
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