City Lodge Hotels celebrates 40 years of comfort, consistency, and clever hospitality!

Today, City Lodge Hotels operates 58 hotels with 7,374 rooms under four well-known brands – Courtyard Hotel, City Lodge Hotel, Town Lodge, and Road Lodge – catering to business and leisure travellers across South Africa, Namibia, Botswana, and Mozambique.

Clear vision

CEO Andrew Widegger says the strength of the group lies in its clear, consistent focus: “The select services model was perfect for the time. Business travellers didn’t need silver service – they needed a great bed, a proper desk, decent lighting and plug points, and a good breakfast. That became our signature. We’ve never lost sight of what people actually value in a hotel stay, and what they’re prepared to pay for.”

The idea of only paying for what you use struck a chord with South African travellers, and the model remains relevant to this day. “We entered a market crowded with luxury hotels,” notes Andrew, “and this was a fresh alternative – practical, efficient, and friendly. That’s what set us apart.”

In recent years, the group has responded to changing travel needs, particularly during and after the pandemic, by rolling out Eat-in restaurants offering à la carte lunch and dinner menus to all Town Lodges and Road Lodges, adding to the already popular #Café restaurants at the City Lodge Hotel branded properties and Club Lounge in the Courtyard Hotels. Andrew says, “That was a big shift for us, expanding our food and beverage offering, and it worked. Throughout the past four decades, we have kept evolving while staying true to our core principles.”

Looking back

Clifford Ross was the group’s first general manager of the first hotel, became operations director in 1991, managing director in 1994, and CEO in 2003, before retiring in 2018. He recalls those early days with affection and humour. “We were launching something completely new. The sceptics didn’t think it would work here, but we proved them wrong. It was working in the US, and we adapted it to our local market. You paid only for what you needed, and the value was obvious.”

Clifford helped roll out the 1992 Service Excellence Programme, based on Hans’s TLC philosophy:

• Tiptop: everything in excellent condition, modern and maintained
  
• Loving: caring service for guests and each other
  
• Clean: spotless from bathrooms to car parks

In 1995, the company marked its 10th anniversary by launching what Clifford calls “probably South Africa’s first true Black Economic Empowerment scheme”, the Employee Share Incentive Scheme, which made every single staff member a shareholder. “That gave the Service Excellence Programme real depth,” he says. “People weren’t just working for a company; they were building it together.”

Of course, no 40th birthday is complete without a few legendary stories. Clifford shares his fond and funny memories:

• “At the opening of our first hotel in 1985, Hans lit a big fire to welcome our VIP guests, but the builders had left a cement slab over the chimney. The whole place filled with smoke and everyone had to evacuate. Memorable start!”
  
• “In Bloemfontein in 1989, the raclette cheese at the launch party filled the entire hotel with a smell no one could identify – we thought the landscapers had used manure too early. It nearly ended the party!”
  
• “And then there were the Hunt Lascaris ad campaigns. They made us a household name and people still mention them today.”

Built to last

Looking ahead, Andrew says the group is focused on growth, innovation, and long-term impact. “Celebrating 40 years of welcoming guests was a proud and deeply personal moment. I’ve been part of this journey for 32 years, and watching the company grow from a small portfolio into a multi-brand group with national and international reach has been remarkable. We have weathered multiple economic cycles, adapted to disruption, and emerged from Covid as a more agile, future-ready business.”

Andrew is most proud of the many stories of individuals who joined the group decades ago in entry-level roles and now lead hotels or have risen up the ranks to management positions. “That kind of continuity speaks volumes about who we are. It’s a living testament to our identity as a people-focused business. And that matters deeply, because it’s our people who have always been, and will continue to be, the key to our success. Their resilience, care, and professionalism have carried us through expansion, crisis, recovery, and now, growth.”

He adds, “City Lodge Hotels has always been about people caring for people. That ethos remains our anchor, not as a relic of the past but as a living principle that drives us to keep adapting, performing, and delivering meaningful, people-centred hospitality to every guest we welcome.”

Chairman Bulelani Ngcuka sums up, “As we look ahead, we do so from a position of strength. We are more agile, more integrated, and more intentional in creating value. The world around us may be uncertain, but our purpose is clear, and our strategy is built for resilience. I am confident that the foundation we have laid over the past 40 years, and the direction we have set for the years to come, will continue to serve our guests, our people, our business, and our stakeholders well.”

Major milestones