Page 20 - Abyssinia Busniess Network November 2019

AHA:

Seeing Hospitality

Academy

Benyam Bisrat
President of Addis Ababa
Hotels Owners Association
/AHA/
Benyam was a primary driver in the restructure of the Addis Ababa directors and employs a-12-member
Hotels Owners Association/AHA/. He serves on the board of AHA as a fulltime team. Our association has
chairman. Studying Corporate Finance and Business Management 125 star rated member hotels and we
at York University in Canada, Benyam returned to Ethiopia to head represent the member hotels’ interests
the hospitality division of Jupiter Business Group in 2006. Currently, in Addis Ababa on various public and
the group manages two hotels, but it is developing numerous Coffee private platforms.
employers’ association under “ of hotels, rooms and beds in Addis
Retail Shops throughout the continent under the hadero brand.
Can you provide data on the number
Tell us about the Addis Ababa
Ababa?
Hotel Owners Association?
If we are truly
The hotel segment in Addis Ababa is
Our association was established
growing exponentially. In the past
in 1997 E.C as a non-profit
one brand new hotel every month in
transforming
the name Ethiopian Hotel talking about decade we exhibited an opening of
Addis and expect another 100 plus
and Restaurant Employers’ hotels coming into the supply by 2025.
Association. The Founders’ goals our tourism, we Number of rooms is set to double to
were to establish an association have to have 20,000 keys by 2025 G.C from the
that would support the industry current 10,500 as well. So evidently,
with high quality service and exceptional we are getting quite good at growing
product offerings. Due to the the supply.
rapid growth in the sector over accommodations,
the past decade, the association Are these all local developers?
felt the need to renew itself to not just here Growth is coming from both local and
meet the growing demand and in Addis, but international players. We are seeing
needs of its members and the existing local hotel owners expanding
city. This’s why we reinvented throughout the their portfolio holdings by adding new
and rebranded ourselves in 2012 properties. But also new local investors
E.C. Today, the newly rebranded country. are coming into the sector and most of
Addis Ababa Hotel Owners the recent local and global international
Association (AHA), is governed developments are a result of these
by a seven-member board of ” initiative.

18 Abyssinia Business Nework ህዳር 2012 / November 2019