Chamwe Kaira
City Lodge Hotels Limited says its Namibian operation, Town Lodge Windhoek, continues to experience strong demand, according to its latest operational update.
Earlier this year, the group wrote down N$13.5 million in Namibia after new tax rules restricted how companies can carry forward assessed losses.
Under the changes introduced by the Namibia Revenue Agency (NamRA) in September 2024 and effective from 1 July 2024, losses can only be set off against taxable income up to N$1 million or 80% of taxable income, whichever is higher. Losses also cannot be carried forward for more than five years.
Last year, City Lodge reversed a N$20 million impairment loss in its Namibian subsidiary.
It cited improved performance and the capitalisation of an intercompany loan by its holding company, City Lodge Hotels (Africa) Proprietary Limited.
In Mozambique, the company reported encouraging improvements in occupancy, rising by just over 50% during the past four and a half months, despite the addition of 54 rooms since the prior period.
In Botswana, demand slowed over the past 12 to 18 months due to changes in government travel policies and weaker demand from the diamond sector.
The group, however, said it started seeing some recovery in October and November.
The update said economic and political stability in South Africa, along with better business sentiment, supported stronger trading volumes since the start of the 2026 financial year.
The group achieved 62% occupancy for the four months ending 31 October, up from 57.4% in the previous period. Average room rates increased by 3%, in line with inflation.
For the month up to 19 November, occupancy rose by 8 percentage points to 65%, compared to 57% in 2024. Average room rates for the month increased by 4.4%.
“Encouragingly, as we near the G20 summit this upcoming weekend, there has been strong demand for hotel rooms across the country, with the group occupancy running at 90.7% last night.”
The group’s strategy to modernise and refurbish high-potential hotels is progressing.
Projects are underway at the City Lodge Hotel Johannesburg International Airport, Barbara Road, the Courtyard Hotel Gqeberha, the Courtyard Hotel Sandton, and the commercial area at the Courtyard Hotel Rosebank.
Major refurbishments at City Lodge Hotel Sandton Morningside and Road Lodge Gqeberha will follow in the fourth quarter of the current financial year.
Caption
Town Lodge Windhoek is experiencing high demand.
