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Guy Stehlik named among 100 Most Powerful People in Africa Hospitality

Guy Stehlik, chief executive officer and founder of the BON Hotels group, has been named among the 100 Most Powerful People in Africa Hospitality by the International Hospitality Institute (IHI).

The global advocacy, training, and standards organisation headquartered in Dallas, Texas, is committed to fostering excellence in the global hospitality industry, and, with its top 100, says it is “thrilled to recognise these change-makers and influencers for their work in promoting Africa’s hospitality industry.”

The names of the nominees have now been published in the Hospitality Power Index® for Africa and will also be featured in the December edition of the Global Hospitality Magazine.

Mr Stehlik said: “I am honoured by the IHI nomination and to be alongside many of my local peers and other hospitality leaders on the continent. Africa remains a sought-after destination, and, as BON Hospitality is an African hotel group by Africans, it is our job to continue ensuring a world-class African experience for our guests and hotel owners.”

A lifelong hotelier

Mr Stehlik developed a passion for the industry at an early age, having grown up in the hotels that his father managed in Cape Town. He went on to study at Stellenbosch University, Wits Hotel School in Johannesburg and Cornell University in New York state.

After graduating and returning home, he was employed by South Africa’s first international hotel group, the Hyatt Group, to be part of the team to launch the Park Hyatt in Johannesburg in 1995. His career journey became one of opening and re-opening hotels, leading to his appointment by the Protea Hotel Group, where he became an integral part of the teams launching the Victoria Junction Hotel and President Hotels in Cape Town.

Mr Stehlik went on to carve a niche for himself by taking on problematic or underperforming hotels and turning them around. This led to a string of successful reinventions of ailing establishments, where he employed a combination of aggressive marketing, a back-to-basics operational approach and excellent guest service.

In 2012, he set about building his own hotel company, BON Hotels, and today, the same strategic approach is used at all their establishments, coupled with owner, staff and guest centricity.

The 100 Most Powerful People in Africa Hospitality nomination represents a culmination of Mr Stehlik’s lifelong commitment to, and passion for the industry. It is also an acknowledgement of his pioneering, entrepreneurial spirit.