“One man with a dream” is how East London businessman Sam Nassimov describes his journey to build up the Premier Hotels & Resorts group based in the city.
The group celebrated its 25th anniversary with a sumptuous banquet at the weekend in its flagship local facility – the East London International Convention Centre (ELICC).
Soviet Union-born Nassimov bought his first hotel, the then-Carlton on Inverleith Terrace in Quigney in 1990, and after a total refurbishment, reopened it as the three-star Premier Hotel King David a year later.
Trained as a hotel chef in his adoptive Israel, Nassimov made good food at reasonable prices a signature of the King David offering. The hotel thrived, even as he self-deprecatingly today likens the running of it to the madcap TV series Faulty Towers.
But, four years later, the visionary entrepreneur had already tendered for the vacant development plot on which the ELICC and related facilities now stand. The precinct was developed in phases at a time when interest rates had hit the 26% mark, but the Premier Hotel Regent, which opened in 1998, rapidly became the biggest success story of the group.
Mpongo Park followed a few years later and the group soon started looking at expanding its footprint across the country.
From 2007 to 2010, Nassimov’s attention was focused on the “challenging” development of the ELICC complex, including the 260-room hotel, together with the Premier Hotel OR Tambo, an investment totalling R650-million, with almost half of that contributed by the Industrial Development Corporation.
Today, Premier Hotels & Resorts has 1900 beds in 16 hotels and resorts across the country, generating R540-million in turnover annually.
It employs more than a thousand people, apart from those employed on a contract basis or by suppliers in various business operations.
The group owns all of its hospitality sites which, based on an audit done by a third party a few years ago, valued the prestigious assets at R2.7-billion.
Nassimov said the Premier’s edge is based on providing:
lQuality products and services with “more reasonable” pricing than its competitors. He gets involved personally in procurement negotiations, ensuring that the company gets the best quality for reasonable rates;
lUnique offerings which do not duplicate what might already be available in the market;
lOngoing training of staff.
“Our clients don’t want to be another number in the hotel.
“They want to be known, they want the general manager to go up there in the morning and check how they slept. These things are very important.”
The next phase of growth for the group will be in secondary cities, including Port Elizabeth, Bloemfontein, Mthatha (where plans are advanced for a major hotel development), Polokwane, Upington and Rustenburg.
Growth will be driven through a re-branding strategy which will separate the hospitality offerings into Premier, Splendid Inns and Express Inns.
There has been interest in the group by potential buyers, but Nassimov is emphatic that Premier is not for sale.
And, he said, the group will always acknowledge East London as its home base – he commutes from the city almost daily to conduct business around the country – although he hints at operational pressures to establish its head office elsewhere in future.
Nassimov’s attitude towards the challenges of doing business in Buffalo City is stoic, reflected in a Russian proverb “if you’re afraid of wolves, don’t go into the woods”.
He laments the degradation and littering of the beachfront area, saying Premier has offered to join the municipality in a public-private partnership to provide essential services, but without success thus far.
Of the recent water supply shutdown in the metro, he said they ran the hotel for four days without a regular water supply.
It wasn’t easy for staff tasked with providing solutions, but guests remained comfortable and almost insulated from the disaster.
But he is adamant the metro joins forces with the private sector in joint marketing of the hospitality industry, especially in establishing a convention bureau that will attract conferences from around the world.
Humble start for EL’s hotel king
The group celebrated its 25th anniversary with a sumptuous banquet at the weekend in its flagship local facility – the East London International Convention Centre (ELICC).
Soviet Union-born Nassimov bought his first hotel, the then-Carlton on Inverleith Terrace in Quigney in 1990, and after a total refurbishment, reopened it as the three-star Premier Hotel King David a year later.
Trained as a hotel chef in his adoptive Israel, Nassimov made good food at reasonable prices a signature of the King David offering. The hotel thrived, even as he self-deprecatingly today likens the running of it to the madcap TV series Faulty Towers.
But, four years later, the visionary entrepreneur had already tendered for the vacant development plot on which the ELICC and related facilities now stand. The precinct was developed in phases at a time when interest rates had hit the 26% mark, but the Premier Hotel Regent, which opened in 1998, rapidly became the biggest success story of the group.
Mpongo Park followed a few years later and the group soon started looking at expanding its footprint across the country.
From 2007 to 2010, Nassimov’s attention was focused on the “challenging” development of the ELICC complex, including the 260-room hotel, together with the Premier Hotel OR Tambo, an investment totalling R650-million, with almost half of that contributed by the Industrial Development Corporation.
Today, Premier Hotels & Resorts has 1900 beds in 16 hotels and resorts across the country, generating R540-million in turnover annually.
It employs more than a thousand people, apart from those employed on a contract basis or by suppliers in various business operations.
The group owns all of its hospitality sites which, based on an audit done by a third party a few years ago, valued the prestigious assets at R2.7-billion.
Nassimov said the Premier’s edge is based on providing:
lQuality products and services with “more reasonable” pricing than its competitors. He gets involved personally in procurement negotiations, ensuring that the company gets the best quality for reasonable rates;
lUnique offerings which do not duplicate what might already be available in the market;
lOngoing training of staff.
“Our clients don’t want to be another number in the hotel.
“They want to be known, they want the general manager to go up there in the morning and check how they slept. These things are very important.”
The next phase of growth for the group will be in secondary cities, including Port Elizabeth, Bloemfontein, Mthatha (where plans are advanced for a major hotel development), Polokwane, Upington and Rustenburg.
Growth will be driven through a re-branding strategy which will separate the hospitality offerings into Premier, Splendid Inns and Express Inns.
There has been interest in the group by potential buyers, but Nassimov is emphatic that Premier is not for sale.
And, he said, the group will always acknowledge East London as its home base – he commutes from the city almost daily to conduct business around the country – although he hints at operational pressures to establish its head office elsewhere in future.
Nassimov’s attitude towards the challenges of doing business in Buffalo City is stoic, reflected in a Russian proverb “if you’re afraid of wolves, don’t go into the woods”.
He laments the degradation and littering of the beachfront area, saying Premier has offered to join the municipality in a public-private partnership to provide essential services, but without success thus far.
Of the recent water supply shutdown in the metro, he said they ran the hotel for four days without a regular water supply.
It wasn’t easy for staff tasked with providing solutions, but guests remained comfortable and almost insulated from the disaster.
But he is adamant the metro joins forces with the private sector in joint marketing of the hospitality industry, especially in establishing a convention bureau that will attract conferences from around the world.
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