Industry veteran Sol Kerzner will be presented with the Lifetime Achievement Award during the International Hotel Investment Forum (IHIF) next month.
The founder and former chairman of Kerzner International Holdings Ltd. is widely credited for redefining the scope and scale of destination resorts.
The youngest of four children, born in Johannesburg to Russian immigrants, Kerzner’s early career began in accounting before taking the helm of the family-owned and -operated hotel chain. He bought his first hotel, the Astra Hotel in Durban, in 1962 and quickly went on to build South Africa’s first 5-star hotel, the Beverly Hills hotel. Several more hotel development projects followed, expanding beyond South Africa until 1979, which saw Kerzner’s development of Sun City. The ten-year project encompassed four hotels, a man-made lake, two golf courses and an entertainment center with a 6,000-seat indoor arena.
Many acquisitions, developments and expansions followed across the globe, including the creation of the internationally recognized resort brand, Atlantis, as well as the luxury brand One&Only Resorts. Both brands continue to grow, with new projects planned for One&Only Resorts in China, Montenegro and Saudi Arabia, as well significant extension plans for the Atlantis property in Dubai.
Commenting on the award, Kerzner said: “I have been very fortunate in my career to have received some awards that have generously recognized my achievements, but it is particularly special to be honored by the IHIF with this lifetime achievement award from my peers at what is clearly the leading hotel-investment conference in the world.”
Alexi Khajavi, managing director of EMEA Hospitality + Travel Group for Hotel Management's parent company, Questex, said: “This accolade represents so much more than just intelligent hotel development. The scale, complexity and exceptional standards of luxury involved in so many of the projects that Sir Sol has launched over his illustrious career are simply remarkable and ground-breaking within the industry. It is an honor to be able to present him with the award and we look forward to welcoming him to IHIF next month”.
The Lifetime Achievement Award will be presented during IHIF, which takes place March 4-6 at the InterContinental Berlin in a dedicated session and accompanying interview, conducted by consultant Michael Hirst, CBRE Hotels, at 3:05 p.m. on Monday, March 5. IHIF is organized by Questex.
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