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New GM for Southern Sun Maharani Tower

John Aritho - General Manager of Southern Sun Maharani Tower in Durban, South Africa
John Aritho – General Manager of Southern Sun Maharani Tower in Durban, South Africa

Tsogo Sun is delighted to announce the appointment of John Aritho as General Manager of Durban’s iconic Southern Sun Maharani Tower.

As the “new face” of the newly refurbished Southern Sun Elangeni & Maharani complex, Kenyan-born Aritho, who is also a qualified chef, says he is excited about his new role in a new city.

“After spending six years in a fast paced city like Dubai, I am thrilled to experience what the city of Durban has to offer. Being part of this fantastically revamped property is also an exciting challenge as we seek to be the top rated hotel in KZN,” said Aritho who studied hotel management at the University of Bangalore.

His hospitality career began when he was appointed as an intern at the Taj Hotel in Bangalore, South India and the Oberoi , New Delhi before joining the Tsogo Sun group 17-years ago.

“It has been a wonderful journey for me at Southern Sun and Tsogo Sun has developed me over the years through its wide range of hotels, programmes and extraordinary mentors within the group.” Says Aritho.

Aritho has worked at the following Tsogo Sun establishments:

• Southern Sun Mayfair, Nairobi – Kenya
• Southern Sun Malelane Kruger Gate, Mpumalanga
• Crowne Plaza Sandton, Johannesburg
• Southern Sun Maputo Mozambique
• Southern Sun Dar es Salaam, Tanzania
• Sante Wellness & Hotel, Cape Town
• Southern Sun Lusaka, Zambia
• MAIA Seychelles
• Former Southern Sun Qamardeen & Al Manzil in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.

Says Aritho: “It is an honour to have the opportunity to work with Samantha Croft and the wonderful team at the complex while I bring in my international experience to these iconic properties. My mission is to bring energy and consumer excellence into the wonderful restaurant concepts that Tsogo Sun has created in Durban.”

Aritho who admits to have a passion for Indian cuisine and culture said he was “excited” when he was asked to take on a position in a bustling, colourful city of Durban bursting with a fusion of African and Indian culture.

Aritho is a keen motorcyclist who enjoys long rides and an avid vintage car and bike collector. He is also passionate about reaching out to disadvantaged communities

Part of Aritho’s vision while in Durban is to turn the Southern Sun Elangeni & Maharani complex into Durban’s top food and beverage destination hotel as well as the country’s top rated by consumers worldwide.

He is also determined to bring excitement and a fresh outlook to consumer excellence at the Southern Sun Elangeni & Maharani complex and attract more consumers to the city and it’s beachfront.

About Tsogo Sun

Tsogo Sun is the leading hotels, gaming and entertainment company in South Africa, providing a vast variety of hospitality and exciting entertainment and leisure experiences. Combining an established heritage with a professional and energised approach, the group proudly encompasses 14 casinos and over 90 hotels in South Africa, Africa, and Seychelles.
The company’s hospitality interests offer the widest distribution of hotels in Africa, providing world-class accommodation across all markets, including elegant, individually branded Deluxe Hotels and well-known trusted market leaders in the premier through budget segments, including Southern Sun Hotels, Garden Court, SunSquare, StayEasy and Formula 1 hotels.
The exciting urban and resort casino portfolio includes the most popular entertainment destinations, strategically located throughout South Africa. In the Gauteng province, Tsogo Sun owns the group’s flagship property, Montecasino in Fourways, which features, amongst other attractions, the award-winning Teatro; Gold Reef City Casino and Theme Park in Southern Johannesburg; and Silverstar Casino to the West in Krugersdorp. Additional properties are owned and operated in the Western Cape, Eastern Cape, Free State, Mpumalanga and KwaZulu-Natal, including the jewel on Durban’s Golden Mile, Suncoast Casino and Entertainment World.

Tsogo Sun (“TSH”) is listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange. The key shareholders of Tsogo Sun are Hosken Consolidated Investments Limited (“HCI”), a JSE listed investment holding company, and SABMiller PLC (“SABM”), the London listed brewing company. The remaining shareholding is held by various financial institutions and the general public.

Subashni Govender

BlackBook Events & PR, a Durban-based public relations, events and marketing agency offers the highest level of personal and creative strategic planning and service for local & international brands. BlackBook Events & PR creates attention-grabbing media campaigns and each signature campaign reflects our individual focus on our client’s unique needs, desires, personality and imagination. Leveraging our close working relationships with key editors of print, broadcast and online media, we are able to secure strategic coverage in national and regional press outlets to heighten both consumer and trade awareness of our clients’ offerings. We believe that the foundation of a successful public relations campaign is strong media relationships. With the owner as a former senior journalist for the country’s leading newspaper, SUNDAY TIMES, BlackBook Events & PR has an impressive network of top editorial contacts across a broad range of media outlets while keeping our fingers on the pulse of new and emerging media resources to complement a client’s overall campaign. This allows BlackBook Events & PR to provide invaluable media saturation across the country, no matter where the client is based.

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