Protea Hotels by Marriott is a South African hotel and leisure company headquartered in Cape Town, South Africa. As of December 31, 2018, it was the largest hotel company on the African continent, with 80 properties in ten countries with 50 rooms in addition to 14 hotels with 2,498 rooms in the pipeline.[2][3] The company was named for the flowering plant Protea, which is unique to South Africa, and its logo features a representation of the flower.
History
Otto Stehlik and six business associates established the company in 1984.[1] At that time, the founders held 40% of the stock, the remaining 60% being held by Bankrop, now part of Barclays Africa Group. Initially, the company had four properties under management; two in Cape Town, one in Johannesburg and one in KwaZulu Natal South Coast. Expanding to 20 within a year, over 100 existed after two decades.[4]