The Beginning Of The Orion Hotel Group

The Orion Group was founded by the CEO, Franz Gmeiner in 1991, with the purchase of an 11 storey office tower in downtown Johannesburg. A steady flow of acquisitions resulted in the 1996 purchase of the Devonshire office tower and hotel complex, in the Braamfontein precinct of Johannesburg. In March 1999, the hotel operations of Hotel Devonshire were taken over from the tenant, and this was the beginning of the current Orion Hotels portfolio of 14 hotels, resorts and lodges.

Hotels and lodges were acquired by through purchase, lease or management contracts. From the small beginnings in 1999, with the acquisition of the 63 room three star Hotel Devonshire, the hotel division now boasts hotels and lodges in the three, four and five star categories.

Our hotels are a fine selection of heritage hotels, luxury estates, city hotels, country retreats and private game lodges making Orion the only sizable boutique hotel group in Southern Africa. This unique hand-picked selection of individual properties offer diversity and an exciting array of experiences to cater to our rainbow nation.

People And Teams Making A Difference

Orion Hotels is a team-based organisation, and prides itself in building and developing strong, motivated, productive, but above all, engaged colleagues. Each team participates in formal team coaching sessions at least 10 times per annum under the expert guidance of trained and accredited business coaches. Orion Hotels has a sister division (Orion Business Solutions), which coaches most of the teams. It also provides coaching training for various levels of managers. This coaching philosophy is equipping our hotel management teams to cope with the fast pace of change in our industry, as well as with economic challenges, and the cultural diversity in South Africa.

Orion Hotels is distinguished by its strong service culture, quality food and dining experiences, Rolls Royce VIP fleet and its hand-picked collection of boutique hotels, resorts and lodges.