Cape Town office covers five hotels
Aleph Hospitality now runs a South Africa office from Cape Town. The operator announced the move on 18 September 2026 at the 17th Annual API Property Investment Summit.
The office covers five managed hotels in the country: Onomo Hotel Cape Town Foreshore, Onomo Hotel Cape Town Inn on the Square, Onomo Hotel Cape Town Waterfront, Onomo Hotel Johannesburg Sandton and Onomo Hotel Durban. Aleph describes itself as the largest independent hotel management company in the Middle East and Africa. Its own release puts the group at 15 or more hotels under four brands in more than 10 destinations across seven countries in East and South Africa.
The office oversees the operations of the regional properties and drives the development of future hotels for the group.
Rob Kucera leads the region
Rob Kucera heads the office as Regional Vice President for East and South Africa. Aleph announced that appointment on 17 August 2026. His remit covers the operation of 25 or more hotels under six brands in 20 destinations across nine countries, and the development of future hotels for the group.
Kucera holds more than 20 years in hotel management. He joined Aleph from Radisson Hotel Group, where he served as Complex General Manager and District Director for East Africa across Kenya, Rwanda, Ethiopia and South Sudan. Earlier positions include general manager roles at the Radisson Blu Bosphorus Hotel in Istanbul, the Pearl of Africa Hotel in Kampala and the Westin Cape Town. He also served as chief operating officer of the Hospitality Property Fund, South Africa’s dedicated hotel REIT, and as chairman of the FEDHASA Cape Board.
The numbers behind the decision
Bani Haddad, founder and co-CEO, tied the office to national demand. The release quotes him on record international arrivals of 10.5 million in 2025, an increase of nearly 18 percent year on year, and more than 4,000 hotel rooms in the South African development pipeline.
Aleph’s 9 April 2026 release had already named Cape Town among the offices the company was setting up. The same release named Casablanca, Abidjan and Nairobi, with Riyadh open at that point.
The 2029 portfolio target
Aleph set its current target in April 2026: 100 hotels by the end of 2029. That release records more than 50 hotels in operation and over 30 properties in the pipeline across 23 countries and 39 cities. The company reached an earlier goal of 50 hotels during 2025. Aleph’s contact block lists its head office at Jumeirah Lake Towers in Dubai.
The pipeline figure Haddad cites for South Africa exceeds 4,000 rooms. The release gives no split of that number by brand, by city or by opening year.
Open items on the record
Three items stay unpublished. The release carries no capital figure for the Cape Town office and no headcount for it. It carries no dated schedule for the first South African development agreement signed under Kucera. It carries no count of the management and franchise agreements under negotiation for the country.
Two further items sit outside the announcement: the terms and remaining duration of the five Onomo management contracts, and the point at which Aleph expects to pass 60 hotels on the way to the 2029 target.