Sol Kerzner to receive IHIF Lifetime Achievement Award

The International Hotel Investment Forum (IHIF) is set to present Sol Kerzner with the Lifetime Achievement Award during IHIF 2019.

The founder and former chairman of Kerzner International Holdings Limited was the youngest of four children, and he was 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 went on to build South Africa’s first five-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 centre with an indoor 6,000-seat arena.

Acquisitions, developments and expansions followed across the globe including the creation of the 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.

The Lifetime Achievement Award will be presented during IHIF which takes place March 4-6 2019 at the InterContinental Berlin in a dedicated session and accompanying interview, on March 4.