The Sacred Art of Hospitality
At Index we are passionate about hospitality because of the impact it has on guests, employees and the community – society at large. Historically and globally we see that hospitality was viewed as a sacred art that united people.
In the Greco-Roman culture the concept of hospitality (Latin: Hospitium and Greek: ξενία, xenia, προξενία) was viewed as a divine right of the guest and a divine duty of the host, the word itself meant to care for a stranger. As such, the innkeeper was considered as presiding over the house of God, not merely providing a sacred place for shelter and sustenance to travellers but more to receive strangers as guests.
At Index Hotels we are conscious that we must balance the commercial value of hospitality, not allowing it to break the ties of benevolence, causing us to shift our focus from the love of people to the love of money. Rather we stand firm on the principle that if we do hospitality right we will yield the fruit of profit.
Hospitality, the virtue of a great soul that cares for the whole universe through the ties of humanity
Hospitality is a meeting of minds, it is an openness to the familiar, a freedom to meet to discuss and question the mystery of self, social events, experiences, nature and truth.
The human factor is key to our success and being authentically hospitable is a matter of our whole orientation. Our goal at Index Hotels is to exemplify the key elements of hospitality:
- Generous of Spirit
- Confidently Comfortable
- Cooperatively Charitable
- Unsparingly Gracious
- Ungrudgingly Sincere
- All-Inclusive and Welcoming
- Open-Hearted and Joyful
Hospitality is a catalyst for creating communities; people are hungry for the sense of belonging that community engenders. We see ourselves as community builders, helping to remove unhealthy barriers and creating communities that are conscious in their acceptance – make room at the table for everyone. Cultivating hospitality is one of the wisest investments; it is an investment in self, in relationships, in community and in unification.
Our Mission
We are strategic and intentional about managing and developing bespoke independent hotels, offering heartfelt hospitality to our guests and sustainable returns to our stakeholders.
Index Hotels has an in-depth understanding of the operational nuances which make a successful hospitality business in the African context. These include revenue optimisation and cost efficiencies with the net result being an operation that has soul, offering heartfelt hospitality, and producing above average profits.
Why an African focus?
Prior to the pandemic, Travel & Tourism (including its direct, indirect and induced impacts) accounted for 1 in 4 of all new jobs created across the world, 10.6% of all jobs (334 million), and 10.4% of global GDP (US$9.2 trillion).
Seven of the ten fastest growing economies in the world are in Africa and Africa is likely to double its number of tourist arrivals – to reach 134 million by 2030. Thus, there is no more fertile ground to cultivate hospitality and invest in its coalescing work than Africa.
In Africa, Travel and Tourism only contributed 6.5% (24.7 million jobs) to employment and 6.9% to GDP, leaving plenty of room for financial growth and an opportunity to create gainful employment for millions.
How does Index Help?
As an investor or developer wishing to develop hotels in Africa you must be looking for a hospitality partner who has in-depth experience and understanding of the African travel and hotel market.
You possibly wish to avoid the corporate red tape, high-cost structure, and the parochial mindset of megabrands. At Index Hotels, due to our entrepreneurial mindset, we take pride in guaranteeing you the personalised and expedient involvement of a highly skilled and diverse team who understand your specific needs.
Ultimately you want to achieve a return on your investment. As it is our fundamental belief that profit is the fruit of doing things right, we believe that Index will be your best partner in hospitality.
Are you looking to differentiate your hotel from the flood of brands in the market by offering a bespoke product and service?
Does your team have an in-depth understanding of the technology available and have access to the best-in-their-class systems at better prices than if you negotiated directly or via a chain agreement?
Do you want your hotel to offer dependable hospitality that is generous of spirit, comfortable, charitable, gracious, sincere, welcoming, and joyful?
Are you able to optimise the distribution of your room stock via multiple channels to key markets?
Do you have a global sales strategy which incorporates local sales and engenders focus on key accounts?
Do you need a tailor-made solution that distinguishes your food and beverage outlets giving your hotel the competitive edge?
