Simplybiz Pietermaritzburg: Royal Showgrounds

Guy Stehlik, CEO & Founder: BON Hotels

Guy Stehlik is no stranger to the hotel world. The son of hotelier Otto Stehlik (the founder of Protea Hotels), Stehlik grew up in hotel lobbies, playing bellboy at The Heerengracht Hotel when he was seven years old.



He later backed up his years of practical knowledge with further studies, most notably at the Wits Hotel School and Cornell University, where he was first exposed to the new art of Revenue Management being pioneered in the USA. Stehlik returned to grow the local industry, starting with the Park Hyatt in Johannesburg, which he helped launch in 1995. With the Victoria Junction Hotel, he really got to put innovation into action, creating a uniquely distinctive hotel built on unconventional thinking and made successful by turning every industry norm on its head. In 1999 his first job as General Manager called for him to turn the flailing Protea Hotel Strand Beach, around. He ticked that box and formed a strong relationship with John Saliba, a founding member of the BON Hotels team, which they launched in 2012. With a goal to become the frontrunner in both the South African and international hospitality sectors, BON Hotels is fast making good on its promise, with enviable contracts on local soil and joint ventures in Dubai that will see him managing his first three hotels in four months. His passion for the industry is paramount. This, coupled with his entrepreneurial nature and commercial ability, really forms the foundation for his success. For him, it’s all about surrounding yourself with GOOD people that have the talent and ambition to deliver that GOOD feeling to their clientele.

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