aha Hotels and Lodges is the tourism property management company of TourvestÍs Accommodation and Activities division. The company represents and operates a portfolio of properties in Gauteng, Western Cape, North West Province, Kwa-Zulu Natal, Mpumalanga, Limpopo, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Zanzibar, Uganda and Kenya in East Africa. In 2010, all properties owned and/or managed by Tourvest were consolidated under aha, which had been responsible for the sales, marketing and central reservations office for the groupÍs game lodges. The expanded aha then incorporated Relais Hotels and continued to manage and market the groupÍs existing portfolio while also looking at opportunities to expand the properties under management into areas of the country where Tourvest already conduct business. From a sales perspective the hotels and lodges under aha management had been divided into three sub-categories, each with its own specialised sales team, to cater for niche tourism markets. These consist of city hotels, lifestyle retreats and lodges. Each Tourvest property is graded in the four or five star category by the Tourism Grading Council of South Africa. The only exception to this is Lesedi Cultural Village, which is graded three stars and the lodges located within Zimbabwe which are ungraded but fall within the parameters set by the grading council. In 2012 the group appointed Managing Director Neil Bald who successfully restructured and centralised the core of the company with a new Head Office based in Rivonia, Johannesburg. The consolidation exercise was part of the groupÍs strategy of increasing the number of hotels and lodges under its management. Their focus is not limited to South Africa but extends throughout Africa and especially to those areas where the Tourvest group already has a presence. Tourvest is involved to varying degrees in a number of African countries which are seen as an opportunity to grow the aha brand into these countries.