Paul Jordaan to Lead EHG Operations and Development Across Nature-Led Hospitality Destinations

Experiential Hospitality Group has appointed Paul Jordaan as Group Chief Operating and Development Officer, strengthening the leadership of a hospitality company focused on nature, movement, culture and experiential travel. Jordaan was part of EHG’s founding leadership team and has helped shape its operating and development platform from its earliest stages.

In his expanded role, Jordaan will lead the development, opening and operation of EHG’s portfolio, translating nature-led hospitality concepts into commercially sound destinations with a strong sense of place.

His career spans more than two decades across Africa, Asia, the Middle East, the Caribbean and the Pacific. His experience includes senior positions with Aman Resorts, Six Senses, Virgin Limited Edition, Elewana Collection, Grootbos Private Nature Reserve and luxury lodges in New Zealand, as well as his previous involvement with ENVI Lodges.

Jordaan’s professional journey has combined luxury hotel operations with conservation, development, guiding and remote destination management. These experiences have shaped his belief that hospitality and environmental stewardship can reinforce one another rather than operate as competing priorities.

What is Paul Jordaan’s new role at EHG?

As Group Chief Operating and Development Officer, Jordaan will oversee the development, opening and operation of EHG’s portfolio.

His responsibilities connect two areas that are often managed separately within hospitality: the creation of new destinations and the operational delivery of existing properties.

For EHG, this connection is particularly important because the group’s concepts are organised around nature, movement, culture and the emotional dimension of travel.

Jordaan joined EHG as part of its founding leadership team, giving him direct involvement in shaping the company’s operating and development platform from its earliest stages.

His new position therefore builds on an existing relationship with the group rather than representing an entirely new direction in his career.

The role will require him to translate EHG’s concepts into destinations that are commercially sustainable while retaining a strong connection with their physical and cultural surroundings.

How much international hospitality experience does Jordaan bring?

Jordaan brings more than two decades of hospitality experience spanning Africa, Asia, the Middle East, the Caribbean and the Pacific.

His career has covered luxury resorts, remote lodges, conservation-oriented destinations and hospitality businesses where the relationship between the property and its surroundings is central to the guest experience.

He has held senior positions with several recognised luxury hospitality groups, including Aman Resorts, Six Senses, Virgin Limited Edition and Elewana Collection.

He has also worked with Grootbos Private Nature Reserve and a portfolio of luxury lodges in New Zealand.

This international experience has given Jordaan exposure to different operating environments, destination models and approaches to luxury hospitality.

It has also provided experience in markets where the success of tourism is closely connected to the preservation of natural environments and engagement with local communities.

How did Jordaan’s career begin in hospitality?

Jordaan’s path into hospitality began on his family’s wine estate in Stellenbosch, South Africa, where he grew up around the seasonal rhythm of harvest.

He initially expected to continue the family tradition of winemaking.

That direction changed during a gap year in London, when a part-time position at The Ritz London introduced him to the craft and human dimension of high-end hospitality.

The experience prompted him to return to South Africa to study hotel management.

He later trained in winemaking in France, an experience that deepened his understanding of provenance, seasonality and the relationship between hospitality and land.

Those early experiences became an important foundation for his later approach to hospitality, where the character of a destination and the environment surrounding a property are treated as integral elements of the guest experience.

How did conservation influence Jordaan’s hospitality philosophy?

Conservation became an important part of Jordaan’s professional development through his work at Grootbos Private Nature Reserve.

His early involvement in helping open Grootbos shaped his conviction that hospitality and land stewardship can serve the same objective.

The property is now recognised among the world’s leading luxury lodges, while Jordaan’s experience there helped establish his belief that successful hospitality should contribute to the protection of the environments that make destinations distinctive.

That philosophy was reinforced by subsequent work in destinations where tourism’s long-term success depends directly on healthy ecosystems.

For Jordaan, this means the hospitality industry’s responsibility extends beyond providing accommodation. Protecting natural assets and ensuring surrounding communities participate in and benefit from conservation can also support the long-term value of a destination.

What experience does Jordaan have with luxury nature resorts?

Jordaan’s career has involved several hospitality businesses where nature and place are fundamental to the guest proposition.

At Aman Resorts, he was involved in opening properties in India and worked closely with conservation efforts surrounding national parks, including Bengal tiger conservation.

He later led Six Senses resorts in Oman and Vietnam, gaining further experience in luxury hospitality where wellness, nature and destination character are important elements.

In East Africa, he guided Elewana lodges in Zanzibar and the Serengeti.

His work there included engagement with local stakeholders and efforts to professionalise guiding programmes across luxury lodges in the region.

These experiences provided exposure to the operational complexity of remote destinations, where guides play a particularly important role in connecting guests with wildlife, landscapes and local environments.

What was Jordaan’s work in East Africa?

Jordaan’s time with Elewana Collection in East Africa included leadership of lodges in Zanzibar and the Serengeti.

The work involved more than traditional hotel operations because guiding is a central part of the experience in wildlife and nature-based destinations.

Jordaan worked with local stakeholders to professionalise guiding programmes across the region’s luxury lodges.

He viewed guides as a critical link between guests, wildlife and place.

This perspective reflects a broader approach to experiential hospitality, in which the people delivering the experience are as important as the physical accommodation.

The experience also reinforced the importance of local expertise and responsible engagement with destinations where tourism depends on the protection of wildlife and natural ecosystems.

How has Jordaan worked with remote luxury destinations?

Remote destination management has been a recurring feature of Jordaan’s career.

His experience includes luxury properties in Africa, Asia, the Middle East, the Caribbean and the Pacific, where operating conditions can differ significantly from those of conventional urban hotels.

He later repositioned Treetops Lodge & Estate and Kinloch Manor in New Zealand, adding another dimension to his experience with destination-led luxury hospitality.

Remote properties require careful attention to operations, logistics, guest experience and the preservation of the characteristics that make the destination attractive.

Jordaan’s career across these environments has contributed to his view that luxury is increasingly defined not simply by physical amenities but by access, authenticity, space, time and intentionally personal service.

What does Jordaan believe modern luxury should look like?

Jordaan takes a deliberately contrarian view of conventional luxury.

He believes that sustainability and luxury can work in the same direction, rather than being competing concepts.

His approach suggests that thoughtful restraint and a lighter environmental footprint can create a more distinctive and emotionally resonant guest experience than conventional luxury amenities.

This philosophy aligns closely with EHG’s focus on experiential travel and nature-led destinations.

Rather than treating sustainability as a separate operational initiative, Jordaan views it as part of the fundamental design and experience of a property.

For EHG, that approach can influence how destinations are developed, how they operate and how guests interact with the surrounding environment.

How will Jordaan shape EHG’s developments?

Jordaan’s role will involve translating EHG’s philosophy into destinations from the ground up.

That means connecting development decisions with operational requirements and the eventual guest experience.

His background provides exposure to the entire lifecycle of destination hospitality, from property openings and repositioning to ongoing operations and conservation-led management.

EHG develops environments and journeys around nature, movement, culture and the emotional dimension of travel, expressed through boutique eco-lodges, guided journeys and experiential travel destinations.

Jordaan’s experience fits this model closely because much of his career has involved properties where the destination itself is an essential part of the product.

His responsibility will be to ensure these concepts become operationally effective and commercially sound destinations without losing their connection to place.

What is the philosophy behind Experiential Hospitality Group?

Experiential Hospitality Group was founded by Jesús Parrilla and builds on 25 years of experience across luxury hospitality, experiential travel and conservation-driven development.

The group develops hospitality environments and journeys that are organised around nature, movement, culture and the emotional dimension of travel.

Its portfolio model includes boutique eco-lodges, guided journeys and experiential travel destinations.

This positioning places EHG within a segment of hospitality that focuses heavily on experiences rather than accommodation alone.

The company’s approach also places importance on the relationship between the traveller and the destination, making local culture, nature and movement part of the overall hospitality proposition.

Jordaan’s operating and development role is therefore closely connected to the core philosophy of the group.

Why is Jordaan’s combination of operations and development experience important?

Hotel development and hotel operations require different skill sets, but combining them can help ensure that a property’s original concept translates effectively into its finished operation.

Jordaan’s career has covered both sides.

He has been involved in hotel openings, resort operations and repositioning projects while also gaining experience in conservation, guiding and destination development.

That combination is particularly relevant for EHG because its properties are designed around specific natural and cultural environments.

A successful nature-led destination must be commercially viable, operationally efficient and capable of preserving the qualities that attract visitors.

Jordaan’s role brings those considerations together under one senior leadership position.

What does the appointment mean for nature-led hospitality?

Jordaan’s appointment reflects a growing emphasis on hospitality models where nature, conservation and authentic destination experiences are integral to the business proposition.

His career demonstrates how luxury hospitality can operate in environments where environmental preservation is closely connected to commercial success.

From South Africa’s wine country and nature reserves to India’s national parks, the Serengeti, Zanzibar and New Zealand’s luxury lodges, his experience has repeatedly placed him in destinations where the surrounding environment is central to tourism.

At EHG, he will apply that experience across the group’s development and operating platform.

The objective is to create destinations that offer high-quality hospitality while protecting the characteristics that make them distinctive.

What should the hospitality industry watch next?

The key area to watch will be how EHG develops and operates its pipeline of nature-led destinations under Jordaan’s expanded leadership.

His appointment places responsibility for development, openings and operations within a single senior role, allowing the group to connect its concepts with the realities of hotel delivery.

His background in luxury hospitality, conservation, guiding and remote destinations provides a distinctive foundation for that responsibility.

As experiential travel continues to place greater emphasis on authenticity, nature and meaningful engagement, EHG’s approach will depend on its ability to turn these principles into commercially viable destinations.

Jordaan’s experience across multiple continents and hospitality models will be central to that process.