http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_98ISabUcqU

The outlook for the 5-Star hotel market in South Africa is looking brighter, says Joop Demes, CEO of Pam Golding Hospitality, particularly when viewed against the backdrop of global uncertainty.

“As far as many of us can remember, Europe’s financial future has never seemed quite so fragile,” he says. “To comment with any certainty on the 2012 outlook for Europe and on the exchange rate of the Euro versus the Rand will depend on Europe’s politicians showing sound leadership by saving the Euro through fiscal and monetary reform.”

Demes says while Africa has been fairly insulated from the Euro crisis due to its lack of meaningful integration into the global financial system, the fluctuations in the Rand’s exchange rate do play a major factor in terms of foreign investment and in terms of the value-for-money proposition for foreign tourists to South Africa.

“The Rand exchange rates to the Euro, Pound and Dollar that prevailed during December 2011 and January 2012, did translate on average to a 15 percent discount compared to prices last season. There is no doubt that this has contributed to a sharp improvement in ‘high end’ leisure business in Cape Town and to a lesser extent in Johannesburg.

“Lead times for visitor bookings are indeed becoming shorter and the 2010 Soccer World Cup gave many new visitors a very favourable impression which is clearly paying off as foreign tourists are attracted by word-of-mouth recommendations from friends and family who were here June/July 2010. This is coupled with prices that are lower compared to the prices during the World Cup event,” he says.

Demes adds it is very positive to see the resilience of the big brands in Cape Town, with hotels such as the Cape Grace and the Mount Nelson showing high double digit increase in RevPAR (revenue per available room) with an increase in room rate and occupancy for the first couple of months of the season.

Quoting statistics extracted from the December 2011 STR Global South African Hotel review, he says that in the Cape Town 5-Star market – written off by many market commentators over the past six months – hoteliers experienced a very pleasing final quarter of 2011. During the period October to December 2011 the occupancy figures averaged 66.4 percent, reflecting an increase of 18.1 percent compared to the same period last year.

“Cape Town 5-Star hotels increased their 2011 annual average occupancy by 8.5 percent compared to the 2010 World Cup year. In what remains a competitive market, the encouraging news is that Cape Town’s 5-Star hotels managed on average to increase their room rate by 2.3 percent during December 2011 compared to December 2010,” says Demes.

“While the January 2012 STR review has not yet become available (at the time this comment was issued), it appears to have been another rewarding month for the big brands in the 5-Star hotel industry in Cape Town. The Cape Grace, One&Only, The Table Bay and Radisson Blu all experienced very healthy increases in RevPAR compared to last year, with the Mount Nelson notable for phenomenal 49.5 percent growth in RevPAR in January 2012 compared to January 2011.

“We anticipate that the January 2012 RevPAR growth for the Cape Town 5-Star market in will be in excess of 20 percent compared to January 2011,” he adds.

The outlook for February, March and April (2012) is also positive among most of the 5-Star hoteliers; the Cape Grace is on target to record its best month ever in February 2012 and the Mount Nelson already has 17 percent more business on its books for the rest of 2012 compared to last year. “The introduction of new direct flights, the positive image of Cape Town and South Africa, unrest in the Middle East and an improved exchange rate have no doubt played a role for improved trading at both of our hotels,” says Sandro Fabris, regional managing director in Africa for the Orient Express Group – owners of the Mount Nelson in Cape Town and the Westcliff Hotel in Johannesburg.

Demes says December 2011 hotel occupancy throughout South Africa grew by 11.5 percent compared to December 2010 and the consensus among industry leaders is that business and event travel will also fare better during 2012. “It seems that increased demand throughout the country is starting to absorb the room inventory that escalated sharply during the period 2008 to 2010.

“There are a number of international funds and private individuals seeking operators and hotels that provide a compelling offer to a target market that can demonstrate growth and stability. In conjunction with this there are a number of sellers needing to raise liquidity and this could well result into a one or two larger deals with critical mass that will pave the way for one of the bigger global brands,” he says.

He says Accor, Starwood and Hilton have all announced aggressive expansion plans in Sub-Saharan Africa while Marriott, which for many years has been looking for an opportunity in Southern Africa, has announced the senior vice president appointment of industry specialist Alex Kyriakidis, former global chief of hospitality for Deloitte.

“There are also a number of luxury hotels for sale which offer exceptional value as long term strategic investments and there are good deals to be done with global operators that are seeking presence in the gateway cities of Southern Africa, for example Johannesburg and Cape Town.

“It is going to be an interesting year and acquiring properties to re-brand seems at present a better option compared to building something new. When speaking to a number of regional hotel operators most agree the timing is right to acquire existing hotel properties in Southern Africa,” adds Demes.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=USvQ5Fblahg

For the third consecutive year, the destination marketing organisation for Cape Town and the Western Cape joined the South African Tourism’s annual India road show, which started recently and ends on February 6. The success of the previous road shows resulted in the expansion of this annual workshop to include Bangalore and Chennai, both in southern India, this year.

“Due to South Africa’s inclusion in Brics last year, and economic woes in our traditional source markets, our sights are firmly set on high potential, emerging markets like India. At ITB Asia last year, it was evident that there is an increasing appetite for what our destination has to offers,” said Alan Winde, the MEC for finance, economic development and tourism.

“We have to strike while the iron is hot to keep Cape Town and the Western Cape top of mind in India.”

Calvyn Gilfellan the CEO of CTRU, who is in India, will be meeting with Indian travel trade agencies.

He said: “The sophisticated tastes of the Indian traveller will be easily met with the tantalising combination of exquisite natural beauty, gourmet delights and trendy shopping hot spots found in our destination.

“From 2009 to 2010 the number of Indian visitors to the destination jumped by 30% from 14 690 to 19 543.

“Unlike arrival figures from traditional source markets, like Europe, arrival figures from India and other emerging markets are on the rise.”

Gilfellan said that during the road show they would engage with key stakeholders and liaise with tour operators.

“This was the longest stop in any of the ports during the world cruise and was done in response to Cunard passengers voting for Cape Town as the one place they wanted to see more of,” explained Carol McCarthy, MD of White Star Cruise & Travel, the local GSA for Cunard Line. “Just imagine what this means for the local economy in terms of new stock taken on board, shore excursions and money spent ashore by the passengers!” she said.

After having set sail from Southampton on January 10, the ship arrived in Cape Town on January 25 and, while in port, replenished its stocks ahead of the onward journey to Durban, Mauritius and Australia, which it will circumnavigate before sailing on to Papua New Guinea and Japan. This was its third consecutive visit to the city and the ship is due to return during its 2013 world cruise.

Deputy Captain, Dariusz Gozdzik, told a travel agent and media educational tour that the vessel recently underwent a multimillion-dollar “smaller” refurbishment, involving, amongst others, the replacement of enough carpets to cover 24 football fields, while a “major” make-over was due next year.

At 345m long with capacity for 2 800 passengers and about 1 000 crew (60 are South African), the QM2 is a ship of superlatives. Some 150 chefs prepare 1 100 meals at each sitting. Passengers consume 6 000 bottles of wine a week. With 9 000 titles it has the largest library as well as the only planetarium at sea.

The company has also launched a special ‘Sunset Treatment’ at Indigo Bay Island Resort and Spa in Bazaruto Archipelago, southern Mozambique. Guests are welcomed with a glass of champagne and a soothing foot ritual. This is followed by a private Rasul treatment and a picnic. Next, guests are treated to an African Signature Massage. The treatment starts at sundown and is about four hours long.

In other news, Rani Resorts is in the process of launching a new user-friendly online booking engine with tour operator access and automated BAR update. More information will be released upon launch of the booking engine.

The hotel unpacks the traditional hotel offering by providing guests with what they need without all the additional add-ons. Guests can choose from three room categories: Itsy Bitsy; Teeny Weeny; and Bigger than a Bikini. All rooms feature a queen-size bed, en-suite bathrooms with shower only, a TV with DStv, hairdryer, free WiFi, and laptop safe. A ‘Family Pad’ is also available, with two rooms, one double and one twin, both en-suite with a private lounge and plunge pool.

Other facilities include a communal lounge and swimming pool.

Etihad earlier announced time changes to its daily Johannesburg service from January 24, which may enable it to introduce a second daily flight in future. However, under the new schedule, all Etihad flights to South Africa will terminate in Johannesburg and no longer operate through to Cape Town. The airline said it was examining other means of serving the Cape Town market and already had in place arrangements to offer passengers connections in partnership with local carriers.

Ethihad told Tourism Update the decision had nothing to do with the Cape Town route being unprofitable. “It’s about maximising connections through our hub of Abu Dhabi. It is a question of getting improved connectivity for South African travellers. This change in our Johannesburg schedule has allowed us to increase flight connection options from 185 per week to 368 per week, while still allowing convenient connections between Cape Town and Johannesburg in partnership with other airlines,” the airline said.

Fedhasa Cape Chairman, Dirk Elzinga, said Etihad’s decision was a pity because direct access definitely helped to grow interest in Cape Town as a destination and Fedhasa Cape members on many occasions had underlined the importance of direct international access. He said the inconvenience of having to change flights in Johannesburg may result in fewer Etihad passengers continuing to Cape Town but hopefully this could be compensated for if Etihad extended its schedule to South Africa to twice daily. Fedhasa Cape was also eager to hear more about Etihad’s promise to serve Cape Town by other means, he said.

Cape Town Routes Unlimited CEO, Calvyn Gilfellan, expressed disappointment at Etihad’s decision. “As much as this is a reflection of the tough trading environment we find ourselves in, this loss is being off-set by new direct flights by Air France and Edelweiss Air,” he said.

Western Cape Tourism MEC, Alan Winde, said: “While we never want to see airlines stopping their direct route to Cape Town, we understand the pressures of the economic downturn and Eurozone crisis and the challenge of seasonality. We will continue to market Cape Town and the Western Cape in new and emerging markets, as well as our traditional markets, to stretch our season so that airlines have a market to fly here throughout the year.”

Central areas have been refurbished, including the entrance, foyer and reception area. A two-bedroom apartment has been converted into a dining room for breakfast and dinners. The dining room will offer homestyle cooking and will be able to cater for functions of up to 20 people at a time.

Four of the two-bedroom, one-bathroom apartments are being transformed into two-bedroom, two-bathroom apartments. This will be complete by the end of November. In addition, within the next five months the revamp of the one-bedroom apartments will begin with the replacement of the kitchen cupboards and retiling of the bathrooms.

We are situated in a very central area in the east of Pretoria and although we are close to all the main attractions in and around Pretoria, you can often hear the quiet of the night. The original house was purchased in 1997 and then the dream began. In 2002 we started the building to change our home into the Lodge. The Guest Lodge was officially opened in June 2003

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TSKMRH3jPYY