Hospitality industry voices high hopes

REPORTS filtering in from the industry at large appear to support the fact that the closing months of the year 2000 went some way towards making up for its lean beginnings and hopes are high that this year will prove more profitable.
This in the face of the fact that, according to Statistics South Africa's latest hotel trading statistics to September 2000, the average room occupancy dropped 0,6% nationally between January - September 2000 over the previous year, bed occupancy posted no growth and hotel income was down 0,8%.
Southern Sun Hotels has reported that its properties enjoyed a "good" festive season with occupancies up over the previous "flat" year.
"Average occupancies for December 2000 picked up markedly over 1999," said managing director, Helder Pereira, who added that bookings at its coastal and Drakensberg hotels were particularly good, especially over peak periods.
The group's three new hotels - Palazzo Inter-Continental Montecasino, Holiday Inn Maputo and Express By Holiday Inn Century City - all exceeded expectations. "All three enjoyed excellent occupancies, showing that our choice of location and brand was sound. They are all situated in nodes which we believe will continue to develop in future.
"After the disappointing 'millennium effect' last year, we saw a year-on-year improvement in both domestic and international leisure business this season. However, December is traditionally one of our quietest
months as our main focus is corporate business and we have a high concentration of hotels in Gauteng."
Richard Weilers, group marketing and operations director for Southern Sun, told Travel Now that the group posted record months in October and December for the most number of rooms sold in its history.
"But," he added, "one of the main issues remains that the industry is heavily discounted at the present time, impacting the true value of a room. Until demand meets existing stock, it will remain an issue. We are constantly looking at ways of optimising returns."
Alan Romburgh, president of the Southern Africa Tourism Services Association (SATSA) and ceo of Cape-based Relais Hotels, says the long-awaited upswing in hotel occupancies had at last begun to take place, especially in the Western Cape. Prospects for the year ahead, he comments, look better than they have for a very long time.
He bases this optimism on an ongoing survey conducted by Cape Town City hotel managers that had shown city occupancies for December 2000 up 7% on those of 1999 (from 56,6% to 63,4%), while in his own Relais Hotels group, the city hotels had improved their December figures from 70% to 82,3%.
Relais' suburban and country hotels had experienced a similar upswing, he added, but from a much lower base.
From the same survey, the year-on-year (January – December) Cape Town city hotel figures had also shown a rise from 48,9% to 56,1%.
"All the indicators, therefore, point to 2001 being a better year for the hotel industry, particularly in the Western Cape. 2001 should be a good year – and, believe me, those who have survived the difficulties of the last two years, have earned a place in the sun."

(Elizabeth Sheridan)