The Plettenberg Hotel, part of The Collection by Liz McGrath, has announced it is contemplating a major restructure at the end of April.
This is due to the ever increasing seasonality of Plettenberg Bay as a destination for high-end leisure travellers.
“The hotel will potentially close for the winter months and reopen sometime in the future under a new format and vision. In recent years it has become more and more evident that luxury tourist travel to Plettenberg Bay is almost non-existent in the winter months, making it no longer economically viable to operate at our level during this period,” said Tony Romer-Lee CEO, The Collection by Liz McGrath.
“This trend is common in Europe, especially in the high-end luxury market and similar Relais & Chateaux member hotels in seasonal holiday destinations,” continued Romer-Lee.
He said the decision to possibly close for a portion of the year had not been taken lightly. “We are in consultation with the staff and management and a final outcome will be decided in the next two months. Should we close, our management team will reassess our guest experiences, bearing in mind the new emerging markets and travel trends that are changing travel as we know it.”
Romer-Lee said during the period of closure, The Plettenberg would use the opportunity to do extensive maintenance and some soft refurbishing as well as overhaul experiences for families, which over this last season has evolved into an important market for the hotel, both locally and internationally.
"We are confident that this way forward will allow us to consolidate and reopen stronger and better equipped to embrace the traveller of tomorrow. In the interim, we will be taking bookings until the end of April and provisional bookings for the summer months.”
