Southern Sun bids farewell to two properties

SOUTHERN Sun's marketing director, Richard Weilers, has confirmed that the group will discontinue operations at two of its Western Cape properties, namely the Holiday Inn Garden Court Wilderness and the Garden Court Oudsthoorn. Weilers told TNN that the group would not renew its lease after March 2002 at the 149-room Wilderness property and would cease operations at the Oudtshoorn property at the end of this month. He said the decision regarding the Wilderness Garden Court was based on what he termed "a node-shift" towards new development areas such as Knysna and Plettenberg Bay, while Oudtshoorn was largely an add-on day trip to the Garden Route region. "We are working at reintroducing the 200-bedroom Beacon Island in Plettenberg Bay to our international leisure market, as it is a much sought-after property with overseas guests. We will also work closer with timeshare owners and encourage the idea of utilising the rental pool facility," he said. With regards to the staff at the properties which Southern Sun has managed for almost two decades, Weilers said the group would meet all its contractual obligations. (Miguel de Sousa)