reigning over business and leisure travel regulations under lockdown advanced Level 3, and the differences between them, along with a government Twitter account which apparently can post by itself , accommodation establishments have been having a hard time of it. The only thing that does seem to be clear is that no one can stay in a private home, ruling out Airbnb or a pyjama party sleepover at your bestie.
Then, behold! There was a call for journalists to visit a selection of properties under the Cape Country Routes umbrella, and so it came to pass that we checked in at Evergreen Manor & Spa last weekend. When checking in, you don’t go through reception, but are shown directly to your room, where you fill in the required forms and have your temperature taken. At this stage of the proceedings, Evergreen owner Riel Meynhardt says they are fortunate to have rooms with this kind of access. Your key is in a plastic bag, and you remove it yourself. There is no turn-down service in the evening, no housekeeping , and towels are changed on request if you leave them outside the room.
There’s almost no demand from business travellers, said Meynhardt. “The people we see travelling are those who have no option and who can’t avoid it in any way – HR meetings, labour unions in discussions with the wine industry – but the normal business is all gone. With our fantastic setting two minutes from the university we would get visiting guest lecturers. Now the students are not coming back this year at all.
“If they don’t do that soon, we’ll lose the entire next year, 2021, as well. We are already getting feedback from Europe that people want to travel, they want to come back to South Africa. And if they can’t, they will look at alternative destinations. “We would consider opening for accommodation with no alcohol sales, but may reduce restaurant opening hours in the evenings. The majority of our guests dine in our restaurant, so accommodation and food sales would be sustainable without alcohol sales,” said Kate Christie, GM, Walkersons Hotel & Spa, which is not currently open.
Gross profit from alcohol sales constitutes 77% of restaurant profitability and 80% of total hotel net profitability; it’s a major and critical contributor, said William Stephens, owner of De Hoop Collection and chairman of Cape Country Routes. Having opened all accommodation offerings throughout the Cape Summer Villas collection, they are catering for essential workers, business travellers as well as limited intraprovincial travel being allowed under advanced Level 3 regulations. “We made the decision to open based on the fact we feel our properties offer a safe environment due to our ‘boutique’ status, spaciousness, and pre-existing health and safety protocols.
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