All news relating to the construction of new hotels in Cape Town. Hopefully we get some kind of list going. We keep hearing about 6 new hotels before 2010 and hopefully these will start being revealed to us.

Mosi do your thing.

Yeah, CT has been the most quiet of the 3 main cities with regards to new hotel development. Maybe this has to do with the explosion in hotel capacity experienced over the past few years there. CT does have the highest vacancy rates of the 3 major cities. I think the majority of demand for new hotel space would be 3 star for in CT that market has been forgotten in new hotel dev recently

yeah, i dont think there has been a dramatic need, according to FIFA's accommodation people, MATCH, they have already found all the rooms the need in Cape Town due to about 8000 rooms in Stellenbosch. I am sure that Durban and Johannesburg will soon meet the requirements.

I really think Cruise Ships should be brought to CT and Durban, even if CT's weather is 50/50 during the world cup.

Yeah, CT has been the most quiet of the 3 main cities with regards to new hotel development. Maybe this has to do with the explosion in hotel capacity experienced over the past few years there. CT does have the highest vacancy rates of the 3 major cities. I think the majority of demand for new hotel space would be 3 star for in CT that market has been forgotten in new hotel dev recently

I don't know if I would call it quiet in Cape Town. Sure it is not as brisk as in Durban but I think that Cape Town is still ahead of Joburg. Judging by the projects posted in SSC there are quite a number of new hotels listed. I would say that the activity in hotel development in Cape Town will likely be at it's highest since the great hotel boom of 1997-98 when there were 29 hotels with a total of 3,500 rooms constructed in Cape Town in this short term period (there were more hotel rooms constructed in Cape Town during this period than at any other time including the roaring 1960s) while in Durban during the same 1997-98 there were just four hotels constructed: Hilton, Riverside, Umhlanga Protea and Zimbali Lodge. Given the lack of new hotel room space built in Durban during the first 10 years of the New SA, it is about time that there is now at last a hotel boom in that city not seen since the 1970's.

I would agree that there is a shortage of three star and two-star hotels in Cape Town while there is no shortage of space in four-star and five-star hotels in the city which is still fiercely competitive right now. The Three Cities-run Lagoon Beach Hotel in Milnerton which has 202 rooms and opened in early 2005 as a five-star hotel was recently downgraded to a four-star hotel as it found that the market in Cape Town is tougher than they had planned and there was already an oversupply of existing hotel rooms at the five-star level which was accentuated by the opening of the 483-room ArabellaSheraton in August 2003. Since then there have been at least 10-15 new hotels built in Cape Town (mostly four and five-star) since the ArabellaSheraton and the adjoining CTICC opened which are mostly small with less than 40-50 rooms and a several with over 50 rooms. The Lagoon Beach was the biggest one opened recently with 202 rooms. Many of these recently built hotels including the Lagoon Beach operate on a sectional-title basis as opposed to a traditional hotel due to the weather dynamics of Cape Town where there is a drop of in visitors during the winter or green season. The sectional title offers more flexibility in reducing the high vacancies which accompany the winter and a typical hotel in Cape Town would be 30% full in winter while 100% full in the peak of summer. Even the Radisson SAS Hotel Waterfont and the Protea Hotel President in Bantry Bay are sectional title hotels. The 10-15 new hotels do not include the dozens of 10-room boutique inns and guest houses that have opened all over the city in recent years that have also added capacity to the city.

Yeah, CT has been the most quiet of the 3 main cities with regards to new hotel development. Maybe this has to do with the explosion in hotel capacity experienced over the past few years there. CT does have the highest vacancy rates of the 3 major cities. I think the majority of demand for new hotel space would be 3 star for in CT that market has been forgotten in new hotel dev recently

What is the hotel occupancy rate in Cape Town compared to the other cities.?

yeah, i dont think there has been a dramatic need, according to FIFA's accommodation people, MATCH, they have already found all the rooms the need in Cape Town due to about 8000 rooms in Stellenbosch. I am sure that Durban and Johannesburg will soon meet the requirements.

I really think Cruise Ships should be brought to CT and Durban, even if CT's weather is 50/50 during the world cup.

Interesting to point out the supply of rooms in Stellenbosch as well as Paarl and Franschhoek which has seen a stream of new hotels built although Fidentia's Arthur Brown did not have much success with the 90-room Sante Winelands Hotel (5-star) in Franschhoek (opened in September 2003), which used to be a Southern Sun until December 2005, and was closed down in March 2007 due to the collapse of the insolvent Fidentia group. However the Three Cities-run Le Franschhoek Hotel (5-star) opened in November 2005 and has just been recently expanded to 79 rooms.

All news relating to the construction of new hotels in Cape Town. Hopefully we get some kind of list going. We keep hearing about 6 new hotels before 2010 and hopefully these will start being revealed to us.

Mosi do your thing.

Some of these hotels are being revealed to us and are being planned with 2010 in mind although hoteliers are looking way beyond 2010 as it is a single pivotal event that should lead to others as well as more conferences and business tourists that are needed to make Cape Town an all year destination.

Here are some of the developments announced in Cape Town:

One&Only Hotel - V&A Marina Waterfront - R468 million - 150 rooms - Under Construction - due to open July 2009 (Six Stars)

Taj Palace Cape Town - Mandela Rhodes Place - R350 million - 174 rooms - Under Construction - due to open mid 2009 (Five Stars)

15 on Orange Hotel - Gardens - R450 million - 130 suites - Approved - due to open in 2009 (Six Stars)

Oscar Pearse Hotel - CBD - R300 million - 200 rooms - Approved - due to open in 2009 (Five Stars)

Express by Holiday Inn - St George's Mall - 161 rooms - Planned - due to open in 2008 (Three Stars)

Some of these hotels are being revealed to us and are being planned with 2010 in mind although hoteliers are looking way beyond 2010 as it is a single pivotal event that should lead to others as well as more conferences and business tourists that are needed to make Cape Town an all year destination.

Here are some of the developments announced in Cape Town:

One&Only Hotel - V&A Marina Waterfront - R468 million - 150 rooms - Under Construction - due to open July 2009 (Six Stars)

Taj Palace Cape Town - Mandela Rhodes Place - R350 million - 174 rooms - Under Construction - due to open mid 2009 (Five Stars)

15 on Orange Hotel - Gardens - R450 million - 130 suites - Approved - due to open in 2009 (Six Stars)

Oscar Pearse Hotel - CBD - R300 million - 200 rooms - Approved - due to open in 2009 (Five Stars)

Express by Holiday Inn - St George's Mall - 161 rooms - Proposed - due to open in 2008 (Three Stars)


theres also the one on wale street.

theres also the one on wale street.

What is the name of it? Are you talking about the Coral Hotel?

From Deloite's latest Hotel review.

Occupancy

Cape Town - 63%
Durban - 75%
Johannesburg - 69%
Pretoria - 68%

I think the main reason for the Durban hotel explosion is a combination of the very high occupancy (it is over 80% in 5 star hotels) and the fact that after years of dragging behind joburg and ct, the Durban revpar is finally catching up to similar levels.

Regards 2010 demand. Durban and Cape Town are the only 2 cities that meet the FIFA demand at present. Dont forget that the KZN South Coast has 80 000 beds, while the KZN North Coast offers 17 000. And both are in very easy access of Durban. These Stats were from the tourist organisations for each coastline.

From Deloite's latest Hotel review.

Occupancy

Cape Town - 63%
Durban - 75%
Johannesburg - 69%
Pretoria - 68%

I think the main reason for the Durban hotel explosion is a combination of the very high occupancy (it is over 80% in 5 star hotels) and the fact that after years of dragging behind joburg and ct, the Durban revpar is finally catching up to similar levels.

That is good news to hear about Durban. When I checked the Southern Sun website recently the rates quoted for the 4-star Suncoast, 4-star Elangeni and 3-star Southern Sun North Beach had reached the level of similar hotels in Cape Town (Cullinan, Cape Sun and Southern Sun Waterfront which are all graded four-stars) at least during the non-peak summer seasons.

Dysan, by the way what is the date of Deloitte's review and do you have a link to it?

Regards 2010 demand. Durban and Cape Town are the only 2 cities that meet the FIFA demand at present. Dont forget that the KZN South Coast has 80 000 beds, while the KZN North Coast offers 17 000. And both are in very easy access of Durban. These Stats were from the tourist organisations for each coastline.

According to FIFA's accommodation people, MATCH, the required rooms has been found for Cape Town but has not yet been achieved for Durban and Johannesburg.

One&Only Hotel - V&A Marina Waterfront - R468 million - 150 rooms - Under Construction - due to open July 2009 (Six Stars)

Taj Palace Cape Town - Mandela Rhodes Place - R350 million - 174 rooms - Under Construction - due to open mid 2009 (Five Stars)

15 on Orange Hotel - Gardens - R450 million - 130 suites - Approved - due to open in 2009 (Six Stars)

Oscar Pearse Hotel - CBD - R300 million - 200 rooms - Approved - due to open in 2009 (Five Stars)

Coral Cape Town - CBD - R200 million - 108 rooms - Planned - due to open in 2009 (Five Stars)

Express by Holiday Inn - St George's Mall - 161 rooms - Planned - due to open in 2008 (Three Stars)

One&Only Hotel - V&A Marina Waterfront - R468 million - 150 rooms - Under Construction - due to open July 2009 (Six Stars)

Taj Palace Cape Town - Mandela Rhodes Place - R350 million - 174 rooms - Under Construction - due to open mid 2009 (Five Stars)

15 on Orange Hotel - Gardens - R450 million - 130 suites - Approved - due to open in 2009 (Six Stars)

Oscar Pearse Hotel - CBD - R300 million - 200 rooms - Approved - due to open in 2009 (Five Stars)

Coral Cape Town - CBD - R200 million - 108 rooms - Planned - due to open in 2009 (Five Stars)

Express by Holiday Inn - St George's Mall - 161 rooms - Planned - due to open in 2008 (Three Stars)


15 on Orange - under construction

theres also the one on wale street.

I went to Dysan's posting in the CT Renewal thread which shows the project listings and found the one that is located on Wale St listed as a Shari'a complient hotel with 70 rooms at a cost of R70 million. I think this is probably the one but you might know better. But I did add the Dubai-owned Coral Hotel to my list above. The listing he gave is the one from Cape Town Partnership that has a listing of 25 major property developments in the city which has a number of other planned hotels not on the list I did.

15 on Orange - under construction

That's great. I'll make a change to my list. Do you have any photos of the site. Would like to see.

One&Only Hotel - V&A Marina Waterfront - R468 million - 150 rooms - Under Construction - due to open in July 2009 (Six Stars)

Taj Palace Cape Town - Mandela Rhodes Place - R350 million - 174 rooms - Under Construction - due to open in mid 2009 (Five Stars)

15 on Orange Hotel - Gardens - R450 million - 130 suites - Under Construction - due to open in early 2009 (Six Stars)

NH Oscar Pearse - CBD - R300 million - 200 rooms - Approved - due to open in early 2009 (Five Stars)

Coral Cape Town - CBD - R200 million - 108 rooms - Planned - due to open in 2009 (Five Stars)

Express by Holiday Inn - St George's Mall - 161 rooms - Planned - due to open in 2008 (Three Stars)

I went to Dysan's posting in the CT Renewal thread which shows the project listings and found the one that is located on Wale St listed as a Shari'a complient hotel with 70 rooms at a cost of R70 million. I think this is probably the one but you might know better. But I did add the Dubai-owned Coral Hotel to my list above. The listing he gave is the one from Cape Town Partnership that has a listing of 25 major property developments in the city which has a number of other planned hotels not on the list I did.

Orange - demolition has been taking place for a while..im not sure if the new building construction has started

Wale - the existing building is very much a thing of the past, construction has started.

Orange - demolition has been taking place for a while..im not sure if the new building construction has started

Wale - the existing building is very much a thing of the past, construction has started.


My understanding is that for the 15 on Orange the demolition has been ongoing although I'm not sure if the principal building contractor has taken over the site. I've read on a tender company's website which listed the project that they had received two bids in May 2007: from Murray & Roberts and Stocks Building Africa. The Stocks quote is lower but I haven't yet seen the 15 on Orange project listed in either site unlike the One&Only Hotel which has a project profile page on the Stocks website along with a press release page on it and a ticker tape on the Stocks homepage announcing that construction has begun on the six-star One&Only.

demolition is considered as "construction" in my eyes..means its not just approved but work has begun

Hyatt, Four Seasons and Kempinski are all activly looking for sites as they have investors lined up.
there is also the hotel (200keys) opposite the Westin on the canal on the other side of the freeway that we looked at. due to start construction this year. gone quite on it though

Hyatt, Four Seasons and Kempinski are all activly looking for sites as they have investors lined up.
there is also the hotel (200keys) opposite the Westin on the canal on the other side of the freeway that we looked at. due to start construction this year. gone quite on it though

The CTICC if I am not correct will take over this site for their new exposition centre and second hotel? Do you have more info on this development on the Roggebaai Canal?

demolition is considered as "construction" in my eyes..means its not just approved but work has begun

You're right about that one.

However the San Raphael tower in Durban was considered U/C since October 2005 because they demolished an old hotel on it but they did nothing since and earlier this year that project was canned.

Did you see any signs in front of the 15 on Orange site announcing who the building contractor is? Stocks? Murray &Roberts?

Mo, where are you?

That is good news to hear about Durban. When I checked the Southern Sun website recently the rates quoted for the 4-star Suncoast, 4-star Elangeni and 3-star Southern Sun North Beach had reached the level of similar hotels in Cape Town (Cullinan, Cape Sun and Southern Sun Waterfront which are all graded four-stars) at least during the non-peak summer seasons.

Dysan, by the way what is the date of Deloitte's review and do you have a link to it?

I get it in hard copy and it was their end 1st quarter 2007 edition. You have to pay to get it.

Suncoast has a 4 and a 5 star hotel and Soutern Sun North Beach is 4 star now.

The problem CT has faced over the last few years has been the glut of 5 star hotels. this has lead to major discounting over the non-peak and sometimes even peak periods. This has had a negative knock down effect on 4 and 3 star properties as people that previously would have stayed in 3 or 4 star accomodation can pay the same price for 5 star hotels. I fear that this next wave of development will add to the problem unless visitor numbers drastically increase, and i'm worried about the effect it will have in the off-peak season. Many hotels may go out of business at the median level.

According to FIFA's accommodation people, MATCH, the required rooms has been found for Cape Town but has not yet been achieved for Durban and Johannesburg.

No offence but i dont trust these people. In germany they prebooked 1000s of rooms and basically no one went thru them to buy their accomodation and hence many hotl rooms in germany stood empty during the WC and hotels actually lost money. I'd be wary offering them my hotel rooms.

Mo, where are you?

busy

No offence but i dont trust these people. In germany they prebooked 1000s of rooms and basically no one went thru them to buy their accomodation and hence many hotl rooms in germany stood empty during the WC and hotels actually lost money. I'd be wary offering them my hotel rooms.

Well im just letting you know what i know. We don't have the luxury of extra capacity for the world cup.

i think we are overestimating at times the numbers of people that will base themselves right in the cities. many tens of 1000s will rather be in coastal resort cities like margate, ballito, st francis, plett, george and hermanus or the berg. The city hotels will be full, but people are coming for a holiday, not to simply base themselves in cities. thats what the Match people forgot in germany and are doing again now. German hotels lost money not because there was an oversupply but because the holding company held onto too many rooms. That lead to many 1000s sleeping the streets or parks instead.

I get it in hard copy and it was their end 1st quarter 2007 edition. You have to pay to get it.

Suncoast has a 4 and a 5 star hotel and Soutern Sun North Beach is 4 star now.

The problem CT has faced over the last few years has been the glut of 5 star hotels. this has lead to major discounting over the non-peak and sometimes even peak periods. This has had a negative knock down effect on 4 and 3 star properties as people that previously would have stayed in 3 or 4 star accomodation can pay the same price for 5 star hotels. I fear that this next wave of development will add to the problem unless visitor numbers drastically increase, and i'm worried about the effect it will have in the off-peak season. Many hotels may go out of business at the median level.

I agree. I think the crime situation in Cape Town is out of control and I blame the lack of cooperation between the incompetent ANC provincial government and the fragile DA-led coalition city council for the mismanagemt of the security situation in Cape Town. Cape Town had more than a dozen foreign tourists from Europe mugged on Table Mountain this summer. Unlike Durban and Johannesburg, Cape Town is overly dependent on a stagnant overseas tourist market that hasn't grown significantly in the last seven years while Durban and Johannesburg due to geography attract a booming market of tourists from African countries. Cape Town on the other hand lags in attracting African tourists as it is still perceived as a "lily-white" city that has changed little since apartheid. We all know this is not true but perceptions are hard to overcome.

The hotels in the inner city are not doing well as there are at the moment and there are still too many of them especially in the winter green season where the average occupancy is only 30% while it is 70% in Durban and Johannesburg at this time. Even the ArabellaSheraton, which sits on the CTICC is half empty right now and I doubt it has ever achieved an annual 60% occupancy rate since it opened four years ago (the Cape Grace on the V&A is a small hotel which only had a 63% occupancy rate last year which was up from 59% in 2005 and 57% in 2004). The ArabellaSheraton is also not well received by leisure tourists who think it is too impersonal and dull. Hopefully this will change when it becomes a Westin Hotel and it needs to soften it's feel (an understatement). Hopefully then it would reach the magical 70% occupancy rate that is deemed acceptable in the industry.

Cape Town is not Johannesburg, the hub of Africa, and attracts largely leisure as opposed to business tourists despite the success of the CTICC which is the only large conferencing venue in the Western Cape.

No doubt Cape Town is the most difficult market for hotels in the country right now and everyone is discounting. Unless the crime situation in the city is addressed (we still have the highest murder rate in the country and why?) the effects of the World Cup will not be felt. We need to get rid of Kortbroek and put competent people in charge of DET.

Some hotels may very well go out of business. The Sante Winelands Hotel in Franschhoek is now closed and the Lake Pleasant Hotel in Knysna was closed last year and no doubt this is due to the oversupply of hotel rooms. Others that are not doing well like the ill-placed Lagoon Beach in Milnerton have downgraded to four-stars while others are being converted into sectional title schemes like the Alphen in Constantia with the effect that people are being layed off when these hotels have to rationalise their operations and cut services.

Southern Sun has no plans to open a five-star level hotel in Cape Town and already has three four-star hotels which have more than 1,400 rooms. Southern Sun if you remember had pulled out of the six-star Claridges Hotel project in 2004 in Mouille Point due to lack of demand for the hotel.

My view about it is that Cape Town has more than enough hotels for the World Cup unlike Johannesburg, Tshwane and Durban which are in a much better shape than Cape Town and can absorb new hotels. Since 1994 when there were less than 6,000 hotel rooms in Cape Town (about a third of them at that time were one-star rundown establishments that are probably closed down today) the supply in the last 13 years has more than doubled to at least 12,000 rooms with about half of them in the four and five-star markets. This is not including guest houses, B&B's and self-catering apartments that do not have a hotel operation.

If hotels are to be built in Cape Town it should be two and three-star properties rather than four and five-star ones. New sectional-title scheme hotels like the 70-suite Mandela Rhodes Place Apart Hotel, the 60-suite The Icon Condominium Hotel and the 47-suite Circa Condominium Hotel (previously known as the hard to spell Rijckshof) offer rooms at a five-star quality but without the services of a five-star hotel and offer rates that are much lower than the ArabellaSheraton and other full service five-star hotels.

Besides the new hotel development taking place will not be anything like the euphoric 1990's when the massive increase in hotel rooms caused the glut in the first place. As you can see from my list none of the six hotels listed has 200 rooms and the total number of rooms of the six on my list is only 725 rooms (the ArabellaSheraton alone has almost 500 rooms). These are hotels that will open for 2010. Any others on the drawing board like the three others planned on the V&A and the CTICC areas will likely be built after the World Cup and I doubt even then they will be larger than 200-rooms and hopefully the new Waterfront hotels planned won't be just five-star hotels with foreign brand names either. Cape Town is not Dubai and probably won't be. Just a word of advise to the new owners of the V&A. Undoubtedly the hotel market in Cape Town is the most mature in the country right now.

of course crime is out of control but the first step the national police chief needs to take is to admit that there exists a problem. When the majority of crime in Cape Town takes place in two or three neighbourhoods we need to start asking questions. The city has very little power since the police is controlled by government and the city cant simply send in police in the masses to patrol these areas. Unless they can admit that south africa has a problem only then we will see real change for all cities.

Why should 80% of murders take place in e.g. Nyanga, Cape Flats etc.? Is that not a large enough sign?

of course crime is out of control but the first step the national police chief needs to take is to admit that there exists a problem. When the majority of crime in Cape Town takes place in two or three neighbourhoods we need to start asking questions. The city has very little power since the police is controlled by government and the city cant simply send in police in the masses to patrol these areas. Unless they can admit that south africa has a problem only then we will see real change for all cities.

Why should 80% of murders take place in e.g. Nyanga, Cape Flats etc.? Is that not a large enough sign?

That is true that most murders are happening on the Cape Flats, which is a killing field. But the social meltdown that Helen Zille alludes to in her weekly column threatens to derail SA's economy and destroy tourism. It is a travesty that the ANC government is going to do away with metro police by merging them with SAPS when the metro police are the ones on the ground and know local situations. Any how Mr. Nquakula needs to be axed for his failure to control the situation and his misleading the public on the grim crime stats.

The Constitution of this country encourages people to do crime. I say f*kc OFF with the best constitution in the world. They ANC claims that everyone must enjoythe fruits of freedom in SA but the poor are the most suffers, may be apartheid regime was better as it protected all of us.

The claim that poverty makes people resort to crime but they not doing enough to elliviate it. Can you imagine what our economy could have been performing if there was no crime?

Stats showed that about 20 million people would love to come to South Africa but crime is the obstacle and the ANC government do not do anything to stop crime so that all those people visit our shores. We got the most beutiful country in the world but we are not attracting enough tourists because of the DMAN CRIME, F*CK the ANC.

They say for evry 8 tourists coming to the country 1 permanent job is created. Hunders of thousands of jobs could have been created for the poor. Our cities could be alive 24hrs a day and therefore creating additional jobs.

I'm sick and tired of the government excuses of crime.

To change the topic from crime back to the issue as we have a thread dealing with the hard news issues facing SA right now, I'll sketch a list of proposed hotels in Cape Town that might include the six new hotels that will be announced in the next few months according to an Independent News article dated July 15th that talks about the R10 billion in new construction projects planned in Cape Town including the new stadium.

1. Three new hotels for the V&A Waterfront Marina and Clock Tower precincts

2. Hotel for the CTICC expansion site along the Roggebaai Canal opposite the foreshore freeway

3. Hotel planned for the Roggebaai canal precinct facing the sea

4. Phoenix Hotel site on the corner of Strand and Chiappini Streets - CBD

5. Hotel at corner of Castle and Burg Streets - CBD

6. Shari'a complient hotel planned for Wale Street - CBD

5hr meeting with dubaiworld and L&R yesterday..seems like james wilson has moved to cape town, dubaiworld are pretty stubborn. A local team will definitely be working on the traffic/transport section of the project, the same team working on the 2010 world cup city to stadium plans.

seems like spending on cape town station might exceed 90 million, the 25-50year masterplan post 2010 will more than likely exceed R1.5billion in terms of development and restructuring of the entire structure and precinct before 2020.

Paarl Post

2007-07-12

THE Drakenstein Municipality hopes to facilitate the development of a hotel and commercial waterfront in the current vicinity of the Paarl Rugby Club on the bank of the Berg River at the Market Street bridge.
The land will be sold to the approved developer, if a suitable tender is submitted.

The hotel will be located next to the current Parys cricketgrounds which could be converted to a base camp for a soccer team contesting the World Cup soccer.

The base camp site will be leased to the developer for a set period.

A proposal by a development company includes conference facilities, a wellness centre, a gymnasium and boardwalk on the river bank at an estimated cost of R650 million.

Provision could be made to accommodate the existing sports club facilities. It is also intended to negotiate with Spoornet regarding a new railway station abutting the site.

Tender documents with the relevant information are available from the civic centre at R100. The original closing date for tenders has been postponed to 27 July at 10:15. For enquiries, phone 807-4621.

cool Paarl is only 16km from my farm.seems Ill have to start paying more attention to whats happening there

Suncoast has a 4 and a 5 star hotel and Southern Sun North Beach is 4 star now.

I'm confused about the Suncoast. I understand that the Southern Sun North Beach (formerly Maharani Hotel) is now a four star hotel after it was upgraded from a Garden Court, but when I did some research on Google and pulled up different websites they all stated that the new Suncoast Hotel & Towers is a four-star hotel and do not list it as two hotels but one on the Southern Sun website. The prices they have quoted for it are the same as for the Southern Sun Elangeni.

^^ its an interesting hotel. It has one lobby area that breaks into 2 sections. A main section for the "hotel" and another for the "towers". The towers only comprises 40 odd units. They have common facilities in most respects, but have 2 separate gradings, which are visible in the hotel lobby. It is however confusing.

^^ its an interesting hotel. It has one lobby area that breaks into 2 sections. A main section for the "hotel" and another for the "towers". The towers only comprises 40 odd units. They have common facilities in most respects, but have 2 separate gradings, which are visible in the hotel lobby. It is however confusing.

Dysan,

That is interesting that 40 suites in the Towers are five-star and 125 rooms in the main section are four star out of 165 rooms and suites in the Suncoast hotel complex.

A similar situation exists at the Bantry Bay Luxury Suites Hotel in Cape Town where there are 16 five-star suites and 27 four-star suites (out of a total of 43 suites) that are both graded self-catering as opposed to a full hotel like the Suncoast.

When I looked at the Tourism Grading Council guide I was surprised to see that hotels, guest houses and self catering apartments were given more than one grading for the same facility based on their level of rooms. I think this is more flexible than the old SATOUR system that otherwise would have given the Suncoast a four-star rating even though it has a suites wing that is positioned at the five-star market.

If I am not correct a similar setup exists at the Regent Hotel & Suites in East London where the Hotel wing is three-star and the Suites wing is four-star.

1. Three new hotels for the V&A Waterfront Marina and Clock Tower precincts

2. Hotel for the CTICC expansion site along the Roggebaai Canal opposite the foreshore freeway

3. Hotel planned for the Roggebaai canal precinct facing the sea

4. Phoenix Hotel site on the corner of Strand and Chiappini Streets - CBD

5. Hotel at corner of Castle and Burg Streets - CBD

6. Shari'a complient hotel planned for Wale Street - CBD


Mo Rush,

The hotel on Castle and Burg steets must be the NH Oscar Pearse Hotel which is the 45 on Castle building and has 200-rooms.

Can you go and find out about this one?

hey guys,anyone know what they building on trhe corner of wale and buitengracht street?

hey guys,anyone know what they building on trhe corner of wale and buitengracht street?

A hotel.

A hotel.

Mo,
What is the name of the hotel being developed on Wale & Buitengracht streets and do you have any pics of the site, renders or a description of the size of the hotel and what it looks like?

Residents opposed to building of hotel

By Anel Powell

Plans to develop an upmarket hotel, sea-facing restaurant and two commercial plazas on Sea Point's promenade have resurfaced, almost nine years after the proposal was first made

But residents and stakeholders say they will consult legal counsel on Friday about renewing their objections to the huge development.

The councillor for the Atlantic Seaboard ward, J P Smith, says the proposals call, made in 1999, is obsolete and a new environmental impact assessment (EIA) is needed before an application to rezone the Pavilion may be considered.

'The proposals call, made in 1999, is obsolete'
"Many issues have changed and the factors and information that influenced the EIA and the record of understanding have changed substantially, requiring a new process to be started."

Fears of the promenade's drastic facelift faded three years ago when the then-minister of environmental affairs, Valli Moosa, said at a public meeting that there would "never" be any development on the site.

More than 1 060 objections to the developer's rezoning application were submitted in 2004 to the MEC for Environment, Tasneem Essop, for consideration.

Now, three years later, Essop has sent objectors notification of her record of decision on the EIA which authorises the development of Erf 318, and portions of Erven 151 and 153 on Beach Road.

Lorna Levy, of the Sea Point, Fresnaye and Bantry Bay Ratepayers' and Residents' Association, said: "We thought the plan was dead. It is a question of the seafront being destroyed."

'It is a question of the seafront being destroyed'
According to the record of decision, the western end of the promenade would be developed as an up-market hotel with 52 bedrooms, a breakfast room and sundeck. There would also be a restaurant facing the sea.

The eastern end would be a public and commercial hub that would connect the beach to Beach Road with two plazas. This section would include a fitness centre, leisure, retail and food outlets as well as galleries, terraces and walkways.

Essop has added conditions of authorisation to the record of decision. The pool complex at the Pavilion must remain "accessible and affordable to the public as a recreational facility" and the design of all buildings must be energy-efficient. Other conditions relate to noise, visual impact and safety requirements.

The authorisation of the application will lapse if the development does not take place within two years and the provincial government shall not be held liable for losses incurred by the developer.

Smith, who strongly opposed the development when plans were mooted three years ago, said the rezoning application was fraught with legal complications.

He said the council should withdraw the proposals call, put out by the ANC-led administration in 1999, that led to the rezoning application.

"The problematic buildings council was seeking to develop have been demolished."

even funnier was another random noisy lady from some association claiming that the common was being commercialized...

^^ they wanting to take up all public space in the seaboard area? this pavillion one sounds a bit dodge. by all means demolish existing buildings and redevelop, but dont take up the green space and block other people or you are in for massive fights

^^ they wanting to take up all public space in the seaboard area? this pavillion one sounds a bit dodge. by all means demolish existing buildings and redevelop, but dont take up the green space and block other people or you are in for massive fights

i dont think its about taking up all the public space. but it does sound a bit weird taking up public space that was actually used. the upgrade to the pavillion pool will be to the benefit of everyone and if they can find some balance without causing a major impact then thats fine. Essop has given authorization,but we'll need to see why and see some real plans.

i dont think its about taking up all the public space. but it does sound a bit weird taking up public space that was actually used. the upgrade to the pavillion pool will be to the benefit of everyone and if they can find some balance without causing a major impact then thats fine. Essop has given authorization,but we'll need to see why and see some real plans.

These people are NIMBY's just like CESA and Arthur Weinberg have done with the stadium. They do not understand that the Cape needs an 8% annual economic growth rate to get it to where it needs to be and the hotel would also provide employment as well. I think they should be allowed to develop the hotel development as it would help property values and be a catalyst for revamping Sea Point.

Mo,
What is the name of the hotel being developed on Wale & Buitengracht streets and do you have any pics of the site, renders or a description of the size of the hotel and what it looks like?

This question was answered when I read the Cape Times article about the Coral International Hotel, which is Muslim Shari'a complient, and is on the Wale & Buitegracht site. I'll post the article in the Coral Hotel thread in the projects section.

These people are NIMBY's just like CESA and Arthur Weinberg have done with the stadium. They do not understand that the Cape needs an 8% annual economic growth rate to get it to where it needs to be and the hotel would also provide employment as well. I think they should be allowed to develop the hotel development as it would help property values and be a catalyst for revamping Sea Point.

my point is that the promenade unlike significant parts of the common are actually used, so is the pavillion. If a private development results in the improvement of this space especially the pavillion pool, then we need to find a balance.

i become furious when people talk of a "green lung" which is more of a safety hazard, and when they claim to have used public spaces which are clearly not even safe. these new age lets sit back and moan "environmentalists" only seem to moan when change takes place but have never stood up to improve the area themselves and have never come forward when the struggling sports clubs were in need of funds for basic maintenance of sports facilities.

my point is that the promenade unlike significant parts of the common are actually used, so is the pavillion. If a private development results in the improvement of this space especially the pavillion pool, then we need to find a balance.

i become furious when people talk of a "green lung" which is more of a safety hazard, and when they claim to have used public spaces which are clearly not even safe. these new age lets sit back and moan "environmentalists" only seem to moan when change takes place but have never stood up to improve the area themselves and have never come forward when the struggling sports clubs were in need of funds for basic maintenance of sports facilities.

As far as I know the "green lung" at Green Point will mostly remain as the stadium only takes up a small portion of the space while the sports park will enhance the surroundings. What is the point of having a "green lung" with decaying buildings like the former stadium or even seedy buildings around it like some still are in Sea Point that haven't been given a facelift.

As far as I know the "green lung" at Green Point will mostly remain as the stadium only takes up a small portion of the space while the sports park will enhance the surroundings. What is the point of having a "green lung" with decaying buildings like the former stadium or even seedy buildings around it like some still are in Sea Point that haven't been given a facelift.

i wrote something a while back..check ur pm

Mo,

I noticed that there is a new thread for the new Express by Holiday Inn in Sunnypark, Pretoria which will open sometime next year.

Do you have any info and pics of the new Express by Holiday Inn that is scheduled to open at the end of this year at St George's Mall in the CBD.

Mo,

I noticed that there is a new thread for the new Express by Holiday Inn in Sunnypark, Pretoria which will open sometime next year.

Do you have any info and pics of the new Express by Holiday Inn that is scheduled to open at the end of this year at St George's Mall in the CBD.
No sorry I dont.

Here is another project from Tendering Services. Remember that the 15 on Orange was listed on this site in May when M&R and Stocks were listed as the two bidders on this project before Stocks was awarded the 15 on Orange contract this month.

Bill no 007076: Vana Hotel, Buitenkant Street, Cape Town - closing date 6.8.2007

results: Filcon R55 326 444.00
Conruton R56 952 975.00
H & I Projects R57 025 930.00
Grinaker/Lta R65 961 625.00
NMC Construction R68 454 980.00

It looks like Filcon will get the contract on what appears to be another boutique hotel for Cape Town's CBD.

Bill no 007057: Fransch Hoek All Suite Hotel - closing date 21.6.2007

results:

Remey Constr R55 518 830.00
Almor Constr R56 644 672.00
C.E.S. R56 858 640.00
FCS Constr R58 461 756.00
H & I Projects R62 948 087.00
Stabilid R63 174 199.00
Longworth & Faull R64 219 164.00

Looks like Remey Construction will get the bid for this new hotel in the Cape Winelands.

2010 turning Cape Town into hotelier's heaven
Melanie Peters 02 September, 2007 Cape Argus

Multibillion-rand hotel developments are sprouting across South Africa in anticipation of the 2010 Soccer World Cup.

The Holiday Inn, St George's Mall should be added as well as 15 on Orange

Cape Argus

September 2, 2007

Melanie Peters

Multibillion-rand hotel developments aresprouting across South Africa in anticipation of the 2010 Soccer World Cup.

Experts have estimated that a whopping R20billion is being invested in hotel projects, according to the InternationalMarketing Council of SA.

And Cape Town, one of the premier touristdestinations, is raking in its fair share.

The Cape Town Partnership said there were atleast eight new hotels in the planning stages or already under construction inthe central city and surrounding areas such as Green Point, Sea Point and theV&A Waterfront.

Luxury hotels like 15 on Orange, a R420 millionmixed-use development on the site of the old Dutch Reformed Church synodbuilding in Orange Street, and St George's Mall's R300m Taj hotel, which formspart of Taj Resorts and Palaces across the world, are already underconstruction.

Also going up in St George's Mall, just a blockaway from the Taj, is a 175-room Express by Holiday Inn costing R110m. This isone of four to be built around the country. The Cape Town InternationalConvention Centre's R800m expansion will also include a new a hotel.

The UK and Dubai consortium, Istithmar, whichbought the Waterfront, plans to invest R7bn in the development of what it calls"Africa's Riviera", which includes a 250-room luxury hotel. And one ofSol Kerzner's exclusive One & Only hotels is also being built there.

According to a Deloitte survey, the Hotel BenchMark, the revenue rate for hotel rooms across the country grew 16.7% for thefirst six months of this year, well ahead of the 11.4% during the same periodlast year. The survey tracks the performance of more than 3 800 rooms in 80% ofthe country's major three-star and five-star hotels every month.

SA Tourism CEO Moeketsi Mosola said the countrywas expected to develop the tourist industry from six million people a year to10 million by 2010.

Mariette du Toit, head of Cape Town Tourism,said: "Cape Town has an excellent tourism infrastructure and is miles aheadin terms of accommodation capacity to other 2010 host cities." The cityalready represents more than 800 accredited and assessed accommodationestablishments that range from large hotels to self-catering cottages.

Cape Town has added more than 1 100 new hotelrooms in the past five years. At least eight more new hotels will be added inthe next five years which means a 45% growth in hotel rooms. Some of the trendynew hotels include Urban Chic in Long Street, the boutique backpacker hotel,Daddy Long Legs, the art-deco Cape Diamond Hotel and the new North Wharf ProteaHotel on the Foreshore.

Du Toit said at least three new hotel projectshad also been approved for the V&A Waterfront and would open between 2008and 2009, and a world-class mix of designer chic boutique hotels was popping upall over Cape Town. "It is no small wonder that everyone from official Fifadelegates, teams and sponsors to the media want to make Cape Town their addressof choice for the soccer World Cup."

South Africa needs to provide a minimum of 55 000graded beds to reach official Fifa accommodation targets. There are about 34 000beds to date.

There are an estimated 1 500 accommodationestablishments in Cape Town, of which some 800 are members of Cape Town Tourismwith a total of 23 430 beds. This does not include the stock held by the lettingagents of which approximately 20 are members of Cape Town Tourism.

The total number of beds within greater Cape Townis about 50 000. The goal is to have a stock base of at least 120 000 beds inWestern Cape by 2010.

Based on a timeline, by the end of December anupdated database will be available that will refer to all accreditedaccommodation and self-catering establishments, letting agents' stock andbackpackers as well as relevant temporary accommodation, including tented camps,hostels, marine base camps, qualifying home stays and possibly cruise lineraccommodation. - Information supplied by Cape Town Tourism

Cape Argus

September 2, 2007

Melanie Peters

Multibillion-rand hotel developments aresprouting across South Africa in anticipation of the 2010 Soccer World Cup.

Experts have estimated that a whopping R20billion is being invested in hotel projects, according to the InternationalMarketing Council of SA.

And Cape Town, one of the premier touristdestinations, is raking in its fair share.

The Cape Town Partnership said there were atleast eight new hotels in the planning stages or already under construction inthe central city and surrounding areas such as Green Point, Sea Point and theV&A Waterfront.

Luxury hotels like 15 on Orange, a R420 millionmixed-use development on the site of the old Dutch Reformed Church synodbuilding in Orange Street, and St George's Mall's R300m Taj hotel, which formspart of Taj Resorts and Palaces across the world, are already underconstruction.

Also going up in St George's Mall, just a blockaway from the Taj, is a 175-room Express by Holiday Inn costing R110m. This isone of four to be built around the country. The Cape Town InternationalConvention Centre's R800m expansion will also include a new a hotel.

The UK and Dubai consortium, Istithmar, whichbought the Waterfront, plans to invest R7bn in the development of what it calls"Africa's Riviera", which includes a 250-room luxury hotel. And one ofSol Kerzner's exclusive One & Only hotels is also being built there.

According to a Deloitte survey, the Hotel BenchMark, the revenue rate for hotel rooms across the country grew 16.7% for thefirst six months of this year, well ahead of the 11.4% during the same periodlast year. The survey tracks the performance of more than 3 800 rooms in 80% ofthe country's major three-star and five-star hotels every month.

SA Tourism CEO Moeketsi Mosola said the countrywas expected to develop the tourist industry from six million people a year to10 million by 2010.

Mariette du Toit, head of Cape Town Tourism,said: "Cape Town has an excellent tourism infrastructure and is miles aheadin terms of accommodation capacity to other 2010 host cities." The cityalready represents more than 800 accredited and assessed accommodationestablishments that range from large hotels to self-catering cottages.

Cape Town has added more than 1 100 new hotelrooms in the past five years. At least eight more new hotels will be added inthe next five years which means a 45% growth in hotel rooms. Some of the trendynew hotels include Urban Chic in Long Street, the boutique backpacker hotel,Daddy Long Legs, the art-deco Cape Diamond Hotel and the new North Wharf ProteaHotel on the Foreshore.

Du Toit said at least three new hotel projectshad also been approved for the V&A Waterfront and would open between 2008and 2009, and a world-class mix of designer chic boutique hotels was popping upall over Cape Town. "It is no small wonder that everyone from official Fifadelegates, teams and sponsors to the media want to make Cape Town their addressof choice for the soccer World Cup."

South Africa needs to provide a minimum of 55 000graded beds to reach official Fifa accommodation targets. There are about 34 000beds to date.

There are an estimated 1 500 accommodationestablishments in Cape Town, of which some 800 are members of Cape Town Tourismwith a total of 23 430 beds. This does not include the stock held by the lettingagents of which approximately 20 are members of Cape Town Tourism.

The total number of beds within greater Cape Townis about 50 000. The goal is to have a stock base of at least 120 000 beds inWestern Cape by 2010.

Based on a timeline, by the end of December anupdated database will be available that will refer to all accreditedaccommodation and self-catering establishments, letting agents' stock andbackpackers as well as relevant temporary accommodation, including tented camps,hostels, marine base camps, qualifying home stays and possibly cruise lineraccommodation. - Information supplied by Cape Town Tourism

thanks for getting the full article

13 Sep 2007 : Wesgro surpasses three-year target of R5bn


Wesgro, the investment and trade promotion agency for the Western Cape has exceeded its three - year investment target of R 5 billion. Since January 2004, the agency attracted R 5.45 billion of direct investment into the province, contributing to the creation of 14 963 jobs.

The agency realised a total of R 830 million worth of investments, creating 3 690 jobs during the 2006/07 financial year which ended 31 March 2007. The latest Annual Report released by the agency highlights notable investments which include a R 150 million investment into a luxury alcohol free 5 star boutique hotel. This project which is a joint venture between a South African company and a UAE based company is expected to lead to the creation of 250 new jobs. Other important investments include a R 55 million investment into a South African company that produces glazing materials and steel structures for the British Antarctica Survey and a R 44 million investment transaction between Cape Biotech and a US based company to produce polymerases – the most common enzyme used in biomedical science.

Of the R830 million, R386 million was realised in business permit applications. Wesgro hosted a total of 83 inward investment missions predominantly from Europe and South East Asia. Excluding Call Centres, the top ten countries for investment included United Arab Emirates (23%), United Kingdom (19%), Germany (11%), South Africa (9%) United States (7%), Belgium (5%), Denmark (5%), China (4%), the Netherlands (2%), Switzerland (2%) while other countries comprise a further 13%.

Further key achievements for the 2006/07 financial year include facilitating 9 outward trade and investment missions to key markets including countries that form part of the agency’s Western African Trade Corridor programme. Wesgro also provided export training for 425 companies, including exporter mentorships, against a target for the year of 372 which included a Q&A session for potential exporters, 56.4 % represented black participation. In 2007, the Exporter Development Programme which targets black owned and women-owned enterprises was successfully launched in the Cape Winelands and Eden districts in partnership with the respective district municipalities.

In the interest of promoting intra-african trade between the Western Cape and countries along the West African coastline, Wesgro compiled sixteen comprehensive country briefs focusing on key markets in Western Africa. This business intelligence was further complemented by the hosting of 2 Western African Networking Fora which aim to build networks with Western African business contacts located in the Western Cape through regular events discussing pertinent issues when venturing into Africa.

Wesgro also published the Destination Intelligence series, which is aimed at foreign investors and highlights the costs, risks, rules and regulations associated with doing business in the Western Cape. The unit also conducted strategic research into the top ten investment constraints in Cape Town, which will guide the agency’s trade and investment promotion initiatives going forward.

Newly appointed Wesgro CEO Angelo Manzoni said, “The strategy for the agency going forward is to target sectors that show immense growth opportunity. This will include investigating niche opportunities in agribusiness, tourism and creative industries and focus even more on targeted, proactive trade and investment promotion”. The agency will now also formally offer shared-services assistance for the provincial Special Purpose Vehicles (SPVs) to benefit from services such as immigration facilitation and support, referral to preferred service providers and professional services as well as sector-specific exporter development programme workshops.

Wesgro’s strategy is aligned to the sectoral and spatial priorities of the City of Cape Town’s Economic and Human Development Strategy (EHDS) as well as the Western Cape Provincial Government’s Micro-Economic Development Strategy (MEDS).

New hotel for V&A

Wed, 12 Sep 2007

Originally built as the grand residence and offices to the Harbour Engineer in the mid-1800's, Dock House in Cape Town harbour boasts a proud heritage. Now, under the guidance of hotel operators, the Ambassador Group, this heritage property is undergoing a transformation and is expected to launch early next year as Cape Town's newest luxury boutique hotel.

Gabriel Fagan Architects are currently overseeing the restoration of the building to its former glory, while Francois du Plessis — interior mastermind behind the Metropole Hotel, Salt restaurant in Bantry Bay and 'One Waterfront' at the Cape Grace Hotel — has been charged with the duty of creating an interior to impress the most discerning guest.

Minute attention to detail, personalised yet unobtrusive butler-style service, cutting-edge technology and a world-class setting are all the ingredients necessary to transform this new hotel into a Cape Town icon.

Located opposite the timeball tower in the Waterfront's Portswood Precinct and forming the sister property to the renowned Victoria & Alfred Hotel, Dock House will offer five sumptuous rooms — four of which have balconies overlooking the Waterfront's vibrant harbour area — and one glamorous suite.

At Dock House, each room will be fitted with a stylish bar as well as state-of-the-art designer bathrooms, while a sun-filled morning room will cater for breakfast and provide the ideal venue for hosting meetings.

For guests who enjoy a more sophisticated outdoor life, the Dock House pool area is sure to impress. Situated in a manicured garden, the area will be complete with pool bar and al fresco dining area which offers magnificent views of Table Mountain.

Taking inspiration from the world-famous Grove Hotel, London, old will meet new inside Dock House as du Plessis creates an interior that may be described as contemporary-classical heightened by accents of glamour.

Each room will be individually decorated in a quiet, neutral palette; the only colour is expected to come from accessories like artwork and cushions. High ceilings, picture rails and ornate cornices inherent in Victorian architecture are set to elegantly combine with contemporary freestanding furnishings. Expect dramatic headboards, light fittings gliding between heavy crystal chandeliers and more modern Italian designs, contemporary wingback chairs, freestanding baths with modern chrome fittings, and wooden floors with plush rugs in contemporary-classic patterns.

An exclusive address...

From the very first moment of arrival guests can expect exclusivity at Dock House to be paramount.

Check-in will be private, performed in the comfort of each guest's room. Dinner may be enjoyed in-room every evening, and, while guests will be able to book rooms on an individual basis, those requiring absolute exclusivity can reserve the entire hotel for their personal and private use!

Dock House will also be finished with the very latest in technological advancements.

Apart from standard items like heated towel rails and under-floor heating in all bathrooms, each room will sport its own satellite decoder and plasma-screen television, and have free high-speed wireless internet connection.

To ensure guests leave Dock House looking and feeling their best, a wellness centre, comprising both treatment rooms and a state-of-the-art gym, is currently being established in the old Dock House Annex adjacent to Dock House.

Here, guests will also be able to indulge in a variety of fusion teas as well as a host of delicious wellness food options.

With its prime V&A Waterfront location, guests of Dock House will not be short of easily accessible entertainment options.

A host of world-class restaurants, cinemas, craft markets, upmarket shopping facilities, and ocean cruise options are within walking distance, while the hotel's central location will allow easy access to many of Cape Town's beaches and other major tourist attractions.

Dock House forms part of the Ambassador Group who own and operate the Ambassador Hotel & Executive Suites in Bantry Bay and the Victoria & Alfred Hotel located in Cape Town's Waterfront. The well known gourmet destinations Salt and OYO also form part of the boutique collection.

Return of the Sun king
Published:Oct 07, 2007

MRS KERZNER IV: Heather was at this week’s One&Only briefing. Picture: KATHERINE MUICK-MERE.

OPTIMIST: Sol Kerzner aims to attract “upper-end” tourists — and expects them to spread their bounty well beyond Cape Town. Picture: KATHERINE MUICK-MERE

At 72, the hotel and casino tycoon has a ‘beautiful, wonderful wife’ and is ‘busier than ever’

Sol Kerzner is back in SA with big plans to shake-up the tourist industry. Julian Rademeyer spoke to him

Sun king Sol Kerzner is back in South Africa and breaking new ground with a luxury R900-million resort that is being built in Cape Town.

One&Only Cape Town will boast sweeping views of Table Mountain and the city’s harbour, three exclusive 600-metre square residential penthouses and two man-made islands — one with a state of-the-art spa and the other with heat treatment areas, pools and a “tranquil meditative relaxation zone”.

The 130-key hotel complex is expected to open its doors in the last quarter of 2009. Situated at the Victoria & Alfred Waterfront, it will overlook the marina.

The design will have a “contemporary” feel while “drawing heavily on Africa’s culture and heritage”.

On the dining front, the hotel will boast the signature Japanese cuisine of internationally renowned chef Nobu Matsuhisa — “with a few South African twists”.

The project began to take shape four years ago but stalled when the V&A Waterfront “ran into a spot of bother” with the City of Cape Town and “got entangled in litigation”, Kerzner said this week.

He believes the resort will not only shake-up South Africa’s hospitality industry but will also attract a new market of “upper- end” tourist.

“I think it does have quite a significant impact. When people come out to this part of the world, they are not just going to go to Cape Town. At the upper-end of the market it will be beneficial not only to Cape Town, but it will be beneficial to the other logical destinations that we have in SA.”

Kerzner said the decision to build the resort in Cape Town reflects his faith in the country’s burgeoning tourism industry.

“I was always a great optimist about the potential for tourism in South Africa. I remember, not long ago, the big deal for Satour was to crack one million tourists a year. I’m told that is now history. It is very exciting.”

Last year, 8.4 million tourists visited the country.

At 72, the hotel and casino tycoon has a “beautiful, wonderful wife” and is “busier than ever”. He and wife Heather, 38, who live in London, have been together since 1999. It is his fourth marriage and her second.

Despite a heart-bypass operation last November, Kerzner shows no signs of slowing down.

By 2010 he hopes to have another four new luxury resorts up and running — in Morocco, Zanzibar, Cost Rica and The World in Dubai, a man-made archipelago of 300 islands in the shape of a world map.

But his achievements these days are tinged with sadness. A year ago, his son and heir Butch, died in a helicopter crash while surveying potential development sites in the Dominican Republic.

Unveiling plans for the new Cape Town resort this week, Kerzner said: “Obviously things for me will never be quite the same.”

The expansion of Kerzner International’s luxury hotel portfolio and the rollout of the One&Only brand was initially driven by Butch Kerzner.

His son’s death forced Sol back to the helm of the Kerzner International group.

Now, he says, he can’t imagine retiring to the seaside.

“We are busier than we ever have been in terms of all the new developments. Obviously I can’t be moving forward with all that and — in the back of my mind — thinking about when I’m going to step back and go play on the beach”.

Kerzner’s luxury One&Only brand currently has six resorts in its stable — in the Bahamas, Dubai, the Maldives, Mauritius and Mexico.

Announcements of new developments have been coming thick and fast recently.

On Friday, briefing journalists at the Saxon Hotel in Johannesburg, Kerzner unveiled his Cape Town plans. This came after Dubai World — a leading international holding company with 50 000 employees in more than 100 cities around the globe — announced on Wednesday that it was partnering Kerzner in developing a 150-million resort and spa retreat at Muyuni Beach in Zanzibar.

And in August, Kerzner International announced plans to build a One&Only resort in Cacique, Costa Rica.

For nearly four decades, Kerzner has been turning fantasy into reality.

Launched in 2002, the One&Only chain has won accolades from Conde Nast and Forbes magazines, and honours at the World Travel Awards.

One&Only sells itself as a “collection of the world’s finest resorts, each individually designed and crafted, inspired by its own supreme location”.

Travellers can sample “remote island retreats, enchanting palaces and contemporary haut chic”, according to the promotional material.

A peek at Sol's luxury hotel

By Melanie Peters

Ground is being broken and construction of Sol Kerzner's latest luxurious island style resort at the V&A Waterfront is under way.

Plans and graphics of the Kerzner International's R900-million One&Only Cape Town resort, scheduled to open during the latter half of 2009, were unveiled on Friday. It will join the ranks of the brand in prime holiday destinations.

Plans were unveiled while Kerzner and his fourth wife, Heather, paid a brief visit to South Africa to launch a R3-million bursary fund in memory of his son Butch Kerzner, who was killed in a helicopter crash a year ago.

The fund was set up at the School of Tourism and Hospitality at the University of Johannesburg.

'We are looking forward to once again contributing to SA's tourism industry'
The resort, which will have 130 apartments, suites and guest rooms, will be set out over seven floors and include three 600m2 luxury residential apartments on the top two floors, with panoramic views.

Forty of the resort's spacious guest rooms will be set on an adjacent green landscaped island in Table Bay. Each room and suite, with a minimum size of 60m2, will have a private terrace or balcony. Two suites will offer spa treatment rooms.

The second of the resort's two islands will feature a modern spa, the largest in the area, with nine suites together with heat treatment areas, a vitality pool, "experience" showers and a tranquil meditative relaxation zone.

A fitness centre incorporating a yoga, Pilates and tai chi studio, as well as a fitness centre and swimming pool, will be housed in the main hotel tower.

There will also be a Kids Only clubhouse which will offer daily supervised activities. There will be a meeting and banqueting room able to host up to 200 people as well as a boardroom for up to 18 people.

Cape Town architects Dennis Fabian & Berman and Ruben Reddy have ensured the stylish resort will integrate with the Waterfront District, while the interiors have been designed by internationally acclaimed and specialist luxury hotel and restaurant designer Adam D Tihany. The resort's feel will be contemporary while drawing heavily on Africa's culture and heritage.

A first for SA will be the inclusion of celebrated global restaurant brand Nobu, where innovative chef Nobu Matsuhisa will create his signature Japanese-inspired menu, with a few South African twists. There will be a second tapas-style restaurant and an outdoor restaurant on the poolside for casual dining.

Kerzner, chairperson and CEO of Kerzner International, said: "One&Only Cape Town is destined to become a significant landmark in SA and our plans promise to make it one of South Africa's leading luxury resort destinations.

"We are looking forward to once again contributing to SA's tourism industry. I am delighted to be opening a spectacular resort in my home country where I first became involved in the hotel industry."



* This article was originally published on page 4 of The Cape Argus on October 07, 2007

The Argus

Published on the Web by IOL on 2007-10-07 08:24:00
© Independent Online 2005. All rights reserved. IOL publishes this article in good faith but is not liable for any loss or damage caused by reliance on the information it contains.

Bill no 007097

Luxury Suites at Green Point for Romney Park

- closing date 13.9.2007

results:

Vector Construction R18 393 631.00
Stabilid R18 899 388.00
Gordon Verhoef & Krause R19 250 424.00
Westcape Constr R19 373 569.00
H & I Projects R19 560 000.00

Cape Town and the Western Cape have Four Hotels in the Top 10 African Hotels
23 October 2007
SOURCE: City of Cape Town
City of Cape Town Mayoral Committee Member for Economic, Social Development and Tourism, Cllr Simon Grindrod, said today that the 2007 Conde Nast Traveler US Readers Choice Awards has underlined Cape Town and South Africa's world-beater status!

"Following this weekend's Bok triumph at the 2007 Rugby World Cup, the news that Cape Town's hotel and leisure industry is also ranked as a world-beater puts a further collective spring in our step. We are truly a winning City and a winning nation," Grindrod said.

Reacting to the 2007 Conde Nast Traveler US Readers Choice Awards which saw Cape Town coming in at the number eight spot in the top 100 over-all Best City Awards, and first in Africa and the Middle East, Grindrod said: "The City is very proud of the achievement of our tourism sector, specifically our hotel industry, which ranks among the best in the world. My job is to ensure that the private sector gets the support required from the City to continue raising their game and their efforts to compete successfully with the top destinations in the world."

Grindrod said he was very pleased that Cape Town hotels and products scored incredibly well.

The Table Bay Hotel came in at 8th position in the Best of the Best (World's Top 100 overall) Category with a 96, 8 score (out of 100) and the Cape Grace at number 33, scoring 94, 7.

Cape Town and the Western Cape have four hotels in the top 10 African Hotels: The Table Bay (96, 8), Cape Grace (94, 7), The Plettenberg (90, 6) and Radisson Waterfront (86, 0).

The Table Bay and Cape Grace were first and second over-all in this category.

Asia’s Largest Hotel Group to Meld Old and New in Five-Star Inner City Hotel

23 Oct 2007 - Eurocape Holdings -

Intro
In a resounding affirmation of the continued success of Cape Town CBD’s rejuvenation, a five-star luxury hotel is being developed on the corner of St George’s Mall and Wale Street

Eurocape – the property development and investment group behind the successful Mandela Rhodes Place initiative – and Indian Hotels Company Ltd (IHCL) - Asia’s largest hotel group - are currently constructing a five-star luxury hotel on the corner of St George’s Mall and Wale Street. Indian Hotels Company Ltd (IHCL) owns and operates Taj Hotels Resorts and Palaces across the world.

In a move that makes the most of this area’s immense historic importance and aesthetic appeal, Eurocape and Taj will retain the facades of the old Reserve Bank, Board of Executors and Cape of Good Hope Bank buildings while transforming the combined interior into a signature hotel.

“One of the main attractions of this superb location is the beauty of the old structures. We are preserving the historically significant parts of the building as far as possible, while still providing a modern, world-class hotel and spa experience for our guests. Leading architectural firm dhk have ensured that the project will be an exciting combination, fusing the deep historical character of the existing buildings’ heritage with contemporary interior design by JPA, a Singapore based company,” says Martin Kearns, CEO of Eurocape.

Once the Taj Palace Hotel opens its doors for business at the end of 2009, Kearns believes it will set the benchmark for other luxury hotels in the city. “The exceptional location, unique combination of old and new architecture, and unsurpassed service that is at the core of the Taj product will place the hotel at the forefront of Cape Town’s luxury accommodation options,” he says.

The hotel is located in the cultural and historic heart of Cape Town’s inner city and will form part of what is to be called the Cathedral Precinct, a predominantly pedestrian environment linking the Company’s Gardens with the city’s popular pedestrian arterial, St George’s Mall.

The Taj Group confirmed that the hotel will be known as the Taj Palace Hotel. It will be a state-of-the-art 180-key project with the usual range of rooms to cater to a wide variety of travellers, as well as fully-appointed luxury and presidential suites. In keeping with current trends in the property market, fractional and sectional title options will also be available.

Other facilities will include a gym, a swimming pool, a bar on the corner of Adderley and Wale Streets, conference and business amenities. The Taj Group pays special attention to delivering outstanding wellness centres, and will create a signature Taj Spa where guests will be pampered according to the Indian philosophy of a holistic approach to health and beauty. The Wale Street side will feature a fine-dining Indian cuisine restaurant where understated attention to service will be the order of the day.

The Taj Palace Hotel in Cape Town will be Indian Hotels’ flagship hotel in South Africa.

The South African market has always been part of Indian Hotel’s Indian Ocean rim development strategy. In addition to Cape Town, Taj Hotels Resorts and Palaces is also developing a hotel in Johannesburg. The company also recently completed its acquisition of The Campton Place in San Francisco. In 2005, Taj Hotels entered into a lease agreement to operate and manage The Pierre, the luxurious landmark hotel on New York City’s Fifth Avenue. The company further assumed full ownership of an 80-year-old landmark hotel in Boston, now re-christened Taj Boston, in January 2007.

Raymond Bickson, managing director and CEO of Indian Hotels Company Ltd, says the decision to invest in Cape Town is based on the country’s status as the forerunner in tourism and hospitality in sub-Saharan Africa. “We are delighted to partner with Eurocape in our introduction into South Africa. With our combined experience, Cape Town will soon be able to add a world-class product that promises a truly high-end luxury experience to its tourism offering.”

He adds further that “the country has been growing rapidly as a tourist destination, with tourism being one of the government’s key economic drivers. We want to leverage the potential of the market and Cape Town is recognized as the most developed tourist market in South Africa.”

Those are good news. Everytime I go to CT, I see some new developments.

Cape hotels warned not to overcharge
By Michael Hamlyn, I-Net Bridge Published:Nov 17, 2007


The councillor in charge of Cape Town’s economic development and tourism, Simon Grindrod, has warned the city’s hoteliers against increasingly high room rates.

"Cape Town is a very attractive destination but price remains a critical issue," he said. "We should always strive to provide value. It would be bad for business if we became a rip-off city."

Grindrod said he was acting after receiving protests from the international travel market, and he has called for meetings with key players to discuss the issue, although he said the city cannot in any way interfere in the market.

He said that some international tour operators were reporting that Cape Town was in danger of losing market share as hotels increased rates across all grades.

Several operators reported increases this year as high as 25% year on year in some cases.

He warned: "I am concerned that high rate increases designed to capitalise on perceived high demand will alienate some traditional markets. It costs a great deal in terms of marketing to regain lost market.

"I am simply saying that our hotel companies should take a longer-term view on profits. Cape Town should never forget the damage done by extremely high rate increases between 1995 and 1999- it took two years to get the same volume of bums back in beds."

Many hoteliers got greedy with the Rugby World Cup in 1995, he said, and battled to regain their position afterwards. "Let us not get blinded by dollar signs as we approach 2010."

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2397/2019055560_c2401c7923_o.jpg

Booking into great Cape hotels


CYBERHOST, the JSE-listed company that owns the Famous Butcher’s Grill restaurant franchise, is making a bid to acquire a handful of landmark Cape Town hotels as part of a R190 million deal.

Last month Cyberhost confirmed takeover negotiations with Queensgate Leisure Holdings.

Queensgate controls a string of hotels and leisure property with a distinct Cape Town bent. The group’s flagship operation is the 5-star Radisson Hotel in Greenpoint, which is rather conveniently situated opposite the new 2010 Soccer stadium (ie opposite the old Metropolitan Golf course). Quoted rate per person sharing December 2007 is R4 050.

The Radisson has 182 rooms, which are sure to be filled for the 2010 extravaganza. Not that the Radisson is battling with occupancies at the moment with the Queensgate website showing room occupancy at 85%.

Other key properties owned by Queensgate include the Park Inn on Greenmarket Square (the group owns 100% of the business and 32% of the property), the Cape Town Hollow in Gardens, The Hollow on the Square in Cape Town central and the Avenue Hotel in Fish Hoek.

In total Queensgate boasts around 400 rooms, and occupancy in bigger venues like Greenmarket Square and Hollow on the Square have occupancies of 75% to 85% respectively.

In addition Queensgate also holds interests in the BMW Pavilion and the Stellenbosch Retreat – a 130 room wellness and conference centre.

The most interesting aspect of the deal is that Queensgate already holds control of Cyberhost. Last year Queensgate reversed its restaurant and associated technology interests into Cyberhost, thereby gaining control of the cash shell company.

In essence the sale of Queensgate Holdings is a related party transaction, which is likely to be settled by the issue of new Cyberhost shares.

Presumably the new look Cyberhost – now already worth R150 million on the JSE - will then hope to issue more tranches of paper to make further acquisitions in the hotel and leisure sector.

Whether any significant Cape-based opportunities still exist for Cyberhost will be interesting to gauge. The group certainly has a chance to consolidate a fragmented boutique hotel market as well as capitalise on related leisure opportunities.

But prime Cape leisure venues like Boschendal (IFA Holdings) have fetched premium prices with foreign buyers seemingly willing to pay well above local contenders.

5 STAR

Hotel - Location - No. of rooms

ArabellaSheraton Grand Foreshore, CBD (in-house hotel – CTICC) 483
Cape Grace V&A Waterfront 122
Table Bay V&A Waterfront 329
RadissonSAS G/Bay Granger Bay (V&A) 182
Mount Nelson Tamboerskloof 206
The Bay Campsbay 72
Le Vendome Sea Point 143
12 Apostles Hotel De Oudekraal 70
The Vineyard Newlands 173
Eurocape’s Mandela-Rhodes Place Greenmarket Opening 2009
One and Only V&A Waterfront Opening 2010
Bantry Bay Luxury Suites Bantry Bay 18
Lagoon Beach Hotel Milnerton 272


4 STAR

Cape Castle Protea Green Point 65
Victoria Junction Hotel Green Point 172
Metropole Hotel Central City, CBD 29
The Commodore V&A Waterfront 236
Portswood Hotel V&A Waterfront 103
La Splendida Boutique Hotel City Centre CBD 24
Protea President Hotel Bantry Bay 349
Cape Heritage Hotel City Centre 15
Capetonian Hotel Foreshore, CBD 167
Cullinan Hotel Foreshore, CBD 410
Holiday Inn Waterfront Foreshore, CBD 546
Cape Sun, Southern Sun Central City , CBD 368
Winchester Mansions Sea Point 53
Ambassador Hotel & Executive Suites Bantry Bay 97
Hippo Boutique Hotel Central City, CBD 20
The Cape Milner Central City , CBD 57
Cape Town Lodge Central City , CBD 114
Best Western Cape Suites Central City , CBD 123
The Townhouse Central City, CBD 107
St. Georges Hotel Central City, CBD 139
Fountain Hotel Central City, CBD 270
Victoria & Alfred Hotel V&A Waterfront 94
Protea Hotel North Wharf 68
Adderley Hotel Central City, CBD 28

3 STAR



Protea Pier Place Hotel Central City, CBD 56
Breakwater Lodge V&A Waterfront 251
Protea Sea Point Hotel Sea Point 123
City Lodge V&A Waterfront 164
Park Inn Hotel Central City, CBD 165
Eastern Boulevard, Garden Court Central City CBD 292
Newlands, Garden Court Newlands 162
De-Waal, Garden Court Central City, CBD 136
The Cape Manor Sea Point 108
Lady Hamilton Central City, CBD 78
Cape Diamond Hotel Central City, CBD 60
Hotel Graeme Green Point 32
Cape Castle Green Point 65
Tudor Hotel City Centre, CBD 26
Tulbagh Hotel City Centre, CBD 58

Canoes, canals and cobras: welcome to the new Colosseum

Monday, 17 December 2007
Cape Town’s newest and finest urban luxury hotel, the Protea Hotel Colosseum, opened for business on November 5th 2007. And as its name suggests, this is no ordinary hotel. And it is located in a far from ordinary part of ever-desirable Cape Town.

Developed by Leon and Brian Singer of the Singer Group, this all-suite hotel consists of a range of 68 hotel suites - 34 deluxe, 26 executive and 8 presidential penthouses - designed by lauded local designer Antonie Bekker. Urban chic never looked this good. Red-rich wood, chocolate grained leather, fine cotton percale linen, bright white bathtubs and glass stand-alone basins characterise the open plan bedrooms: yes, the baths are in the bedrooms, though not – rest easy – the toilets.

And each suite has a mountain view, an ultra-modern kitchenette, a luxurious lounge and something else that is getting business people talking apart from the free wi-fi: an electronic safe with a power socket so you can charge your laptop in total security. All rooms also have a small but significant bonus: a silent bar fridge - so there will be no intermittent shudders and whirrs to disturb your sleep. However, elsewhere there is a sound-proof facility where you can, if you wish, blast the cobwebs right away: it’s called the Sound Room and residents can book it for small groups who want to watch the game or the latest DVD, or simply listen to their latest CD to the tune of top quality multi-decibel Bose surround-sound.

So neat touches abound in this Protea-run hotel, whose kitchenettes and lounges also allow you to entertain ”at home” if you wish. But there is a fine dining restaurant on the premises as well – the brand new Crystal – and many more overlooking the water at nearby Canal Walk.

The Protea Hotel Colosseum is, then, at the heart of a waterside world including a designated wetland nature reserve, which can be reached by guided canoe – hireable just a few hundred metres away for just R35 an hour complete with your very own gondolier. All this lies paradoxically at the heart of the ever-expanding commercial hub of Century City, just 10km from the heart of Cape Town.


But Century City is no far-flung suburb. A growing number of blue chip companies have relocated their head offices there: SAP, PWC, Vodacom, FNB, Liberty Life and Regus, to name but a few – so a business hub it already is. And it has been a retail mecca for some years too, boasting Africa’s largest undercover shopping complex in the form of Canal Walk, which is just 500m from the Colosseum. And an increasing number of people are moving to live at Century City as it expands – about 25,000 residents live permanently in the area so it has its own urban chic vibe.

Another attraction of quite another kind is the Ratanga Junction theme park – a magnet for adrenalin junkies young and old, it boasts a number of rides that would give Tomb Raider pause: not least of which are the Slingshot, the Congo Queen swinging boat and the King of the Jungle rides: the Cobra. 32m high and 779m long, this ride suspends you upside down and creates up to four times the force of gravity at speeds of up to 100kph. They claim “absolute terror never felt so good.”

So now there’s an elegant space to stay for urban thrill-seekers and business people alike (maybe they’re one and the same?). And its name is the Colosseum – where young lions are welcome, water abounds and the Cobra lies waiting…

Cape Town: Accommodation 2010

By area as per MATCH requirements:

Cape Town CBD 21500 beds
Claremont/Newlands 4000 beds
Durbanville/Bellville 4000 beds
Milnerton/Table View 1500 beds
Hout bay/Noordhoek 1650 beds
Somerset West/Strand 2500 beds
Paarl/Franschoek 2100 beds
Stellenbosch 8000 beds

Total thus far: 45250 beds

Cruise ship in CT. Mo, do you have updates for us in regards to using this kind of ships as accomodation for 2010.

http://i46.photobucket.com/albums/f119/Puleza/Cape%20Town/ship.jpg

I think it will run on a demand basis, where by cruise companies show interest to use Cape Town as a location. I do think a few cruise ships at night would look fantastic!

African magnetism
17-Jan-08

The lure of Cape Town is greater than ever - A-list endorsement and continued investment in its infrastructure are pulling in luxury visitors, writes Clive Walker.

What Cape Town lacks in style, buzz and geographic drama can be scrawled on the back of a platinum Amex card. The spiritual holiday home of South Africa's elite, political reform has intensified Cape Town's international magnetism. Today, it's the undisputed playground for those searching endless sun, pristine beaches, fabulous shopping and adventure.

Glamour drips off the rocks. From Camps Bay to the famous Victoria and Alfred (V&A) Waterfront, a blend of sensitively designed five-star and exclusive boutique hotels draws the world's A-list stars - Robbie Williams, Julio Iglesias, Brad Pitt and Bono to name a few. Cape Town can be as frenetic or tranquil as clients wish. Head to the lively V&A Waterfront for gourmet restaurants and designer boutiques, soak up the hustle and bustle in the downtown markets or escape to the myriad bays.

Substantial infrastructure investment is part of Cape Town's ever-growing appeal. A four-year, ZAR7bn expansion of the harbour is transforming the city into one of the world's premier passenger liner destinations. The V&A Waterfront is constantly growing, with more exclusive retailers, a new five-star hotel, apartments, rail station and improved links to Cape Town International planned over the next four years. And the eagerly anticipated 2010 FIFA World Cup - to be hosted at Mbombela, Peter Mokaba, Nelson Mandela Bay, Durban and Cape Town - will see a stunning 68,000-seater stadium open in the city's Green Point district.

Despite 12 hours' flying time from London, Cape Town's two-hour time difference eliminates jet lag. "It's the ideal short-break destination," says Colin Wilson, Page & Moy agency sales head. British Airways, Virgin and SAA fly direct from Heathrow to Cape Town. SAA recently upped the ante by replacing its Boeing 747-400s with hi-tech Airbus A340-600s. Increased international air traffic is driving a total redevelopment of the city airport, which is due for completion in 2010.

Cape Town and the Western Cape are a shopaholics' dream. Around 1.7 million tourists spending ZAR19.8bn in malls, shops and restaurants. The excellent exchange rate - £1 currently buys 14 Rand - makes everything from designer clothes to fine dinning afford able, adds Wilson.

High-end British holiday makers remain Cape Town's core market - a fact endorsed by Desmond O'Connor, Table Bay Hotel executive assistant manager, who says the average stay is between four and five days.

The luxurious hotel's prime position in Cape Town harbour, with its exclusive entrance to the V&A Waterfront shopping complex, makes it a popular springboard for tourist must-dos such as Robben Island - Nelson Mandela's former prison. Boat excursions to the island are always heavily booked, but the Table Bay in-house travel desk is usually able to pull a few strings. "Guests often don't realise there's advance booking for group trips. But we have connections and can sort things out," adds O'Connor.

Cape Town, the 'Mother City', is the oldest metropolis in South Africa with a rich cultural seam reaching back 300 years. It also has the top five national attractions in South Africa - Table Mountain, the V&A Waterfront, Cape Town Wine Routes and Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens - making it a must for any self-respecting jetsetter.

[b]continued.

WORLD CUP 2010 Q&A

Mariette Du Toit-Helmbold, Chief executive, Cape Town Tourism

How are you preparing for the impact the 2010 World Cup is expected to have on luxury tourism in Cape Town?

Cape Town has an excellent tourism infrastructure and is miles ahead in terms of accommodation capacity compared with other host cities.

Cape Town Tourism (CTT) already represents more than 800 accredited and assessed accommodation establishments that range from large hotels to self-catering cottages.

Cape Town has added more than 1,100 new hotel rooms to its capacity in the past five years. At least nine more new hotels will be added in the next five years - a 45 per cent growth in hotel rooms.

Trendy new hotels include Urban Chic in Long Street, the art-deco Cape Diamond Hotel and the new North Wharf Protea Hotel on the Foreshore.

At least three new luxury hotel projects have also been approved for the V&A Waterfront between 2008 and 2009.

CTT is working hand in hand with FIFA, MATCH and the City of Cape Town to ensure that Cape Town and its tourism industry are ready and more than capable to host the 2010 FIFA World Cup.

What kind of developments can upmarket visitors to the World Cup expect from luxury five-star hotels and gourmet restaurants in the area?

Eurocape and Indian Hotels Company are currently constructing The Taj Palace Hotel on the corner of St George's Mall and Wale Street. The five-star hotel is set to open at the end of 2009.

One&Only Cape Town, to open in 2009, will boast sweeping views of Table Mountain and the city's harbour, three exclusive 600sqm residential penthouses and two man-made islands.

SOUTH AFRICA: Gondwana Game Reserve
(http://www.gondwanagamereserve.com) will be the first authentic Big
Five reserve near Cape Town. The reserve will be located 10 miles
from Mossel Bay. This setting will be remote enough to serve as an
authentic game reserve, but will also be accessible to the world-
famous Garden Route. Fynbos Camp will be the first lodge to open on
the reserve in September 2008 and it will feature 25 superior rooms
and 10 luxury suites. All rooms will overlook two watering holes for
optimum game viewing, as well as the Outeniqua Mountains.


http://www.gondwanagamereserve.com/photogallery/photo_15.jpg
http://www.gondwanagamereserve.com/photogallery/photo_14.jpg
http://www.gondwanagamereserve.com/photogallery/photo_13.jpg

Situated 45km west of George and only 15km from Mossel Bay on the Indian Ocean, Gondwana Game Reserve's setting against the mountains is remote yet accessible, within the Garden Route and just 3.5 hours from Cape Town. The balmy year-round temperature is attested to by the fact that Mossel Bay and the surrounding areas have been proclaimed by the Guinness Book of Records to have the second most moderate climate in the world, next to Hawaii.

The introduction of Gondwana to the Western Cape will truly make this province and enviable one: home to South Africa's arguably most beautiful city, Cape Town, the scenic Garden Route with its pristine beaches, winelands that produce some of the world's best wines, the world's best golf courses and an authentic African safari destination to complete the experience.

That's a stunner Mo.

Just a note on cruise ship accommodation.

Have consulted the archives and Cape Town's Harbour and Waterfront has the current capacity to host 13-16 cruise ships/floating hotels of various sizes without any major work.

Total amount of beds would range from 22,000 to 23, 359. This represents the amount of guaranteed beds cruise liners/companies put down in 1997 for the Olympic bid.

Simon's Town has the ability to to host 3-6 cruise ships/floating hotels of various sizes accommodating 6000 beds.

Ill add the graphic as soon as I can. I really should get a scanner.

Luxury hotel boom makes Cape Town a must for Middle East travelers
Wednesday, May 07, 2008

A boom in luxury hotel accommodation with quite a few five-star hotels opening soon, and the launch of a spectacular new fashion mall, is making Cape Town and the Western Cape an absolute must for the Middle East traveller. Couple that with a new daily direct flight between Dubai and Cape Town, and there is no reason why tourists from the Middle East should not be sending their next holiday postcards from Cape Town and the Western Cape.

Says Calvyn Gilfellan, Chief Executive of Cape Town Routes Unlimited, the official tourism destination marketing organisation for Cape Town and the Western Cape: “While Cape Town and the Western Cape is known as a travel destination that specialises in diversity – from the most incredible natural scenery, the world’s finest gourmet delights and rejuvenating spas, to extreme outdoor fun and a vibrant culture and music scene; it’s steadily emerging as a first choice destination for the chic, luxury traveler.”

A team from Cape Town Routes Unlimited, together with other tourism partners from Cape Town and the Western Cape, is promoting the destination and its irresistible offerings this week at the Arabian Travel Market (Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE), 6 - 9 May 2008). The show is the industry's leading travel and tourism exhibition dedicated to unlocking the leisure and business potential within the Middle East and pan Arab region. Celebrating its 15th anniversary, Arabian Travel Market 2008 is expected to attract over 23 000 industry players from over 100 countries.

“In many aspects, the Middle East represents the luxury tourism market to Cape Town and the Western Cape, with travelers often being interested in a top quality tourism experience: five-star hotels, elegant restaurants, shopping for world-famous brands, spectacular golf courses and first-class fun. Cape Town and the Western Cape easily delivers in each of these areas.

In fact, the destination was honoured to be invited to the very exclusive Emirates Holidays Global Brochure Launch held in Dubai earlier this month. Organised by one of the UAE’s leading tour operators, the event provided Cape Town and the Western Cape with the ideal opportunity and audience to market the destination to strategically targeted Middle East travel trade and key decision-makers.

At the event, Cape Town and the Western Cape’s International Leisure Marketing Manager, Debbie Damant, accepted a prestigious award on behalf of South African Tourism for being the “Most Supportive National Tourism Organisation 2007 – 2008”. South Africa has beaten tourism bodies from countries such as Australia, New Zealand and Malaysia.

“The newly introduced direct Emirates flight between Dubai and Cape Town inaugurated at the end of March this year, is a perfect recognition of the growing interest between our two regions. Not only has it strengthened our tourism and business relationship, but it also means that Cape Town is now a hassle-free flight away from the Middle East, adding to our luxury tourism experience. There’s little time difference and we have good international and domestic air connections. And, our destination’s cooler but moderate winter temperatures also offer a pleasant alternative to the scorching summer heat of the Middle East,” says Gilfellan.

The Middle East leisure tourist mainly travels between June and September, their hot and dry summer season. This is good news as it assists Cape Town and the Western Cape in its efforts to curb seasonality by drawing more tourists during its traditional lower season said Gilfellan.

The Middle East traveller generally speaks Arabic and 67% of this market still prefers to arrange their travel plans through traditional Arabian agencies. “Word of mouth” is a powerful form of advertising in this market. Arabian travellers spend an average of three to four weeks on holiday, generally prefer rooms with sea views, enjoy water-based attractions like waterfalls, beaches and lakes, prefer private tours, like seafood, and love spending on shopping especially for branded clothes. The two biggest outbound travel markets in the Middle East, both in volume and per capita, are Saudi Arabia and the UAE. They travel beyond the Middle East, travel in large groups and stay much longer in destinations than any of the others in this market.

Boom in new hotel accommodation

As South Africa is preparing to host the 2010 FIFA World Cup and welcome between 400 000 and 500 000 overseas soccer enthusiasts to its shores during the four week period, major infrastructural upgrades are being undertaken across the country.

In Cape Town in particular, there’s a boom in new hotel accommodation across all market sectors. These include a luxury 130-suite and 12-penthouse apartment hotel in Cape Town’s city centre by the New City Group; the 180-room five-star Taj Hotel, also in the city; the Holiday Inn Express Hotel; as well as the 150-room One & Only luxury hotel and the Ambassador Group’s Dock House boutique hotel in the V&A Waterfront.

According to the Federated Hospitality Association of Southern Africa (FEDHASA) Cape, another hotel planned for the city centre is the 150-room five-star NH Oscar Pearse. It should be opening its doors at the end of 2009. The 96-room Tijger Wijn conference hotel will be opening later this year in Durbanville on the outskirts of Cape Town. It will cater for conferences for up to 200 guests. The all-suite Cape Royale Luxury Hotel and Residence recently opened in Green Point with facilities such as three restaurants, a spa and wellness centre, and rooftop entertainment area.

Outside of the city centre, there are the new 20-room boutique De Noordhoek Hotel and two new Protea hotels, while Sun International’s 96-room hotel to complement its Golden Valley Casino in Worcester, a town in the Western Cape’s scenic Breede River Valley, opened on 2 April 2008.

Cape Town transforming into fashion capital as world-class fashion mall opens

In April this year celebrities, media, business partners and long-time supporters came together for an evening of glitz and glamour in the V&A Waterfront, also represented at this week’s Arabian Travel Market, to celebrate the opening of a one-of-a-kind shopping environment. Here the best of local and international fashion are trading side by side, providing something special for every taste and every pocket and making it the ultimate fashion destination in the country.

Says V&A Waterfront acting COO and representative of London & Regional, Arnold Meyer: “We have a huge amount of confidence in this world-class setting. This launch of this fashion mall, along with the new tenants that we have introduced to South Africa for the very first time, is taking the V&A Waterfront to a new and global level and we are extremely proud to have this development on our portfolio.”

James Wilson, CEO of Dubai World Africa Services, concurs. “I have to reiterate what I said when we first bought the V&A Waterfront. Our vision has always been to transform the V&A Waterfront into the African Riviera and that’s exactly what we’re doing. But it’s not going to stop with the fashion extension – the level of development you can expect to see here over the next decade are nothing short of overwhelming.”

This all contributes to maturing Cape Town and the Western Cape, already known as one of the most beautiful places in the world, into a lifestyle destination. “It’s here where beautiful people from all over the world, dressed in fine-looking fashion, take pleasure in sumptuous cuisine in the most stunning settings, savouring the best life has to offer. It’s all about enjoying the good life,” says Gilfellan.

4 One&Only Penthouses to go for R100m each

By Eleanor Momberg

As property prices continue to drop and most people count their pennies before their next big expenditure, Sol Kerzner has announced he is putting up three exclusive penthouses for sale in Cape Town.

The price tag for each of the duplex penthouses situated at the new One&Only resort on a new marina at the V&A Waterfront is a whopping R100-million. But, Kerzner says, this is reasonable.

"If you look at it in terms of what is being sold in similar positions elsewhere this is not expensive," he says. "Personally, I think it is a bargain."

The four-bedroom residences are being constructed on the top two floors of the 131-key One&Only Cape Town resort which is set to open its doors to visitors at the beginning of October 2009, before the 2010 Soccer World Cup.

The smallest of the three penthouses is 810m2, and the largest 943m2 - twice the size of the ballroom and conference centre being constructed in the Tower Marina hotel below. Each will have breathtaking views of two World Heritage Sites - Table Mountain and Robben Island. They have direct access lifts, meaning the new owners will not have to pass through the hotel lobby to get home. Each one also has substantial terraces with pools.

Also included in the purchase package would be personalised services such as catering on an a-la-carte basis, a concierge, housekeeping as well as spa and beauty treatments and a fitness centre.

The penthouses are being marketed locally, but will also be made available to international players.

Kerzner hopes the apartments, which will be structurally complete by the end of July, will be sold before the end of the year so that the new owners can have an input in personalising the interior design.

The construction of the urban resort was confirmed by Kerzner in October last year. Since then, he says, a number of people have shown an interest in the penthouses. "We had a number of people who seemed pretty serious about acquiring them. There have been discussions, but I do not want to get into a discussion about that now."

Kerzner believes his new Cape Town venture is unique, and that it will be one of South Africa's more luxurious destinations.

Architect Dennis Fabian points out that the resort will integrate with the Waterfront district. It has been kept understated, yet sophisticated and elegant, to meet environmental aesthetics and design requirements determined by the Waterfront's managers, he says, pointing out that the resort also blends in with new apartments constructed along the waterway linking the hotel to the Cape Town International Convention Centre by water taxi. The interiors have been designed by Adam Tihany, an acclaimed New York-based interior designer.

Forty of the resort's guest rooms are situated on a landscaped island in the marina. Another island, linking the Towers to the cabanas, features a spa, fitness centre and swimming pool as well as a children's club and local restaurants.

Kerzner and his team are particularly excited about the inclusion of a world-renowned Nobu restaurant, with its signature Japanese-inspired menu, in the project, as well as a South African tapas restaurant of which one wall will be a three-storey glass wine cellar with its own tasting room and cooling system.

Kerzner remains adamant the R1-billion resort will be embraced by Capetonians who would have full access to the restaurants and bars, and membership-only access to the spa and island pool area. "I am optimistic that we have broken new ground here," he says, while enthusiastically showing members of the media and the design team around the construction site this week.

More awards for Westin

Westin GrandCape Town - The Westin Grand Cape Town Arabella Quays has taken the title of the Best Business Hotel in South Africa at the World Travel Awards Ceremony, whilst Arabella Western Cape Hotel & Spa walked away with the award for Africa’s Leading Family Resort. The World Travel Awards was established to acknowledge and recognise excellence in the world's travel and tourism trade and are considered the most comprehensive in the industry. Votes were cast by travel professionals from 167 000 travel agencies, tour and transport companies and tourism organisations in over 160 countries across the globe.

"We’re specially pleased to have won two awards at this prestigious event as we were up against some exceptionally tough competition. In addition to this, we were voted best in the respective categories by a large number of industry experts – the people who understand what it takes to be an exceptional establishment" says Heinz F. Grub, COO of Arabella Starwood South Africa.

The Westin Grand is located adjacent the Cape Town International Convention Centre with conference rooms that can seat from 12 to 600 delegates. A 24-hour business centre assists guests with day-to-day secretarial activities and wireless internet access is available in all rooms and public areas. This, combined with state-of–the-art technology and 483 luxury rooms, make The Westin Grand an ideal venue for any size business meeting or conference.

Arabella Western Cape Hotel & Spa offers a variety of activities for different age groups in and around the hotel. From shark cage diving to white water rafting in winter for the adrenaline seekers, to hiking and game viewing close by for the less adventurous.

Although there is a large selection of family activities such as quad biking, eco-marine adventures and whale watching, horse riding, kayaking and many tours on offer, the hotel can also entertain the younger family members in-house. Balou’s Den offers children an array of facilities and programmes which include a putt-putt course, jungle gyms, books, DVDs and games.

Baby-sitting is also available so mom can take a relaxing day in the spa, while dad enjoys 18-holes of golf on the award-winning course. This, along with spacious rooms and suites and a cosy, friendly environment makes Arabella Western Cape Hotel & Spa the rightful owner of the Africa’s Leading Family Resort title.

Accommodation Development Pre-2010


Source: Cape Town Tourism

Location Establishment Room Numbers

City Centre Oscar Pearce Hotel 200
City Centre Taj Hotel (Mandela Rhodes Place – Phase 2) 220
City Centre Chancery Square (Mandela Rhodes Place – Phase 3) 350
City Centre 15 on Orange Hotel 290
City Centre Phoenix Hotel 80
Green Point Somerset Hospital Hotel 120
Table Bay Harbour Waterfront Expansion 972 ???????????????????????????? how where who?
City Centre Convention Centre Expansion 672 confirmed??
City Centre Hotel on Buitengracht Street 200

Most expensive apartment in Africa sold

Cape Town - Property magnate Sol Kerzner has made a killing on the SA market, selling a penthouse flat at the V&A Waterfront to a London businessman for R110m.

It's the highest price yet paid for a property in South Africa.

The transaction dethroned the super-rich Irvine Laidlaw as the owner of South Africa's most-expensive house.

Laidlaw paid about R106m for the historic estate, De Goede Hoop, in Noordhoek.

According to a statement, Kerzner confirmed from London that an agreement of sale had been reached and a deposit was paid for the penthouse.

Kerzner wanted to sell the other two penthouses for a minimum of R100m each.

Ian Slot, managing director of Seeff's Atlantic Seaboard office in Cape Town, confirmed on Sunday that it was a South African record.

"The previous record for a penthouse at the V&A Waterfront was R30m. No one has ever bought a penthouse, house or flat at this price."

Slot said there was local and international interest in the penthouses.

He said people would realise in the future that R110m was not a bad price to pay.

"The V&A marina develops daily and will keep expanding. These penthouses will remain jewels of inestimable value in its crown."

Slot did not want to publicise the buyer's identity.

Four bedrooms

Die Burger was told by a reliable source that a London businessman had bought the penthouse.

The chairperson of One&Only Cape Town, Moss Mashishi, said that under the present conditions of the property market it was a strange transaction.

"We are very excited about the transaction. Hopefully it will lend value to the market."

The four-bedroom, duplex penthouses of 800m² were on the top floor of the One&Only Hotel, which is expected to open in October 2009.

The penthouses each have swimming pool terraces and private lifts.

The owners will have a panoramic view of Table Mountain and Robben Island as well as house-keeping and security at the door.

They will enjoy access to the spa and fitness centre, as well as à la carte dining from the hotel's Nobu restaurant.

New Hotel funded in Cape Town CBD

19 Jun 2008 - eProp - NCPF

Intro
Nedbank Corporate Property Finance has provided R105 million funding for the development of the new St George’s Mall Holiday Inn hotel in Adderley Street in Cape Town
The three star hotel, which has commenced trading, comprises 175 rooms, a restaurant and a bar, as well as parking for 30 cars. Ground floor retail space, measuring 549m², is currently being completed.

The property is jointly owned by Zenprop Property Holdings, who project managed the development of the hotel, and developers ISO Leisure.

The hotel forms part of the city block bounded by St George's Mall, and Church and Adderley Streets. The development of this property forms part of the redevelopment initiative in the area that includes the conversion of older commercial properties into luxury residential apartments, hotels and "A Grade" offices and shops.

The hotel is within close proximity of the R1 billion "Mandela Rhodes Place" development, and across the road from the five star, 180-room Taj Hotel, currently being developed by Eurocape and the Indian Hotels Company.

Brian Roberts, Divisional Director for the Gauteng Division of Nedbank Corporate Property Finance says, “As the market leader in property finance, Nedbank is proud to be associated with the development of the St George’s Mall Holiday Inn. With all the development and re-development that is taking place along St George’s Mall, we are confident that this hotel will enhance the façade of the Mother City.”

Rodney Weinstein, director of Zenprop Property Holdings adds that the future for the hotel industry in South Africa is particularly bright. “The current focus on marketing and development of tourism by the government and tourism bodies, along with improved economy of SA bodes well for hotel demand. The impending Soccer World Cup further impacts this positive trend and there is an increase in demand by hotel operators to develop additional hotels within major South African cities.”

Zenprop Property Holdings (Pty) Ltd is a South African-based privately-held property investment, development and management company. It has in-house expertise covering all facets of the real-estate industry, and employs a staff of 95 in its various business units in Johannesburg, Cape Town and Durban.

WOW

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CT hotel and resort 45% complete

2008/07/11

Construction work on a Cape Town hotel and urban resort, on which work began in June last year, is now 45% complete.

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The focus is now moving from the concrete structure to the "vast number" of finishing trades, the co-ordination of which will be an extremely challenging task, says a spokesman for the architects. The anticipated completion date is June 2009.

The three main components of the Kerzner One and Only R1bn Waterfront hotel are:

1. A nine storey tower containing 92 suites. This is divided into three segments that are anchored by corner towers containing the lift cores. The structure is crescent-shaped and follows the curve of Dock Road and the marina itself, which it overlooks.

The guestrooms will have full length glazed doors and windows leading out onto balconies. Access to the parking basement is limited to the valet parking attendants who will park guests' cars.

2. A spa resort island. This will be linked by a pedestrian bridge to the hotel.

The spa will provide hair and beauty salons, treatment and massage rooms, relaxation precincts, a yoga pavilion, saunas and vitality pools for a wet therapeutic experience, as well as other facilities.

3. A second island, in the midst of the marina and also linked by a bridge to the mainland (via the spa island). For this Fabian Berman have designed eleven double storey villas containing suites which vary in size from 70sq m to 250sq m. These 40 guest suites, all close to the water's edge, will have the use of a large, very long, naturally shaped swimming pool which will be served by a beachcomber type restaurant. Fabian said his design here would give the precinct "an urban residential feel with an old world charm".

Two additional features are also worth mentioning:

- The triple volume lobby area in the hotel. This is designed in an elliptical shape and is flanked by an "action bar", an all day dining tapas restaurant and an international Nobu restaurant.

This area, in turn, leads into a banqueting hall and a business centre with conference facilities.

- Three double storey penthouses on the top two floors of the tower blocks. Kerzner has already told the press that these could sell in excess of R100m per apartment (one has already found a buyer at R116m). These apartments have between 816sq m and 943sq m of floor space and are possibly the largest penthouses ever erected in the Greater Cape Town area. They will be finished.

Kerzner's brief to Dennis Fabian was apparently to "respect" the site and the dominant design traditions which have been seen in the V & A Waterfront. Fabian and his team have responded to this challenge by incorporating in the hotel design classical features such as double columns, gentle arches and classically spaced and proportioned windows and apertures.

For more information contact Dennis Fabian on 021 418 9500.

Accommodation Development Pre-2010


Source: Cape Town Tourism

Location Establishment Room Numbers

City Centre Oscar Pearce Hotel 200
City Centre Taj Hotel (Mandela Rhodes Place – Phase 2) 220
City Centre Chancery Square (Mandela Rhodes Place – Phase 3) 350
City Centre 15 on Orange Hotel 290
City Centre Phoenix Hotel 80
Green Point Somerset Hospital Hotel 120
Table Bay Harbour Waterfront Expansion 972 ???????????????????????????? how where who?
City Centre Convention Centre Expansion 672 confirmed??
City Centre Hotel on Buitengracht Street 200

Blaauwberg Beach Hotel 187 rooms (http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=696086)
Protea Hotel Blouberg (http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=693692)
15 on Orange 142 suites (http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=460439)
Canal Quays 93 apartments (http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=409565)
Cape Royale Hotel 130 units (http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=242106)
One & Only Hotel 132 suites (http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=242106)
Coral Hotel Bo-Kaap 108 rooms (http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=372933)
Oscar Pearce Hotel CBD 200 rooms (http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=354996)
Taj Hotel 174 rooms (http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=242013)
Convention Centre Hotel ?? rooms (http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=441384)
Crystal Towers 180 rooms (http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=639089)
Holiday Inn Express 170 rooms (http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=593479)

Preliminary Count:1866 rooms

New Hotels in Cape Town & The Western Cape

Excellent new accommodation options further set the bar for the service & experiences offered by the different hotels in...
The times that ‘Kaapstad’ was lovingly described as Slaapstad’ (Sleepy Town) are certainly over.

The Tavern of the seas has developed into a Metropolitan city with abundance of development over the last decade.

With tourism growing continuously, construction of new hotels in Cape Town is further evolving the quality of the (new) accommodation infrastructure.

Excellent new accommodation options further set the bar for the service and experiences offered by the different hotels in Cape Town.

An insight into new developments of hotels, new hotels that have opened and hotels that will be built before 2010.

In 2009 two extremely luxury hotels, so called 6 star hotels, will be opened in Cape Town.

These hotels currently under construction are Sol Kerzner’s One&Only hotel in the V&A Waterfront, and the Taj Palace Hotel in the Mandela Rhodes Place.

The Cape Royale hotel in Greenpoint is one of several new five star hotels on the cards that have already opened this year.

The five star apartment hotel Mandela Rhodes close to Greenmarket Square opened earlier, in 2007.

2008 has also seen The Coral International hotel start of building as well on the corner of Buitengragt & Whale Street.

The five star Oscar Pearse hotel on the corner of Burg & Castle Street in the inner city started construction at the end of 2007.

For some of the hotels under construction there certainly will be the 2010 Soccer World Cup angle, yet new hotel developments are never planned on just a world cup, it is as simple as that.

An overview of the sectional title hotel & other hotel developments are underway in South Africa’s most beautiful city;

New Hotels in and around Cape Town:

Protea Hotel Island Club - Opened December 2004
Adderley Hotel - Opened November 2006
Protea Hotel North Wharf - Opened 2006
Westin Grand Cape Town Arabella Quays – Renamed in November 2007
Mandela Rhodes Place - Opened November 2006
Protea Hotel Colosseum - Opened November 2007
Holiday Inn Express – Opened March 2008
Cape Royale – Opened 1 May 2008
Asara Wine Estate & Hotel - Opened on 1 May 2008

Hotels & Game reserve currently in Development:

Gondwana Game Reserve - Opening 1 Nov 2008
The One&Only – Opening late 2009
The Coral International - Opening end of 2009
Oscar Pearse – Opening end 2009
15 On Orange – Opening end 2009
Taj Palace Hotel – Opening in 2009

Find special summaries on new hotels in our overview of latest new hotels in Cape Town.

New Hotels in and around Cape Town:


Protea Hotel Colosseum - Opened November 2007
Asara Wine Estate & Hotel - Opened on 1 May 2008



Gondwana Game Reserve - Opening 1 Nov 2008



number of rooms?

Accommodation: Greater Cape Town Area

City of Cape Town : 49680 beds
Cape Winelands: 14316 beds
Central Karoo: 2213 beds
Eden: 51689 beds
Overberg: 13425 beds
West Coast: 9487 beds

Total: 140.810 beds

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where is eden and why does it have more rooms than CT?

where is eden and why does it have more rooms than CT?

*Central Karoo - Beaufort West etc
* Cape Winelands - Paarl Stellenbosch Worcester etc
* West Coast - Vredendal Vredenburg etc
* Overberg - Caledon Hermanus etc
* Eden - George Kynsna Oudtshoorn

Cruise Ships to plug 2010 accommodation gap

Hotels in South Africa would suffer greatly during 2010 World Cup if they do not give FIFA access to their rooms. The country's government could boycott business with hotels that fail to comply with the directive. This could have negative effect on the country's hotel industry.
Eric Nathan: Highlights of South Africa
MATCH, FIFA’s accommodation agent, has so far only contracted half of the 60000 rooms it estimated it would need. The move by government, which could severely hurt hotels as the government sector is a significant revenue spinner, could encourage hoteliers refusing to sign deals to make their rooms available to Match during the 2010 Soccer World Cup.

The Protea Hotels group executive chairperson, Otto Stehlik, issued the warning at an investment conference for the hospitality industry presented by the Tourism Business Council of South Africa. Stehlik is also a member of the ministerial advisory Council for the 2010 Soccer World Cup.

Many of South Africa’s largest hotel groups, including Protea Hotels, City Lodge, Southern Sun and Legacy, have met with FIFA over the last two years to negotiate a fair contract.

Stehlik says, “We’ll be making a lot of money”, but believes the country’s image of being able to host such events could be hurt by a small part of the hotel industry that refuses to make their beds available to MATCH.

The executive attributes this to “ignorance or greed”, however many hotels feel that although the world cup is the world’s biggest sporting event, that there is no reason why FIFA should get a cut of bed revenue.

Hotels have until the end of October to sign a contract with MATCH, after which government is apparently prepared to impose boycotts against them. This boycott could, according to Federated Hospitality Association of South Africa’s (FEDASA) executive chairperson Brett Dungan, be extended to private enterprises doing business with government.

Stehlik says that those not willing to sign contracts believed they could be more profitable alone, and that this belief could place the World Cup in danger.

Adam Brown of MATCH said that the agency did not have enough rooms at reasonable tariffs, and that this would result in spectators choosing not to come to South Africa.

Contingency plans have already included adding guesthouses and lodges to the inventory of MATCH, and the possibility of including school and university accommodation too. A last resort would be to berth luxury cruise ships in Cape Town, Port Elizabeth, East London and Durban as additional rooms to let.

Stehlik believes there are enough ships available to make up the shortfall if hotel groups don’t come on board, however, this would be unfortunate as it would mean South Africa’s tourism industry would lose potential revenue.

Brown says the deadline for hotels is at the end of October as inventory must be issued between the 162 tour operators making group reservations in various countries.

^^ no offence, but that is pathetic. Forcing people to sign up with a joke of an organisation like match?? personally i dont see the point of them, and it really is only in their interest for Hotels to sign up to them. The accomodation will still be here whether they sign up or not

Conde Nast Traveler: Top 15 African Hotels

Cape Town and Western Cape Province hotels in bold


1 Cape Grace, Cape Town 94.9
2 Twelve Apostles Hotel and Spa, Cape Town 94.2
3 Table Bay Hotel, Cape Town 93.2
4 Four Seasons Cairo at Nile Plaza 92.4
5 The Plettenberg, Plettenberg Bay 91.9
5 Victoria & Alfred Hotel, Cape Town 91.9
7 Four Seasons Cairo at The First Residence 90.5
8 Westin Grand Cape Town 87.4
9 La Mamounia, Marrakech 85.1
10 Bantry Bay, Cape Town 84.7
11 Mena House Oberoi, Cairo 83.8
12 Mount Nelson Hotel, Cape Town 83.5
13 Le Franschhoek Hotel & Spa, South Africa 82.9
14 Radisson SAS Hotel Waterfront, Cape Town 82.6
15 Grace in Rosebank, Johannesburg 81.9

New R156m East City Hotel

Stag Properties is set to launch a R156 million two phase development in Cape Town’s East City precinct, which, says Stag’s CEO, John Schooling, will be one of several projects completely transforming this area and “restoring it to its rightful place in the city’s life”.

Known as the City Edge Hotel and Suites, the new complex will consist of 166 apartment units, 40 of which will form part of a Relais Hotels managed rental pool. All the apartments will be sold under sectional title.

Cape Town Partnership’s Chief Executive, Andrew Boraine, says, “This well-positioned neighbourhood is rapidly being transformed and I am confident that the City Edge development will help to accelerate this process and add much-needed residential space to the central city.”

The 6,700m2 site is on the corners of Mount and Caledon Streets. It will be almost entirely covered by basement parking, above which will rise two and three storey apartment blocks. These have been designed in consultation with Heritage officials and the architects, have ensured that the complex will have a Cape Vernacular style and an atmosphere reminiscent of the Victorian and earlier buildings of this precinct.

“The design,” said Schooling, “creates pedestrian friendly living, with many courtyards and walkways and incorporates such Cape features as pitched roofs, dormer windows, private patios and door and window mouldings. I believe our architects have captured the correct feel and the atmosphere for this precinct.

The hotel suites will all be self-catering with electric ovens and hobs, gas stoves and microwave ovens. They will also be air-conditioned and the complex will have full wi-fi coverage. There will also be an Internet café in the complex.

The apartments will vary in size from 49m2 to 80m2. Those in the hotel suites will be fitted out and decorated by Caroline Osborne of Seed Design and Schooling has promised that, although Relais Hotels will be aiming for a three star grading, the fittings will very definitely be of a four star standard.

The hotel operation will be backed up by a coffee shop for the residents’ use, sited on Caledon Street.

Work is expected to start early in the new year (2009) and to be complete in the first half of 2010.

Alan Romburgh, Managing Director of Relais Hotels, said this week that his group is one of the most experienced in South Africa in managing this type of operation. Founded in 1990, when they took over and totally refurbished the Beach Hotel at Kleinmond, they have now managed many such projects including the Leisure Bay Suites at Milnerton (another joint venture with Stag Properties) and the Bantry Bay Apartments, both of which were also sold under sectional title. Both, said Romburgh, are still giving excellent returns to investors. In all, he said, Relais Hotels have in their 18 year history been involved with many hospitality venues and have recently moved out of the Cape to take on the Casa de Sol Hotel and Resort in Mpumalanga, often described as the top resort in that province. The group has also recently opened The Adderley in Cape Town and has been appointed to run the Harbour Edge Hotel.

“What is particularly relevant to this project,” said Romburgh, “is that Relais Hotels, through its shareholder Tourvest, handles more inbound travelers than any other South African travel management team. This arrangement has greatly extended our marketing network, with the result that we can now make use of a client base of local and international leisure and business travellers – including many large international corporates.”

On any one day during the summer, added Romburgh, Tourvest is probably looking after just on 1,000 people in Cape Town alone.

“Anyone buying here is, therefore, assured of being able to tap into the Cape tourist market where volumes are set to rise by 10 to 12% per annum over the next three years. An investment here will generate an annual return of 7,8 to 8% from day one.

“Buyers can, if they so wish, buy their units in VAT registered entities facilitated by the developers which will enable them to claim back their VAT payments, thereby saving 14%.”

Romburgh said that positioning the project in the three star bracket would enable it to make the most of the fastest growing category in the hotel business.

“South African three star hotels have this year enjoyed almost 70% occupancies – and their room rate is 26% up on that of 2007. No other hotel category performs in anything like the same highly successful way.”

This fact, added Romburgh, enables Relais Hotels to predict “with some confidence” that those buying here will achieve a 7.8 to 8% return in year one and significant annual capital growth thereafter.

Schooling said that prices of the units will start at R820 000, with the top and most luxurious units costing R1,5 million.

Cape Royale Luxury Hotel launches state-of-the-art Business Centre

Cape Town - The Cape’s newest 5 star hotel - the Cape Royale Luxury Hotel and Residence in Green Point - has opened the doors on its state-of-the-art Business Centre, a facility that combines super-efficient business conveniences and services with the ultimate in luxury and comfort.

Ursula Gray, the Chief Executive of the Cape Royale, says that the Business Centre has been specifically designed to cater for smaller, more exclusive top-end conferences in order to attract the top international and local business market.

“For top business people, it’s not sufficient simply to provide conference facilities and small office spaces. What we’ve done is to incorporate a number of executive boardrooms into our Business Centre, which emulate the type of spaces where these guests might be used to doing business. Each of these boardrooms, which vary in size in order to accommodate different needs, is equipped with the latest technology, and the accent throughout is on stylish and quality finishes,” she says.

The four executive boardrooms each feature a boardroom table, wireless internet access, large screens and laptop connections. Touch control panels with ceiling-mounted data projectors, in-room coffee machines, mini bars and tasteful décor complete the service offering.

In addition, the hotel offers full secretarial and business services, two internet kiosks with computers, wireless internet access and a printer. The Business Centre is open 24 hours a day and 7 days a week.

The hotel offers a range of Day Conference Packages in addition to accommodation-linked packages which offer companies a wide range of tailor-made meeting options.

According to Gray, the advantages of using the Cape Royale for business meetings extend beyond the facilities available in the Business Centre. “The focus throughout the Cape Royale is on luxury and comfort, attention to detail and the provision of tailored, customised services. People using our Business Centre have the option of in-room dining or they may visit any one of our fine restaurants, the Equinox Spa and Wellness Centre is situated in close proximity, and for the ultimate in ‘breakaway’ space, guests may avail themselves of our rooftop pool deck with its 360 degree panoramic views of Cape Town, the mountain and the ocean.

“In addition, we are finding that international business people increasingly wish to combine their business with pleasure, and in many instances, to bring their partners and families with them on their business trips. The Cape Royale with its all-suite offering, tailor-made tours and focus on top quality throughout, provides the perfect venue,” she concludes.

For more information on the packages and services available at the Business Centre, please contact Francois Liebenberg, Sales Manager at the Cape Royale.

The Westin Grand i.e Ms Arabella, has been confirmed as the official FIFA hotel in Cape Town.

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The Westin Grand i.e Ms Arabella, has been confirmed as the official FIFA hotel in Cape Town.

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80% of the Westin Grand Arabella Quays Hotel on the foreshore has been booked by Fifa delegates for the 2010 World Cup

Blaauwberg Beach Hotel 187 rooms
Protea Hotel Blouberg 144?
15 on Orange 142 suites
Canal Quays 93 apartments
Cape Royale Hotel 130 units
One & Only Hotel 132 suites
Coral Hotel Bo-Kaap 108 rooms
Oscar Pearce Hotel CBD 200 rooms
Taj Hotel 174 rooms
Crystal Towers 180 rooms 90 apartments
Holiday Inn Express 170 rooms
Asara Wine Estate & Hotel 37 rooms
Gondwana Game Reserve 35 rooms
Hyatt Regency Oubaai Herold's Bay 100 rooms
Dock House Hotel Cape Town 6 rooms
Manhattan Suites Century City
Harbourbridge 57 rooms
Kings Hotel 42 rooms
City Edge Hotel 40 rooms 160 apartments
Paradise Coast 240 rooms

Total:???

summing all the numbers there I (excel) get 2467

summing all the numbers there I (excel) get 2467

thanks but also want to know about any im missing, there are just so many all over the place right now.

thanks but also want to know about any im missing, there are just so many all over the place right now.
Hotel rooms... in ALL of Cape Town & W.Cape!!!??? What did your last slave die of? :lol:
Holy Bullnuts, there are tons, just off the top of my head, still need the Westin grand, Table Bay Sun, Cape Grace, Portswood Lodge, Vic&Alfred Hotel, Breakwater Lodge, Radisson Granger Bay... wait... looking over your list again, they all seem new... are you only counting hotels opened this year till 2010?

Hotel rooms... in ALL of Cape Town & W.Cape!!!??? What did your last slave die of? :lol:
Holy Bullnuts, there are tons, just off the top of my head, still need the Westin grand, Table Bay Sun, Cape Grace, Portswood Lodge, Vic&Alfred Hotel, Breakwater Lodge, Radisson Granger Bay... wait... looking over your list again, they all seem new... are you only counting hotels opened this year till 2010?

new hotels opening from 2007 onwards

that's a lot open within the year!

The Table Bay Hotel Cape Town Completes Rehab
Wednesday, December 10, 2008


The Table Bay Hotel, ideally situated on Cape Town’s bustling harbor, has recently completed an extensive refurbishment. Changes to both the guestrooms and public areas enhance the already stunning features of the hotel.

Guestroom highlights include new, world-class Simmonds Sun-sational mattresses coupled with large lounge chairs for an even more luxurious and comfortable stay. Updated bathrooms and the unique shower fixtures portraying Oscar, the former mascot seal of the old harbor add to the overall fresh new appearance of the rooms.

Surrounding the hotel, herb gardens have been built to provide the hotel’s chefs with the freshest ingredients. The Table Bay has also gone to great lengths to update the appearance and experience of both the pool and the Spa. With a new pool deck and extra lounge chairs, the pool area is warm and inviting for guests who like to relax under the sun. A double treatment room has been added to the spa to allow couples the romantic luxury of being pampered together as well as a private area to relax after treatments. New treatments and additions have also been made to the Spa menu.

The Table Bay Hotel is owned by Sun International Hotels & Resorts, Africa’s largest tourism and leisure group. The Table Bay Hotel was named the number one hotel in Africa by the readers of Condé Nast Traveler Magazine in 2007 in their 20th annual Reader’s Choice Award. Sun International operates resorts and luxury hotels in South Africa, Zambia, Botswana, Namibia, Lesotho, and Swaziland. The company’s distinctive and unique properties also include the award-winning Sun City Resort; as well as The Royal Livingstone and Zambezi Sun hotels located on the precipice of Victoria Falls.

Current Count: 9805 rooms (*Thus far)
Cape Town Hotel Rooms
Within 50km radius of the City Centre

New R156m East City Three-Star Hotel in Cape Town
166 apartments for new City Edge Hotel and Suites

Stag Properties is set to launch a R156 million two-phase development in Cape Town’s East City precinct, which, says Stag’s CEO, John Schooling, will be one of several projects completely transforming this area and “restoring it to its rightful place in the city’s life”.

Known as the City Edge Hotel and Suites, the new complex will consist of 166 apartment units, 40 of which will form part of a Relais Hotels managed rental pool. All the apartments will be sold under sectional title.

New R156m East City Three-Star Hotel in Cape Town
166 apartments for new City Edge Hotel and Suites

Stag Properties is set to launch a R156 million two-phase development in Cape Town’s East City precinct, which, says Stag’s CEO, John Schooling, will be one of several projects completely transforming this area and “restoring it to its rightful place in the city’s life”.

Known as the City Edge Hotel and Suites, the new complex will consist of 166 apartment units, 40 of which will form part of a Relais Hotels managed rental pool. All the apartments will be sold under sectional title.

Thanks and welcome.
A thread in the projects section already exists for this development.

Cape Town Hotel Rooms

Current Count: 10915 rooms (*Thus far)
Within 50km radius of the City Centre
Excludes Paarl, Franschoek and beyond

Cape Town 1997: Hotel rooms per category

5 star 1405
4 star 1398
3 star 3208
2 star 1194
1 star 1844

Total: 9049 rooms

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WSP Africa strong in Hotel & Leisure industry

15 January 2009

WSP has been awarded the consulting engineering contract for four new hotel developments in the Western Cape, namely 15 on Orange, Taj Palace Cape Town, Crystal Towers and the One&Only Cape Town.

Greg Nichollas of WSP says, “We have already worked on some of the Cape’s most prestigious hotels, including the Cape Grace Hotel, the Table Bay Sun, the Westin Grand at the Cape Town Convention Centre and the Arabella Western Cape Hotel and Spa in Hermanus. These latest appointments enable WSP to enhance its presence in the upmarket hotel and leisure industry in the Western Cape.”

WSP is providing the full suite of mechanical and electrical engineering consultancy for the Taj Palace and Crystal Towers developments, the wet services engineering consultancy for the One&Only project and the air-conditioning and wet services engineering consultancy on the 15 on Orange project.

Some of South Africa’s best known and respected hotel operators have utilised WSP’s services, in this instance they include Protea, One&Only, as well as the introduction of the world famous Taj hotel brand into South Africa.

WSP was appointed for the 15 on Orange project by Chaim Cohen of Million Up Investments. The development is a combination of hotel suites and luxury apartments with a total of 140 keys and incorporates tying the new building into the existing façade of the previous Huguenot Chambers building. Completion is scheduled for July 2009.

The Taj Palace project is being developed jointly by Taj Group India and EuroCape. The hotel will be 5 Star and comprise 180 keys. The project is especially challenging as it is being constructed on an existing site comprising two separate buildings of historical importance. This has resulted in the designs having to incorporate the installation of new mechanical and electrical systems into existing heritage areas, which require minimal disturbance. Completion is scheduled for July 2009.

The Crystal Towers project is the largest project presently embarked on by Rabie Property Group. The project is a multi-use development comprising a 180-key, 5 Star African Brand hotel (Protea Hotels’ flagship product), 90 upmarket apartments, a commercial office wing and small pockets of retail space. Nichollas says, “This is basically three projects rolled into one, with a tight design and construction programme that lends this project its own complexity – something WSP is accustomed to handling.” Completion is scheduled for November 2009.

Kerzner International appointed WSP for the One&Only Cape Town, to be situated at the Victoria & Alfred Waterfront. The project includes residential apartments, guest rooms, a spa and fitness centre. Like all One&Only hotels, quality is paramount and this applies to the wet services designs, which require some innovative design to meet the requirements of the final product. Completion is scheduled for September 2009.

Nichollas adds, “Hotel and leisure projects are, from an engineering perspective, probably the most complex type of construction project that there is, as the rigidity of the engineering systems must compliment the artistic influence created by the architects and interior designers. The fact that WSP is consistently appointed on these types of projects underlines the skill and experience that WSP brings to the table. WSP interfaces closely with the interior designers and the hotel operators to delver the high level of detail and quality required on projects of this nature.”

Proposal for 340ha development a folly because of climate change, group warns



By Environment Writer

A huge golf course and housing development is being proposed for 340ha of farmland near Durbanville - a project so big it has been described as a "whole new urban node".

Called the Bella Riva Golf Estate at Fisantekraal, the development would include an 18-hole golf course and club house, a hotel with 80 rooms and 100 chalets, sports centre, conference centre, 780 townhouses, 494 houses on "smaller estate erven" and 247 on "bigger estate erven", 712 gap or low-cost homes, five equestrian smallholdings, a primary school, church sites, and 1.6ha of commercial buildings.

The farms where the development is planned are Lichtenburg and Louwenhof. Some of this farmland, about 31ha, has been bought by the City of Cape Town and is where sewerage works are to be built.

Aubrey Withers, the consultant handling the environmental impact assessment for the development, said the sewerage works would be "slap-bang" in the middle of the golf course.

On average, an 18-hole golf course uses two million litres of water a day.

Withers said finding water to irrigate the golf course would not be a problem as the quantity of wastewater that would come from the sewerage works "could irrigate 50 golf courses".

The Western Cape government has been particularly worried about the amount of agricultural land disappearing under urban development, but Withers said this was not prime agricultural land.

He said the farmland had cattle and pig feedlots, horses, a quad bike track and some sand and gravel mining. About half of it was under wheat.

Patrick Dowling, of the Wildlife and Environment Society of SA, said the authorities would have to look critically at the development proposal.

Such a huge project, consisting of "non-essential development", was inappropriate because of the looming effects of climate change.

"This is huge, a whole new urban node. The authorities cannot develop climate change strategies on the one hand, and then (would) approve something like this, which (would) mean allocating scarce water resources for hedonistic activity."

melanie.gosling@inl.co.za

Published on the web by Cape Times on January 21, 2009.

Hey guys.

What are some of the large 3 star hotels in Cape Town.
In 1997 there were about 3000 rooms but I only count about 3000 rooms for 2009 in 3 star hotels.

Which other establishments are considered to be 3 star?
The 4 star and 5 star growth suggest that the 3 star room growth should be closer to 6000 rooms by 2009.

Renovations to two Cape Town boutique hotels completed

The Long Beach and The Franschhoek, two of Cape Town’s most prestigious boutique hotels, have recently re-opened following extensive renovations.

The Long Beach in the fishing village of Kommetjie has seen changes to all rooms. The two superior double rooms upstairs have been converted into suites averaging an area of 70sqm each, with private lounge areas that open up onto magnificent balconies that make you feel as if you are right on the beach! The downstairs suite has been increased in size to 95sqm with its own private lounge area and patio that flows to the pool. In all rooms the beds have been reconfigured to face the sea, so that guests can enjoy sea views from their beds just as they can from the bathrooms. In addition, the deck in front of the public areas has been increased by a further 20sqm towards the sea. The interior décor has been completed by Anna Carst of ‘Inside Outside Design’, and she has carried through the theme of blues, creams and sea greens with a splash of colour to reflect the glorious beach of which the property derives its name.

The Franschhoek in the Cape Winelands saw two of its existing suites converted into magnificent pool suites, each with their own private pool and garden/courtyard area. The private courtyards are an average of 38sqm in size including the pool that flows directly from the lounge areas through glass windows. For guests looking for the ultimate in luxury and privacy, these pool suites are best! Carrying though a French chic element in the interiors, the pool designs are a greatly impressive feat; on-lookers can benefit from a continual flow from the bedroom through to the lounge area, pool and finally the courtyard area.

Cape Town Hotel Rooms

Current Count: 12915 rooms (*Thus far)
Within 50km radius of the City Centre

Expected total: 17000-18000 rooms

is that only hotel or guesthouses and b&b's as well? backpackers?

is that only hotel or guesthouses and b&b's as well? backpackers?

excluding b&b's and backpackers for now and hotels/guest houses with fewer than 10 rooms.

would be nice if the tourism grading council could provide stats on the number of rooms per star category.

I'll make the list of hotels and hotel apartments available at some stage.

At the moment there are about six 1 star hotels included. Two Formula 1 hotels, the road lodge at CTIA, N1 City and 2 other randoms.

Cape Town Hotel Rooms

Current Count: 12915 rooms (*Thus far)
Within 50km radius of the City Centre

Expected total: 17000-18000 rooms

Update:

Cape Town Hotel Rooms/Guest Houses/Hotel Apartments

Current Count: 15212 rooms (*Thus far)
Within a 50km radius of Century City

Current Rooms: Hotels/Hotel Aparments/Guesthouses with more than 10 rooms accounted for

Current Rooms per star category(expected/estimated total in brackets)

5 star: 3673 rooms (4000 rooms)
4 star: 7635 rooms (7800 rooms)
3 star: 3749 rooms (At least 5152 rooms)
2 star: 327 rooms (At least 1917 rooms)
1 star: 349 rooms (At least 2961 rooms)

Total accounted for: 15733 rooms
Revised expected total: 21830 rooms

i hear what u saying, i dont think there is any truely reliable list of hotels for any city as it is not compulsory to have a star rating as such many hotels would not be on those lists.

i got a list for durban by places and star grades, but i think it has so many gaps in it cos these are just from my head, then go to website to validate the number of rooms and star grade...takes so long

i hear what u saying, i dont think there is any truely reliable list of hotels for any city as it is not compulsory to have a star rating as such many hotels would not be on those lists.

i got a list for durban by places and star grades, but i think it has so many gaps in it cos these are just from my head, then go to website to validate the number of rooms and star grade...takes so long

its not such a problem in cape town with many hotels graded through the grading council.

it certainly has been a long process to validate star ratings and number of rooms but the list is quite accurate.

i hear what u saying, i dont think there is any truely reliable list of hotels for any city as it is not compulsory to have a star rating as such many hotels would not be on those lists.

i got a list for durban by places and star grades, but i think it has so many gaps in it cos these are just from my head, then go to website to validate the number of rooms and star grade...takes so long

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In the presentation last night I saw four cruse ships indicated.
2 next door to Royal Cape and 2 at the V&A.

Aurora arrives in Cape Town

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27 January 2009. South Africa. Western Cape. Cape Town.
The 270 metre luxury passenger cruise liner Aurora docking in the Cape Town Harbour.The ship has docked on 500 day countdown to the 2010 World Cup. Cape Town is one of the premier tourist spots in South Africa.

Ship Statistics

Year Entered Service 2000
Beam (Ship Width) 106 ft
Draught (Ship Depth) 25.9 ft
Length 886 ft
Total Cabins 939
WheelChair accessible Cabins 22
Tonnage 76000
Passenger Capacity (Max) 1874 (1950)
Crew 850
Cruising Speed 24 Knots
Number of Decks 10
Number of Lifts 10

Nine new hotel developments on the cards for Cape Town

While the global economic slowdown continues, South Africa's hospitality industry remains upbeat with ongoing positive growth reflected in the hotel market, and with major global operators clamouring to gain a presence, says Joop Demes, CEO of Pam Golding Hospitality.

"At the outset of 2008 we noted the increasingly positive trend in this industry which was evident despite widespread panic regarding the oil price, inflation and electricity shortages and tariff hikes. Now, a year later, we remain extremely optimistic regarding the prospects for the hospitality industry in South Africa and its ongoing resilience," he says.

"To understand why our country is faring so well when compared to the rest of the world we need to bear in mind that in South Africa overall approximately 91 percent of every single bed night that is sold in the hotel industry is sold to someone who lives in Africa. Over the past five years we have experienced exceptional growth in GDP and while this has slowed considerably, our economy is still growing. In addition, South Africa has two other unique global competitive advantages – strong liquidity, and being host for the prestigious 2010 Soccer World Cup which takes place in less than 500 days," says Demes.

During 2008, and for the third year in succession, the SA hotel market as a whole experienced a double digit increase in Revpar, ie revenue per available room, with 2008 up by an impressive 10 percent compared to 2007. There are some highly attractive areas to consider in terms of investment, generally referred to as 'honey spots'. Topping the priority list is Gauteng 's 3, 4 and 5 Star market, which recorded an overall 22.8 percent increase for 2008 with the six-month period ended 31 December 2008 up by a notable 18.8 percent compared to the same period the previous year – as quoted in a recent Smith Travel Research Global Survey.

"The constant growth of South Africa's hospitality industry and significant potential in a number of areas within the country is not unnoticed and has manifested itself with unprecedented interest from developers, listed property companies and institutions. During the past 11 months Pam Golding Hospitality and Tourism Consultants was engaged for 17 hotel development feasibility studies and we estimate that these alone will convert to R4.3 billion in investment which in turn will create 2 060 permanent jobs," adds Demes.

"In addition, Pam Golding Hotels is currently engaged in the facilitation of no less than nine new hotel developments in Cape Town. Combined with a number of other hotels that are currently being completed, we anticipate that over the next two years alone this will result in an estimated investment of approximately R4 billion, with the creation of some 2 500 permanent jobs. Nearly every major branded hotel operator in the world has registered their requirements and credentials with us in search of an opportunity to be present or to expand in Southern Africa. Further to this, Pam Golding Lodges and Guest Houses is receiving an increasing number of enquiries for quality guest houses, boutique hotels and restaurants. Right now the time and place for investment in the hospitality industry seems to really favour South Africa.

"At present leases are favoured by a number of hotel operators, however, in our opinion this will change as and when South Africa experiences further much-anticipated reductions in interest rates. With a meaningful reduction in cost of capital, the appetite for private residence clubs and condominiums will also re-emerge and will feature strongly in the years ahead," adds Demes.

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Updates:

Intaba, Roggebaai Canal Hotel 195 rooms
Pepper Club, Hotel ? rooms

Modern new conference centre in downtown Cape Town

THE Townhouse Hotel has opened a new state-of-the-art conference centre in a prime location around the corner from Parliament in downtown Cape Town.

It is part of an R11m refurbishment of the now rebranded Townhouse Hotel & Conference Centre.

The centre itself spans two floors and caters for up to 240 delegates and offers secure parking. It was designed by top SA architects Revel Fox & Partners and interior designer Les Harbottle. Features include the latest audio-visual technology, breakaway rooms and a range of flexible layout solutions.

Theoné Williams was appointed banqueting manager and Stefan Schmidt executive chef, having previously worked at Blaauklippen Wine Estate and the Grand Roche Hotel. Menus range from coffee breaks priced from R32pp to banquets priced from R295pp.

Conference packages cost from R175pp subject to the number of delegates. A venue hire is charged for conferences with fewer than 20 delegates. The hotel’s in-house audiovisual equipment provider can arrange additional equipment hire.

Conference and event organisers have been excited to hear that a modern conference centre of this size has opened in Cape Town’s CBD, says gm, Jacqueline Williams. “It’s what the area has needed for a long time.”

The four-star de-luxe hotel has 106 rooms and is privately owned and family managed. Its sister properties are the Vineyard Hotel & Spa in Newlands and the D’Ouwe Werf Hotel in Stellenbosch.

Update: 2009

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2010: Cape Town and Western Cape Accommodation and Training Sites

We are passionate about sport in Cape Town and the Western Cape and are eager to share this enthusiasm with fellow sports lovers from around the world. With its spectacular setting, pleasant climate, and modern infrastructure, Cape Town and the Western Cape is a popular destination for visiting sports teams looking for a world-class training venue.

Read on for a listing of the range of modern sports facilities on offer to visiting teams and sports people looking for a suitable location to hone their skills and prepare for an important event or upcoming season. We feature accommodation offering comfort and relaxation conveniently located near training sites and transport hubs.

Cape Town-based Sports Science Institute offers a range of services to visiting teams and their coaches. They have a multi-disciplinary team of health professionals from physiotherapists, orthopedic surgeons, and sports medicine doctors, to dieticians, biokineticists, high performance specialists, sports vision trainers and psychologists. The Institute offers comprehensive support to both the athlete and coach.

http://www.wcape2010.co.za/images/pagepics/play_regions.jpg

Please select an area below to view its listings:

* Cape Town (http://www.wcape2010.co.za/images/pdf/play_cape-town.pdf)

* Cape Garden Route (http://www.wcape2010.co.za/images/pdf/play_cape-garden-route.pdf)

* Cape Karoo (http://www.wcape2010.co.za/images/pdf/play_cape-karoo.pdf)

* Cape Overberg (http://www.wcape2010.co.za/images/pdf/play_cape-overberg.pdf)

* Cape West Coast (http://www.wcape2010.co.za/images/pdf/play_cape-west-coast.pdf)

* Cape Winelands (http://www.wcape2010.co.za/images/pdf/play_cape-winelands.pdf)

Celebs launch the One&Only

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A CAST of A-listers from both sides of the Atlantic have helped to launch a brand new luxury hotel in South Africa.

The stunning One&Only in Cape Town attracted some of Hollywood's top stars including ROBERT DE NIRO, MATT DAMON and SHARON STONE.

Meanwhile, the British contingent was represented by top chef GORDON RAMSAY.

And, of course, guest of honour at the event was South African icon NELSON MANDELA.

The hotel is the brain child of millionaire SOL KERZNER, who owns a chain of plush hotels around the world.

Pulling out all the stops to make sure the opening went with a bang, Sol hired Gordon Ramsay and Nobu Masuhisa to cook lavish food for his guests and laid on some incredible entertainment for the stars.

They sampled wine from the hotels cellar, which boasts the biggest collection of South African wines in the world, and saw musicians including CLINT EASTWOOD's soon KYLE perform on stage.

Other guests at the event included MARISA TOMEI, THANDIE NEWTON, YASMIN LE BON, KAROLINA KURKOVA and MORGAN FREEMAN.

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wwwcapeaccomodation.blogspot.com

Nice yacht.

Not bad... lil bit small for Sol Kerzner, but I'm guessing he's downsizing a lil bit....

New Hotels in Cape Town & The Western Cape



New Hotels in and around Cape Town:


Asara Wine Estate & Hotel - Opened on 1 May 2008


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I love that frameless glass around the patio.. looks awesome...

Langa Sun Resort Hotels to build luxury facilities in three cities
April 14, 2009

By SLINDILE KHANYILE

Langa Sun Resort Hotels, a newly formed hospitality company, will spend R1.5 billion over the next three years to build five-star-plus hotels in Durban, Cape Town and Johannesburg.

It hopes to recoup the investment by selling rooms for a 10-year period.

Mandla Nxumalo, the chief executive and chairman, said the company would broaden the shareholding by selling rooms at R20 000 each.

These owners would have access to the room for five nights a year and could rent it to the hotel operators or use it for personal needs.

"We have identified a gap in the market and believe this model will succeed" said Nxumalo. "Many people believe in our model - we even have an international investor backing these projects."

Nxumalo refused to divulge the identity of the investor who loaned Langa Sun the R1.5 billion or the terms of the loan. He also declined to name his partners in the venture.

He was prepared to say "politicians in the ruling party" were playing a role, but would not be specific about their involvement.

The hotels would have 32 storeys and 315 rooms each. Groundwork for the first hotel, in Durban, would begin in October and construction would start early in 2010.

Construction on the other two hotels would begin in the middle of 2010 and would take about 24 months.

Nxumalo said this was the best time to embark on these projects because prices had come down due to the economic downturn.

"All the material we need, such as steel, is cheap right now. When the economy recovers we will be done with the building."

He said the firm had not finalised the number of jobs that would be created during and after the construction phase.

Nxumalo is also involved in a company called EleZulu Hotel Resorts which is building five hotels to capitalise on the 2010 soccer World Cup.

Meanwhile, businessman and soccer legend Jomo Sono said he had scaled down on the number of hotels he was building due to the turmoil in the financial markets. Instead of spending R600 million building six hotels, he would build two.

"There is no need to go mad in this environment. If you want to go under, ask for R600 million in this market," said Sono.

because Cape Town needs more five star hotel rooms

I like the concept of this hotel.

I doubt if they would get 32 storeys in Cape Town

in the CBD you would but its going to take the replacement of a low rise.

As for this Asara este fok me its berautiful and my wife has made me promise me we will stay there when we are back in July

in the CBD you would but its going to take the replacement of a low rise.

As for this Asara este fok me its berautiful and my wife has made me promise me we will stay there when we are back in July

Least you could do is book a room for me too! :)

K guys SA Boy is prepared to host all of us at Asara for our Annual SSC conference. All the bitch fights will now take place in reality!

^^ least we wont need to bring the drink

wait till im back on the farm and im sure that my comapny that runs the farm can claim some sort of tax break by hosting some "intelectual gathering in the Cape for the promotion of South African virtues" etc
Oh and the dops too, if thats the case then just have it on my farm and you can drink all the merlot and shenin blanc you want

I dont know if theres a thread or comment but I just noticed after driving past construction for the last 6months that they are extending the vineyard (well thats what it looks like) I thought the construction work was for an adjacent property and much smaller than it is.

xxxxxxxxxxxxx

24 Jun 2009: Cape Town Hotels Preferred 2010 Destination



As South Africa enters its final year of preparation before the kick-off of the 2010 (http://www.cbn.co.za/sector/2010_news.html) FIFA World Cup, hotel bookings in Cape Town are fast gaining momentum with tourists from South and Central America currently leading the way - despite early predictions of a slump due to the effect of the global economic crisis.



The latest example of this increasing positive sentiment is the recording of pre-bookings of almost 80% by predominately Brazilian and Mexican tourists at yet-to-be-opened R400 million five star luxury hotel and spa, Pepper Club - located in the heart of Cape Town.



“The current economic crisis has taken its toll on pockets around the globe and travel and tourism (http://www.cbn.co.za/sector/tourism.html) is often an expense which takes a backseat during touch times, but strong enquiries have been streaming in at Cape hotels for World Cup accommodation (http://www.cbn.co.za/beta/countme.php?action=acom) ,” says David Solomon, Chairman of Solomon Brothers Property Holdings and developer of Pepper Club.




“The fact that both Brazil and Mexico’s teams have yet to officially qualify for the tournament, but that their fans are already planning to be based in Cape Town is testament to both their support and the appeal of the city.”
According to adjusted statistics by the Department of Home Affairs, South Africa can still expect between 450 000 and 500 000 visitors for the duration of the event. “Cape Town International Airport alone is expected to handle about 2 400 travellers per hour, an unprecedented influx of tourists.”
The R400 million 20-storey Pepper Club is set to open its doors a few months before the tournament in February 2010, addressing the growing need for a luxury hotel in the heart of the city. Catering for the business (http://www.cbn.co.za/busindex.php) and leisure traveller, the hotel will feature a fine-dining restaurant, an intimate private cinema, a swimming pool with panoramic views, a fully-equipped gymnasium, a luxurious spa, 24-hour concierge service and security. In addition, a serene palm tree-lined courtyard will connect directly to the Cape Town’s vibrant Long Street with its boutique shops and cosmopolitan night life.



Solomon says that the coming year is Cape Town’s chance to demonstrate its service excellence in the hospitality (http://www.cbn.co.za/sector/hospitality.html) industry, by surpassing international standards and creating a scenario for repeat visits beyond 2010. “An event of this global scale is the perfect showcase for what our country can offer international visitors from both a tourism (http://www.cbn.co.za/sector/tourism.html) and investment perspective. We only have one chance to get it right,” concludes Solomon.

Hilton keen to expand brand in SA

25 Jun 2009 - I-Net Bridge -

Hilton Hotels is eager to expand its presence in SA and is in discussions with several hotel groups and developers about potential hotel sites around the country.

JULIUS BAUMANN

Aviation and Tourism Editor

Hilton Hotels is eager to expand its presence in SA and is in discussions with several hotel groups and developers about potential hotel sites around the country.

Patrick Fitzgibbon, senior vice president of development for Hilton Hotels in Africa and Europe, said yesterday the group had in recent years lagged behind its competitors in SA and was particularly keen to expand aggressively, particularly in Cape Town, where another Hilton hotel is on the cards.

The group already has two hotels in Sandton and Durban. The 329-room hotel in Sandton is due to undergo a multimillion-rand room refurbishment programme.

“Cape Town has been missing from our mix in SA and we are exploring various sites in the city,” Fitzgibbon said. He said the group had neglected the country for too long and would soon appoint a country manager to oversee the company’s developments in SA.

Fitzgibbon said the group would consider all its brands for the local market, from the luxury Conrad hotels, to the mid-market Hilton Garden Inn and the down market Hampton hotel brand.

baumannj@bdfm.co.za

Source: Business Day

They've lost out on 2 or 3 bids already.

So what if they have lost out on some bids, they are still intrested in expanding in SA and particularly in CT. I've been waiting to see something from them in CT. Its about time

All I was saying is that contrary to the article, they have been keen for a while already, hence the bids which were lost.

Other hotels can be expected in Century City. They currently have rights to develop just over 500 rooms but with Crystal Towers included will be at about 300 rooms. I'm sure though that the limit can be changed.

Two or three hotels can be expected around the Roggebaai Canal, some more in the CBD and foreshore, V&A waterfront.

Hotel brands/developers definitely have options.

If I had a choice I'd refurbish Customs House.
For a more resort type location I'd go for Atlantis.

Dubai World Plans to Convert QE2 Into Hotel for Cape Town

(http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601116&sid=acKdKtBFhkW4#)


By Paul Richardson
July 10 (Bloomberg) -- Dubai World plans to berth the Queen Elizabeth 2 ship at the V&A Waterfront in Cape Town and convert it into a luxury hotel, Business Day reported, citing Ronel Bester, spokewoman for the South African Tourism Ministry.

The company is applying for berthing rights from the National Port Authority, the Johannesburg-based newspaper said.

Dubai World is in talks with a South African company to manage the hotel, the newspaper said.

V&A could get ocean liner QE2 as luxury floating hotel


Published: 2009/07/10 06:56:55 AM
http://www.businessday.co.za/toolpages/thumbnail.aspx?id=327205&type=imgPlans are afoot to berth the QE2 liner in Cape Town and convert it into a luxury hotel




JULIUS BAUMANN



IN WHAT must be the most ambitious hotel project yet in SA, investment group Dubai World plans to berth the ageing QE2 passenger ship permanently at Cape Town’s V&A Waterfront and convert it into a luxury hotel.

Dubai World subsidiary Nakheel acquired the ship in 2007, and took ownership last November after she was retired from active service. Dubai World is applying for berthing rights from the National Port Authority, and the Department of Tourism is weighing up the desirability of the plans.

Ronel Bester, the department’s spokeswoman, said yesterday that the department was aware of the plans, but several approvals were required before any decision could be made.




“The National Ports Authority has to decide on the practical implications of berthing (and) a decision has to be taken by the department on the desirability of allowing the QE2 to berth in Cape Town in the light of the available accommodation in the city and surrounds. We are consulting with the industry and the department will take a decision by the end of next week,” Bester said.

It is believed that Dubai World is also in talks with a local group to manage the new hotel.

The hotel group did not want to be named, and was unwilling to discuss the plans as talks are at a sensitive stage. The other groups involved in the plans were also reluctant to discuss the berthing of the QE2 except to say that it was a distinct possibility.




In a terse statement, Dubai World said: “Dubai World Africa is not in a position to comment on any speculative issues that may be raised.”

Transnet was also less than forthcoming. “Transnet has received numerous queries for the use of its port facilities, including from cruise liners. Our discussions with most of these are still at early stages, and it would be inappropriate for us to comment,” said spokesman John Dludlu.



One issue that must be resolved is where exactly the 40-year-old QE2 will be berthed.




Because of her size — she weighs 70327 tons and is 294m long — it is unlikely that she would be positioned close to the waterfront.

hear that a while ago, also looking at 6 other ports if I remember correctly so CT is not unique in being looked at.

Hilton keen to expand brand in SA

25 Jun 2009 - I-Net Bridge -

Hilton Hotels is eager to expand its presence in SA and is in discussions with several hotel groups and developers about potential hotel sites around the country.

JULIUS BAUMANN

Aviation and Tourism Editor

Hilton Hotels is eager to expand its presence in SA and is in discussions with several hotel groups and developers about potential hotel sites around the country.

Patrick Fitzgibbon, senior vice president of development for Hilton Hotels in Africa and Europe, said yesterday the group had in recent years lagged behind its competitors in SA and was particularly keen to expand aggressively, particularly in Cape Town, where another Hilton hotel is on the cards.

The group already has two hotels in Sandton and Durban. The 329-room hotel in Sandton is due to undergo a multimillion-rand room refurbishment programme.

“Cape Town has been missing from our mix in SA and we are exploring various sites in the city,” Fitzgibbon said. He said the group had neglected the country for too long and would soon appoint a country manager to oversee the company’s developments in SA.

Fitzgibbon said the group would consider all its brands for the local market, from the luxury Conrad hotels, to the mid-market Hilton Garden Inn and the down market Hampton hotel brand.

baumannj@bdfm.co.za

Source: Business Day

Hilton amongst other usual suspects are missing. Ive said it before and ill say it again. SA suffers from local chain overkill and international brands not represented is a big negative to the SA tourism and business accomodation perspective. Added to the fact that decent international brands are a total rip off and over priced compared to the service and accomodation you recieve. Hyatt Rosebank is a classic example, I am Diamond at Hyatt Passport their loyalty program which is the highest, I spend 60 days a year at least in Hyatt hotels and when I stayed at Hyatt Rosebank, the rooms were small, dirty, the hotel internally looked old and like it had seen better days and for the pleasure of me staying there , they charged me R3000 a night which is about 50% more than Atlantis in Dubai charges and thats a rip off. Now as a Loyal Hyatt patron, I chose the hotel due to its brand not its location which is not very convieniet and in hinsight will stay elesewhere when Im back on business there next month.
If I feel like that , then thousands of internatioanl visitors will feel the same.

SA needs a new wave of good business hotels Hilton, Mariott , Shearaton (westin in particular as they have the best beds), Hyatt and intercon need a hotel in each city for SA to be deemed to have suffiecient international brand properties.

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World's Best Hotel

:banana::banana::banana::banana::banana::banana::banana::banana::banana::banana::banana::banana::banana::banana::banana:

#1
Bushmans Kloof (http://www.travelandleisure.com/hotels/bushmans-kloof-wilderness-reserve-clanwilliam)
Cedarberg Mountains, Western Cape, South Africa


(800) 735-2478 or 27-21/797-0990
www.bushmanskloof.co.za (http://www.bushmanskloof.co.za/)

2009 overall score: 98.67
Rank last year: n/a

World’s Best Hotels 2009 (http://www.travelandleisure.com/worldsbest/2009/)http://www.travelandleisure.com/images/slideshows/200907-best-bushmans-kloof-ss.jpg

Wow, South Africa has 13 hotels in the top 100. And 4 in top 10. Unbelievable !!!!, we can say South Africa has more hotels in this list than any other country.

Queensgate foresees earnings surge helped by World Cup

14 Jul 2009 - I-Net Bridge -
Intro
Queensgate Hotels & Leisure expects to report sharply higher earnings as its hospitality business recovers and gets a boost from the 2010 Soccer World Cup.
JULIUS BAUMANN
Aviation and Tourism Editor
Queensgate Hotels & Leisure expects to report sharply higher earnings per share in the next two financial years as its hospitality business recovers and gets a boost from the 2010 Soccer World Cup.
The group operates several hotels, largely in the Western Cape, and the One Wellness spa chain.
In a detailed profit forecast published yesterday, the group said it expected to report headline earnings per share of 1,63c in the year to August this year and 3,88c next year.
This will be sharply higher than the headline earnings per share of 0,61c achieved in the year to August last year.



The group showed a greatly improved performance in the six months to the end of February this year, with headline earnings per share of 0,78c.
This increase was driven largely by the acquisition last year of Queensgate Business Development (QBD), the group’s development arm.
However, the hospitality arm is likely to eclipse earnings from QBD as hospitality revenue surges in the next 18 months.



The group says it believes that improved profitability at its newest hotels, The Alphen Hotel and The Rockwell, and the construction of two other hotels ahead of the World Cup next year will drive revenue.
The two hotels being built include a 176-room property in Cape Town’s Upper East Side and a 200-room establishment in the Cape Town city centre.



Both are expected to be completed in March or April next year. The World Cup is expected to give the hospitality division a boost, with 40% of the group’s hotel rooms already booked up.



CEO Andrew Hubbard said the group had not contracted its rooms to Fifa agency Match because it believed that it would do better on its own.
“So far we have achieved rates for the World Cup period that are 2,5 times higher than our current rack rate.



“We have a different approach from Match in that we have to serve shareholders who seek a return on their investment,” said Hubbard.
However, Hubbard says that the group’s rates are not unfairly priced.
baumannj@bdfm.co.za
Source: Business Day

The Queensgate hotels in planning or under construction

Pearl House on Adderley Street
31 Heerengrahct
Upper East Side Hotel

They each have completion targets before or during June 2010

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Cape hotel wins magazine’s top spot


THE Bushmans Kloof Wilderness Reserve, in Western Cape’s Cederberg Mountains, has been rated the world’s best hotel this year by Travel+Leisure magazine.






South Africa has three other hotels that have bagged spots in the publication’s top 15, as voted for by its readers worldwide.
Some rooms in the five-star Bushmans Kloof have private swimming pools, outdoor showers, flat-screen TVs, DVD and CD collections, iPod docking stations, and underfloor heating. It scored 98.7 points.
It beat the seven-star Oberoi Vanyavilas, in the northern Indian Ranthambhore Tiger Reserve, which scored 98 points.


Another South African establishment, Mpumalanga’s Sabi Sabi Private Game Reserve, was placed third.


Marketing manager Jill Wagner said Bushmans Kloof, set on a 7500ha reserve 270km north of Cape Town, has received many accolades, including the 2007 Relais and Chateaux environment trophy for its environmental and conservation projects.
Magazine readers voted on criteria such as the quality of the rooms, facilities, location, service, restaurants, food and value for money.
The complete results will be featured in the magazine’s August issue.
Other South African hotels that did well include Singita Sabi Sands, which came sixth, and Cape Town’s Twelve Apostles, at number 15.

I really like the W hotels brand.
Very funky,young and fresh brand.
Would really suit the Greenpoint area or perhaps the rejuvenated part of Woodstock.Any news if the are planning to open one in Cape Town or anywhere else in SA?

On a side note have there been any creative ideas on totally revamping The Good Hope Centre into perhaps part of a World trade Centre type development or even a swimming complex or indoor ski slope

Tourists slump sees growing retrenchments

13 Jul 2009 - I-Net Bridge -

Intro
A slump in tourism and conferences is hitting the hotel and events industry hard particularly in Cape Town and Durban.

A slump in tourism and conferences is hitting the hotel and events industry hard particularly in Cape Town and Durban.

"Even though it's school holidays, revenues are down at hotels and guest houses as more families stay at home.

Conferences and seminars are also dramatically down and seeing slow bookings or none at all putting some conference venues and training companies at risk," Andre Snyman, CEO of top debt counselling organisation, Consumer Assist says.

"Our Cape Town office is seeing increasing numbers of applications from people who work in the hotel, guest house, wine farm, conference and fishing industries that have lost work or are
on short weeks.

"We already have significant numbers of people weare helping from the textile industry who are on short weeks but we are seeing sudden spikes in applications from the tourism industry which is worrying because it has become a bed-rock of the Western Cape and KwaZulu Natal job creation sector and a major income earner for South Africa."

Tourism to South Africa has grown sharply in recent years and airfares to southern Africa from Europe are now among the most competitive in the world.

Tourism's contribution to Gross Domestic Product was R162,9bn in 2007 or 8.1% of GDP (only marginally above that of mining), last year it was R194,5bn or an 8.5% contributor to GDP.

"A dip in tourism now is an important challenge," Snyman said, "there have been recent warnings from tourism industry experts that prices at many South African hotels and restaurants are too high and have not taken into account the global economic downturn.

"It seems many are holding prices artificially high hoping for a 2010 Soccer World Cup bonanza.

"Luxury villas at Llandudno, as an example, that normally go for R8 000 a night during December are demanding R75 000 and perhaps not surprisingly have seen no takers yet."

Snyman suggested that some establishments while looking at hoped-for foreign revenue had outpriced themselves for the domestic tourism market and forgotten that tourism from other African countries dramatically outpaced visitors from Europe, Asia and the Americas.

"If you go onto almost any hotel or conference venue website at the moment they are offering specials through to the end of July to try and push occupancy up.

"There seems to be a trend too that conferences and even training is being considered a luxury.

"There is a demand now for one day conferences so companies don't incur accommodation costs or inhouse training at companies."

Sol Kerzner's much trumpeted new mega-five star hotel at the Waterfront has already laid off 50 staff, Asara wine farm laid off just over two dozen staff But 20 new hotels are nearing completion in time for the 2010 World Cup and an insistence from Fifa that there is not enough accommodation in South Africa and much of that available is too expensive.

Hotel Missoni in Cape Town part of the Rezidor group is completing an R340m property targeting celebrities and film stars; it is expected to create 200 permanent jobs when doors open just in time for 2010 soccer.

The new Hyde Park Southern Sun is due to open its doors next month.

Although hotels claim that occupancy rates for five-star hotels in Cape Town are in the region of 70%.

Occupancies were down about 15% for the first four months of this year, compared to the same period last year, according to Rezidor's vice president for business development (Africa) Andrew McLachlan.

Tata, the Indian motor and hotel group is opening an R500m 5-star hotel in Cape Town, the Taj Palace Hotel and aims to employ 300 staff.

Snyman said: "Our feedback from staff in the hotel and tourism industry is that all rates are up for negotiation especially with corporate clients that can get hotel rooms up to 50% or 60% less than quoted rates.

"Even though new hotels are opening the tourism slow-down suggests that until the World Cup and perhaps after the hotel market might be overtraded especially as the global economic
environment seems unlikely to recover before 2012. "

A recent global travel survey conducted by research institute IPK, based on 500 000 travel interviews in 58 countries suggested that: "Long-haul travel is falling sharply.

"And the most pain is felt in the business travel sector.

"We are in a full global economic crisis, not a small recession.Consumer greed of the last few years has turned into consumer fear."

Snyman said that it was important that those facing cashflow and debt problems as a result of retrenchment or reduced earnings whether from a loss of contracts, tips or short working weeks contact debt counsellors before revenue streams dried up or creditors took legal action against them.

"We can't help those with no income and are constrained in the assistance we can give if
legal action has begun, but there is a 60 day window where no action can be taken against a consumer while their debt is being restructured by a debt counsellor.

"We have been able to save the homes of many and their vehicles as debt counsellors and are committed to helping companies' combat bad debt and consumers recovering sound financial capacity.

"But they need to contact debt counsellors sooner rather than later."

Source: Sapa

Queensgate foresees earnings surge helped by World Cup

14 Jul 2009 - I-Net Bridge -

Intro
Queensgate Hotels & Leisure expects to report sharply higher earnings as its hospitality business recovers and gets a boost from the 2010 Soccer World Cup.

JULIUS BAUMANN

Aviation and Tourism Editor

Queensgate Hotels & Leisure expects to report sharply higher earnings per share in the next two financial years as its hospitality business recovers and gets a boost from the 2010 Soccer World Cup.

The group operates several hotels, largely in the Western Cape, and the One Wellness spa chain.

In a detailed profit forecast published yesterday, the group said it expected to report headline earnings per share of 1,63c in the year to August this year and 3,88c next year.

This will be sharply higher than the headline earnings per share of 0,61c achieved in the year to August last year.

The group showed a greatly improved performance in the six months to the end of February this year, with headline earnings per share of 0,78c.

This increase was driven largely by the acquisition last year of Queensgate Business Development (QBD), the group’s development arm.

However, the hospitality arm is likely to eclipse earnings from QBD as hospitality revenue surges in the next 18 months.

The group says it believes that improved profitability at its newest hotels, The Alphen Hotel and The Rockwell, and the construction of two other hotels ahead of the World Cup next year will drive revenue.

The two hotels being built include a 176-room property in Cape Town’s Upper East Side and a 200-room establishment in the Cape Town city centre.

Both are expected to be completed in March or April next year. The World Cup is expected to give the hospitality division a boost, with 40% of the group’s hotel rooms already booked up.

CEO Andrew Hubbard said the group had not contracted its rooms to Fifa agency Match because it believed that it would do better on its own.

“So far we have achieved rates for the World Cup period that are 2,5 times higher than our current rack rate.

“We have a different approach from Match in that we have to serve shareholders who seek a return on their investment,” said Hubbard.

However, Hubbard says that the group’s rates are not unfairly priced.

baumannj@bdfm.co.za

Source: Business Day

Queensgate foresees earnings surge helped by World Cup

14 Jul 2009 - I-Net Bridge -

Intro
Queensgate Hotels & Leisure expects to report sharply higher earnings as its hospitality business recovers and gets a boost from the 2010 Soccer World Cup.

JULIUS BAUMANN

Aviation and Tourism Editor

Queensgate Hotels & Leisure expects to report sharply higher earnings per share in the next two financial years as its hospitality business recovers and gets a boost from the 2010 Soccer World Cup.

The group operates several hotels, largely in the Western Cape, and the One Wellness spa chain.

In a detailed profit forecast published yesterday, the group said it expected to report headline earnings per share of 1,63c in the year to August this year and 3,88c next year.

This will be sharply higher than the headline earnings per share of 0,61c achieved in the year to August last year.

The group showed a greatly improved performance in the six months to the end of February this year, with headline earnings per share of 0,78c.

This increase was driven largely by the acquisition last year of Queensgate Business Development (QBD), the group’s development arm.

However, the hospitality arm is likely to eclipse earnings from QBD as hospitality revenue surges in the next 18 months.

The group says it believes that improved profitability at its newest hotels, The Alphen Hotel and The Rockwell, and the construction of two other hotels ahead of the World Cup next year will drive revenue.

The two hotels being built include a 176-room property in Cape Town’s Upper East Side and a 200-room establishment in the Cape Town city centre.

Both are expected to be completed in March or April next year. The World Cup is expected to give the hospitality division a boost, with 40% of the group’s hotel rooms already booked up.

CEO Andrew Hubbard said the group had not contracted its rooms to Fifa agency Match because it believed that it would do better on its own.

“So far we have achieved rates for the World Cup period that are 2,5 times higher than our current rack rate.

“We have a different approach from Match in that we have to serve shareholders who seek a return on their investment,” said Hubbard.

However, Hubbard says that the group’s rates are not unfairly priced.

baumannj@bdfm.co.za

Source: Business Day

see below

Nice one Die Kapenaar

I posted in the wrong place here. Sorry.

Cape Town records largest regional increase in occupancy


Selina Denman , July 29th, 2009
Four markets in the Middle East and Africa experienced double-digit increases in average daily rate (ADR) in June, as compared to the corresponding month last year, according to data compiled by STR Global.

In Beirut, ADR grew by 28.3% to total $210.2, while Amman saw ADR rise 17.6% to reach $149.7. The South African markets of Johannesburg/Pretoria and Cape Town achieved 18% and 10.6% growth respectively.

Cape Town also reported the largest regional increase in occupancy, up 3.3% to 51.1%, followed by Beirut with a 2% rise to 55.7%.
In terms of RevPAR, Beirut also came out on top, jumping 30.9% to $117.2, while Amman saw RevPAR increase by 15.6% to $96.9.

At the same time, three regional markets experienced RevPAR declines of more than 25% in June. Dubai reported a 33.9% drop to $107.2, Istanbul saw a 33.1% decline and in Muscat, RevPAR fell by 26.4% to $77.3.
Muscat also experienced a dramatic drop in occupancy, down 31.3% to 40.4%, the largest decrease in that metric across the whole region. The second largest fall was reported in Riyadh, where occupancy tumbled by 20.3% to 63.5%.

Taken as a whole, the Middle East and Africa region suffered declines in all three key performance measurements – when reported in US dollars – for the month of June. The region’s occupancy dropped 11.7% to 59.6%; ADR decreased 2.85% to $138.23; and RevPAR decreased 14.2% to $82.38.
Nonetheless, this still compares favourably to other parts of the world, James Chappell, managing director, STR Global, pointed out. “The Middle East/Africa region experienced a 14.2% RevPAR drop in June, the lowest decrease of all regions, followed by the Americas, Asia/Pacific and then Europe.

“Different pictures emerge when looking at the individual markets. Amman, Beirut and Cape Town reported double-digit RevPAR increases for June in local currency, which were mainly driven by rate increases. South Africa has started to benefit from the Confederation Cup and the build up for the FIFA World Cup next year,” he explained.

CPUT to let dorm rooms to 2010 soccer fans
August 05 2009 at 11:40AM

By CLAYTON BARNES

The residences at three Cape Peninsula University of Technology (CPUT) campuses are to be marketed as budget accommodation for fans during next year's World Cup.

And the cheapest room is expected to cost R550 a person a night, including breakfast.

Students described the residences as putrid and unsafe, with "no real security" at hostel entrances at the Bellville and Cape Town campuses.

But varsity management insists its residences would be "perfect" for budget accommodation, and say on-campus security is to be significantly increased for the event.

Johnny Basson, CPUT's residence business manager, said although none of the rooms was graded, "reasonably affordable and competitive" rates would be charged.



He said CPUT had embarked on an "extensive upgrade" of its residences, and was stepping up security.

"Security is a major issue and something that we are constantly discussing," he said. "Our plan is to install surveillance cameras in and around the residences, as well as step up patrols and have stricter access control."

CPUT recently signed a deal with Madlanduna Corporation, a Joburg service and investment company involved in sourcing rooms for the World Cup, to become the first higher education institution in Cape Town to offer budget accommodation for the event.

Neville Robinson, Madlanduna's marketing and business development manager, said the company began the venture as it knew the country would have a huge accommodation shortage for the event.

He said the company had secured 8 600 rooms across the country, and was negotiating with other tertiary institutions in Cape Town.

"We have signed with universities in Johannesburg, Pretoria, Durban and the Free State," said Robinson.

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anybody know anything about a "Vana Hotel" in Cape Town?

From 2007 :)

Here is another project from Tendering Services. Remember that the 15 on Orange was listed on this site in May when M&R and Stocks were listed as the two bidders on this project before Stocks was awarded the 15 on Orange contract this month.

Bill no 007076: Vana Hotel, Buitenkant Street, Cape Town - closing date 6.8.2007

results: Filcon R55 326 444.00
Conruton R56 952 975.00
H & I Projects R57 025 930.00
Grinaker/Lta R65 961 625.00
NMC Construction R68 454 980.00

It looks like Filcon will get the contract on what appears to be another boutique hotel for Cape Town's CBD.

updates?

Cederberg hotel voted best in the world

August 13, 2009 Edition 1
JASON WARNER
THE Western Cape has again proven to be a top tourist destination, with four hotels being ranked in the top 100 resorts globally - and this region even boasts the number one destination on the planet.
The poll, undertaken by the American Travel+Leisure magazine, asked readers to rate hotels across the globe. Although South Africa scored high with 13 of the top 100 positions, the Bushmans Kloof Wilderness Reserve, in Western Cape's Cederberg Mountains, has been voted the "Best Hotel in the World" for 2009.



Travel+Leisure readers voted on different criteria such as the quality of the rooms, facilities, location, service, restaurants, food and value for money in the 14th annual competition.
The Twelve Apostles Hotel & Spa, Le Quartier Français in Franschhoek Valley and the Cape Grace hotel in Cape Town all made it on to the list. The Twelve Apostles Hotel also scooped the "Number 1 City Hotel" in the Africa and Middle East category.
The five-star Bushmans Kloof "wilderness retreat" boasts rooms with private , outdoor showers, flat-screen TVs, DVD and CD collections, iPod docking stations, and underfloor heating.



The hotel scored 98.7 points, just ahead of the seven-star Oberoi Vanyavilas, in the northern Indian Ranthambhore Tiger Reserve which scored 98 points.




Bushmans Kloof sales and marketing manager Jill Wagner said yesterday the award had "absolutely overwhelmed" staff at the hotel. She said: "It's been many years of hard work."



She said the staff "from the ground up" felt honoured by the award. Wagner said she was proud of the staff-customer relations built up at the hotel. "Guests love the friendliness of staff. They really are very special people. They are very hospitable and love engaging with the guests."
Wagner said the hotel aimed for a "lodge experience", because of the facilities and environment on offer. "It's been many years of hard work with emphasis on staff training and nature conservation."
The full list of winners will be published this month.
Other hotels and reserves featured on the Top 100 list include The Saxon in Johannesburg, the Singita Kruger National Park and the Shamwari Game Reserve in the Eastern Cape.
jason.warner@inl.co.za

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Big sports events boost hotel revenue by 6%


PRETORIA: Hotel revenue across South Africa increased almost six percent during June's Confederations Cup and Lions rugby tour, an auditing firm said yesterday.

Revenue per available room (revPAR) was up 5.8 percent during June countrywide as hoteliers benefited from an increase in tourism due to the Confed Cup and the British & Irish Lions rugby tour, Deloitte said in a statement. Due to the economic downturn, however, some tourists were deterred by the strong rand against source market currencies, the company's Moray Wilson said.

"There is no doubt that the South African tourism industry continues to be challenged by the global economic downturn... Data compiled by STR Global (a market forecaster) shows that revPAR is down 7.2 percent year-to-June 2009 and if this trend continues, 2009 could be the first year in 10 years that revPAR has seen negative growth."

Wilson said June's sporting events gave the hotel industry a welcome break from declines and also provided South Africa with a practice run before the 2010 Fifa World Cup.

On the flip side, despite hosting matches, Durban, Port Elizabeth and Pretoria did not fare as well and all experienced revPAR declines. - Sapa

Published on the web by Cape Times on August 18, 2009.

We hosted two minor BL matches, and no Confed Cup Matches but really benefited.

Hotel industry benefits from South African events




South African hoteliers significantly benefited from an increase in tourism due to the FIFA Confederations Cup and the Lions rugby tour, according to key performance indicators from the hotel industry.






According to business advisory firm Deloitte, revenue per available room (revPAR) in South African hotels was up 5.8 per cent during the month of June.



RevPAR in Cape Town increased 14.2 per cent to break five consecutive months of revPAR decline, despite only hosting two rugby matches. The jump was due to a 10.6 per cent increase in average room rates to ZAR 880 (£66) alongside an occupancy increase to 51.1 per cent. Cape Town hotels previously had a 12-month cycle of occupancy decline.
“There is no doubt that the South African tourism industry continues to be challenged by the global economic downturn and some tourists are being deterred by the strong Rand against source market currencies,” said Moray Wilson, Deloitte’s tourism, hospitality and leisure leader for Southern Africa. “Data compiled by STR Global shows that revPAR is down 7.2 per cent year-to-June 2009 and if this trend continues, 2009 could be the first year in 10 years that revPAR has contracted.”


“The sporting events in June gave the hotel industry a welcome break from the declines and also provided South Africa with a practice run before the 2010 FIFA World Cup. The country is no stranger to hosting sporting events but the World Cup will certainly be the biggest we have held in recent years. During the event, the country is aiming to welcome approximately 450,000 visitors and will certainly set up the framework for a very prosperous 2010 for the tourism industry.”


Johannesburg also benefited from hosting one rugby and five football matches in June with revPAR up 9.9 per cent to ZAR 832 (£63) – its strongest revPAR this year and ending a six month run of decline. A 20.6 per cent jump in average room rates in the city was solely responsible for the increase as occupancy continued to decline 8.9 per cent.

Investment fund provides Queensgate with R50m funding facility

THABANG MOKOPANELE

PUBLISHED: 2009/09/22 06:35:39 AM

QUEENSGATE Hotel and Leisure yesterday announced that it had been granted a R50m funding facility by US-based investment fund YA Global Investments — only the second facility of its kind to be negotiated by a South African firm.

CEO Andrew Hubbard said the facility guaranteed funding for the completion of all of the company’s projects for next year and secured the project pipeline for the next three to five years.

“It significantly enhances the company’s financial position .”

The R50m facility, which would be in place for 36 months, was expected to provide Queensgate with the flexibility to access significant liquidity.

“This will be done through the issue of new company shares at the group’s discretion. In terms of the facility, Queensgate is entitled to offer newly issued Queensgate shares up to a total value of R50m,” Hubbard said. YA Global would be obliged to subscribe for and purchase the new shares.

Queensgate expected to report sharply higher earnings per share in the next two financial years as its hospitality business recovers and gets a boost from the 2010 Soccer World Cup.

The group operates several hotels, mostly in the Western Cape, and the One Wellness spa chain. It expected to report headline earnings per share of 1,63c in the year to last month and 3,88c next year. This would be sharply higher than the headline earnings per share of 0,61c achieved in the 12 months to August last year.

The group showed an improved performance in the six months to February , with headline earnings per share of 0,78c.

This increase was driven largely by the acquisition last year of Queensgate Business Development (QBD), the group’s development arm.

However, the hospitality arm was likely to eclipse earnings from QBD as hospitality revenue surges in the next 18 months.

The group said improved profitability at its newest hotels, The Alphen Hotel and The Rockwell, and the construction of two other hotels ahead of the World Cup will drive revenue.

The two hotels being built in Cape Town were expected to be completed in March or April .

Next year’s World Cup event is expected to give the hospitality division a boost, with 40% of the group’s hotel rooms already booked.

mokopanelet@bdfm.co.za

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I always though a shot like that looks like Cocobanna beach (minus the big beach) if only Seapoint had a bunch of 20+ story towers

I always though a shot like that looks like Cocobanna beach (minus the big beach) if only Seapoint had a bunch of 20+ story towers

IT WILL SPOIL THE VIEW OF THE MOUNTAIN. THATS WHY OUR BUILDINGS IN CAPE TOWN IS NOT TALL AT ALL. DURRRRR!!!!!

OK wise ass whos gonna see the mountain (lions head and devls peak) from the sea?

I think he may have been acting sarcastic, but I may be wrong ^.^

20 Largest 5 star hotels in Greater Cape Town

Westin Grand 483
Table Bay Hotel 328
Mount Nelson 206
The Lord Charles Hotel 197
Radisson SAS Hotel 182
Crystal Towers 180
Taj Hotel 180
Radisson Hotel 144
Le Vendome Sea Point 143
15 on Orange 142
Oscar Pearce Hotel 141
One and Only Hotel 134
Cape Royale Hotel 130
Cape Grace Hotel 122
Mandela Rhodes Hotel 111
Ambassador Hotel & Executive Suites 97
Le Franschoek Hotel 79
The Bay Hotel 78
Twelve Apostles 70
The Cellars Hohenort 55

20* Largest 4 star hotels in Greater Cape Town
*Hotels in bold are planned or proposed


Holiday Inn Waterfront 546
The Cullinan, Southern Sun Hotel 410
Cape Sun, Southern Sun 368
Clocktower Hotel 350
CTICC New Hotel 350
Protea President Hotel 349
Portside Hotel 340
Lagoon Beach Hotel 272
Fountain Hotel 270
Strand Towers Hotel 252
The Commodore Hotel 236
Icon Hotel 214
The Vineyard Newlands 175
Holiday Inn Express 175
Victoria Junction Hotel 172
The Capetonian Hotel 167
Spier Hotel 155
St. Georges Hotel 139
Best Western Cape Suites 123
Cape Town Lodge 114
Peninsula Hotel 110
Marina Apartment Hotel 110
Coral Hotel 108

20 Largest 3 star hotels in Greater Cape Town


Eastern Boulevard, Garden Court 292
Breakwater Lodge 251
Ritz Hotel 222
Protea Hotel, Fire and Ice 202
Protea Hotel Stellenbosch 180
City Lodge Grand West 177
Southern Sun, Century City 175
Park Inn Hotel 165
City Lodge, V&A 164
Southern Sun, Newlands 162
De-Waal, Garden Court 136
City Lodge Pinelands 133
Protea Sea Point Hotel 123
The Cape Manor 108
Protea Hotel, Tygervalley 100
Ocean View Hotel 98
Palm Garden Hotel 83
Lady Hamilton 78
Cape Castle Protea Hotel 65
Cape Diamond Hotel 60

Queensgate partners with Three Cities in hotel deal

JULIUS BAUMANN

PUBLISHED: 2009/10/14 06:43:14 AM

QUEENSGATE Hotels & Leisure yesterday signed a partnership agreement with hotel group Three Cities that will see the latter take over the management of all Queensgate’s hotels with immediate affect.

Queensgate has long searched for the ideal partner to run its hotels while allowing it to focus on its core strength of developing new properties through its subsidiary, Queensgate Business Development.

The news is especially welcome in light of Queensgate’s trading update published last month in which it warned that its headline earnings a share for the year to end August was likely to fall short of its forecast published in July, largely due to a softer performance from the group’s hospitality division.

The long-awaited deal will no doubt see an improved performance from the hotels, driving Queensgate’s hospitality revenue through its share of the management fees. The groups also hope to take their partnership a step forward in future to develop new hotels.

“It has been a long wait but it was well worth finding the right partner,” Queensgate CEO Andrew Hubbard said yesterday.

“We are excited about this agreement, which will not only see our hotels managed by the exceptional Three Cities but also transfer reservations for our hotels to Three Cities’ sophisticated online reservation service, which will enhance our customers’ experience. In addition, the link with Three Cities will strengthen the position of the Queensgate hotels in the corporate, government and domestic sector, an area in which Three Cities has traditionally been very strong.”

Mike Lambert, chief operating officer of Three Cities, said the group was likely to achieve a 10% increase in average room rate across the Queensgate hotels while driving occupancies through its international and domestic sales channels. The deal will give Three Cities access to about 3000 rooms, an increase of 50% in room stock.

Hubbard said that the two groups were developing a new four-star brand that would be rolled out at several new developments. “The two hotels that we have under construction in Cape Town will fall under the brand and we hope to have seven or eight properties operating under the new name in the next three years.”

baumannj@bdfm.co.za

Three Cities to manage Queensgate hotel properties


Cape Town-based Queensgate Hotels & Leisure and Three Cities have linked hands in a deal that will see Three Cities manage all Queensgate’s hotel rooms.

Three Cities Management Limited, which operates hotels all over Southern Africa, has increased its stock of rooms under management by 50%.

This has come about today as a result of a deal with Queensgate Hotels & Leisure Limited, a Cape Town based hotel development company headed by Andrew Hubbard.

The agreement sees Three Cities take over the management of all Queensgate Hotels with immediate effective, on a fee-sharing basis.

The deal will see the Three Cities room stock grow by a 600 rooms in eight hotels immediately and by early 2010 a further 400 rooms - putting the growth at almost 50% over the next six months.

Mike Lambert, chief operating officer of Three Cities commented: “We are excited about the long-term opportunities that this reciprocal agreement brings. Our alliance will enable us to capitalise on each other’s strengths and focus on core competencies, where we look forward to developing internationally and growing our local destinations.”

Another opportunity will see Three Cities offering the hospitality industry training in world class spa operations, based on Queensgate’s One Wellness Spa Division, this will be offered by Three Cities educational training division The International Hotel School.

The second phase of the symbiotic relationship will see Three Cities hand over its hotel development opportunities to Queensgate Business Development, a subsidiary of Queensgate. This will effectively mean that all business development for both groups will be handled by Queensgate, which has shown itself to be a development specialist in its short history.

Three Cities Group manages and markets over 40 quality tourism and leisure properties. Its properties include city hotels, resorts and Exceptional Safaris and the Exceptional Collection, as well as three campuses of The International Hotel School, an Equestrian Academy and the largest Marine Theme Park in Africa – uShaka Marine World in Durban.

Three Cities will give the Queensgate hotel portfolio management expertise, sales, marketing and online reservations and enable the existing and future Queensgate properties to develop a higher profile in the marketplace.

Queensgate Hotels and Leisure CEO, Andrew Hubbard, comments: “We are excited about this agreement which will not only see our hotels managed by the exceptional Three Cities, but also transfer reservations for our hotels to Three Cities’ sophisticated online reservation service which will enhance our customers’ experience.

“In addition, the link with Three Cities will strengthen the position of Queensgate hotels in the corporate, government and domestic sector, an area in which Three Cities has traditionally been and is very strong.”

The Queensgate portfolio being managed by Three Cities includes the following:

Park Inn. Situated on Greenmarket Square in Cape Town it has 144, four-star rooms.

Hollow on the Square. Within walking distance of the Cape Town International Convention Centre (CTICC) and the V&A Waterfront it has 116 rooms in a four-star environment.

Cape Town Hollow Boutique Hotel. A four-star hotel with 56 rooms.

Rockwell All Suite Hotel. This executive apartment hotel in Cape Town has 55 apartments.

Shelley Point Hotel, Country Club & Spa. On the Cape west coast, about 90 minutes from Cape Town, it has 80 rooms.

The Avenue Hotel. This hotel in suburban Fish Hoek was established in 1936 and has 51 en-suite rooms.

The Alphen Hotel. This is a historic 21-room country manor house at the gateway to the Constantia Valley and Wine Route.

Tinga Private Game Lodge. Situated on the banks of the Sabi River in a prime game-viewing area of the Kruger National Park, this five-star lodge is near Skukuza and has 18 chalets in two camps.

http://www.queensgate.co.za/img/dailynews151009.gif

20 Largest 5 star hotels in Greater Cape Town

Westin Grand 483
Table Bay Hotel 328
Mount Nelson 206
The Lord Charles Hotel 197
Radisson SAS Hotel 182
Crystal Towers 180
Taj Hotel 180
Radisson Hotel 144
Le Vendome Sea Point 143
15 on Orange 142
Oscar Pearce Hotel 141
One and Only Hotel 134
Cape Royale Hotel 130
Cape Grace Hotel 122
Mandela Rhodes Hotel 111
Ambassador Hotel & Executive Suites 97
Le Franschoek Hotel 79
The Bay Hotel 78
Twelve Apostles 70
The Cellars Hohenort 55


20* Largest 4 star hotels in Greater Cape Town
*Hotels in bold are planned or proposed


Holiday Inn Waterfront 546
The Cullinan, Southern Sun Hotel 410
Cape Sun, Southern Sun 368
Clocktower Hotel 350
CTICC New Hotel 350
Protea President Hotel 349
Portside Hotel 340
Lagoon Beach Hotel 272
Fountain Hotel 270
Strand Towers Hotel 252
The Commodore Hotel 236
Icon Hotel 214
The Vineyard Newlands 175
Holiday Inn Express 175
Victoria Junction Hotel 172
The Capetonian Hotel 167
Spier Hotel 155
St. Georges Hotel 139
Best Western Cape Suites 123
Cape Town Lodge 114
Peninsula Hotel 110
Marina Apartment Hotel 110
Coral Hotel 108


20 Largest 3 star hotels in Greater Cape Town


Eastern Boulevard, Garden Court 292
Breakwater Lodge 251
Ritz Hotel 222
Protea Hotel, Fire and Ice 202
Protea Hotel Stellenbosch 180
City Lodge Grand West 177
Southern Sun, Century City 175
Park Inn Hotel 165
City Lodge, V&A 164
Southern Sun, Newlands 162
De-Waal, Garden Court 136
City Lodge Pinelands 133
Protea Sea Point Hotel 123
The Cape Manor 108
Protea Hotel, Tygervalley 100
Ocean View Hotel 98
Palm Garden Hotel 83
Lady Hamilton 78
Cape Castle Protea Hotel 65
Cape Diamond Hotel 60


Thanks for posting these lists Mo. The shocking thing it highlights is drastic lack of 3 star accomodation in Cape Town and the massive supply of 4/5 star accomodation. This is something that in my opinion needs to be rectified

Also some edits...

Holiday Inn Express is a 3 star brand, not 4 star.
Southern Sun Newlands is 4 star, not 3 star
Holiday Inn waterfront is now Southern Sun Waterfront
Oscar Pierce never got built
The icon is not completely a hotel development? i have a friend who lives there.

Yes, from my own database, growth has been low in 3 star hotel room category.

4 star has seen close to 600% growth in capacity since 1998.
5 start about 300%.

These are only based on rooms included thus far.

It will be interesting to see what proportion of University residence beds are made available for 2010.

There are close to 14,000 beds using UCT, CPUT, US and UWC.

The provincial offering in non-hotel accommodation, graded 1 - 3 star appears quite good.

My estimates thus far are 11:4 i.e. 11 4/5 star rooms for every 4 3 star room !! eek

It will be interesting to see what proportion of University residence beds are made available for 2010.
There are close to 14,000 beds using UCT, CPUT, US and UWC.


Some of which is far nicer than others.

Proposed W Hotel in V&A, on North Wharf (on other side of dry dock from the blue shed)

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2536/4104835395_2ec19f3887_o.jpg

Nice a W in CT, ideal type of brand for waterfront. Just spent a week in W on Adams in Chicago opposite Sears tower.

Nice and glassy :)

It could work... with some changes

Sies

The holiday rentals market Q309; Cape Town scores while Dubai suffers


What’s hot, what’s not in Q3 2009?
The credit crunch, it seems, has not dampened Brits’ appetites for a variety of year-round breaks, with strong demand on www.HomeAway.co.uk (http://www.homeaway.co.uk/) for September city breaks, New York shopping trips, winter sun in the Canaries and top ski spots. As soon as summer was over, attention turned to September and October breaks, ski holidays, Christmas getaways and even next year’s summer holiday, with one in five enquiries being for July and August 2010.

The two big winners were Cape Town and Turkey. In Q3, Cape Town was the number one destination being enquired about for holidays in June 2010, as people rush to secure accommodation for the FIFA World Cup. Turkey also performed extremely well, being a favourite not only for 2009 summer holidays, but for 2010 breaks too. The Olu Deniz and Kalkan areas were respectively the 8th and 9th most popular destinations being enquired about for August 2010.

Not so hot though was Dubai. This year, growth in both property listings and traveller demand for Dubai has been static. With the property market in turmoil – recent reports predict a further crash of up to 30 percent as we go to press – and its image as an expensive, luxury destination for travellers, the holiday rental market in Dubai has had a hard time this year.

For more details on all of the above, download the complete Q3 report from www.HomeAway.co.uk/info/press/press-kit (http://www.homeaway.co.uk/info/press/press-kit).

Proposed W Hotel in V&A, on North Wharf (on other side of dry dock from the blue shed)

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2536/4104835395_2ec19f3887_o.jpg

Great on plans for a W, eeeeewww on the design!

The design reminds me of a BRT station meeting a hotel :lol:

Accommodation Inventory:
City of Cape Town

(Category) - (Beds)

Hotels 21809
Self Catering 7695
Guest Houses 5059
Camp Site 4915
Letting Agent 4245
B&B 3422
Hostel 1682
Inn 46
Lodge 475
Resort 146

Apparently an international operator is close to signing a lease in ABSA Tower to operate a 5* facility, not sure if its to take over existing hotel space or to convert offices back to hotel

Is there not a thread about the ABSA building hotel?

Do you guys not think that Cape Town already has too much 5 star hotel accomodation and should instead be focussing on the 3 star mid market offering? The past year has shown dismal figures for the 5 star market in Cape Town with rates dropping to R700 in many instances, that is not sustainable for a 5 star hotel. And with more coming the picture could get very bleak. I personally think the 5 star market is saturated and the focus should be on developing a 3 star base which the city is lacking.

I agree.

If anyone reading this cash has good business sense - start yourself a 3-star hotel ;)

Do you guys not think that Cape Town already has too much 5 star hotel accomodation and should instead be focussing on the 3 star mid market offering? The past year has shown dismal figures for the 5 star market in Cape Town with rates dropping to R700 in many instances, that is not sustainable for a 5 star hotel. And with more coming the picture could get very bleak. I personally think the 5 star market is saturated and the focus should be on developing a 3 star base which the city is lacking.

Has this not been discussed time and time again?

i dont think so, it seems everyone go's rah rah 5 star.

I think we all know it but perhaps its just not profitable to run a 3 star establishment? or they're just idiots.

Cape Town needs 2 and 3 star.

It has been mentioned a few times.
CT does need 2,3 and maybe 4 star hotels, but it does not work out to have too many in town/ CBD area.
5 star hotels come with 5 star views (mountain, city, ocean, stadium etc etc etc) SO having a 3 star, although needed, cant be in town.

If I had the money I'd buy Customs House and convert it into a hotel, with office and conference space. Insane views.

I think demand will eventually dictate the category of rooms in supply.

Cape Town still has some of the lowest 3 star rates in the world. Its still ridiculous though that a City Lodge in Tygervalley is R700 a night and that Protea Hotel on the N1 around Panorama is R700 a night...insane.

CT needs international brand mid range properties like Le Meridian, Aloft,mecure, Acor, Novotel etc. These are all part of global chains (starwood, Hyatt , Intercon etc) and not these Sa brands which are saturating the market . I stayed in CT and stayed in Westin on one trip and Raddison on other and I was shocked at the rates but then again if there are too many players in teh market teh rev par will come down and you are npot seeing that in CT hense the new arrivals

The Park Inn is no more...

2010 Brings Many Changes for the Cape Town Based "Park Inn"

Thursday, January 7, 2010

In the latter part of 2009 the Three Cities Group joined forces with Queensgate Hotels & Leisure Limited, adding 500 rooms to their portfolio. On signing the highly anticipated agreement, a collection of spectacular properties immediately fell under the management of the Three Cities Group.

In addition to the original list of properties obtained by the Three Cities Group in the agreement, 2010 has brought with it yet another Queensgate property which joins Group.

The Three Cities Group is delighted to announce the dynamic Park Inn property as the latest property to be added to their ever growing management portfolio.

The well known Greenmarket Square Hotel is based in Cape Town and brings with it many exciting changes for the year ahead. The Park Inn not only welcomes The Three Cities Group as their new Management company, but also welcomes the opportunity of rebranding, going forward into 2010, changing from the “Park Inn” to the now renamed “Inn on the Square.” The modern, leisure hotel which overlooks the vibrant Greenmarket Square has promptly begun the rebranding process, refreshing their image and building their new brand in time for the 2010 World Cup.

The hotel is in close proximity to most tourist attractions, restaurants, shops and entertainment, situated in a prime location within the business and government district. The hotel boasts 166 rooms including 16 family rooms. Situated 25 km from Cape Town International Airport and five minutes’ walk from Cape Town train and bus station, the hotel offers convenience at guest’s finger tips.

CT needs international brand mid range properties like Le Meridian, Aloft,mecure, Acor, Novotel etc. These are all part of global chains (starwood, Hyatt , Intercon etc) and not these Sa brands which are saturating the market . I stayed in CT and stayed in Westin on one trip and Raddison on other and I was shocked at the rates but then again if there are too many players in teh market teh rev par will come down and you are npot seeing that in CT hense the new arrivals

Rev Par dropped drastically in CT in 2008/9 hence the crazy R700 rates in 5 star properties.

Why do we need the international mid market hotels? in the big scheme does it matter? Yes the confidence and the international tag, but at the end of the day if the local chains are delivering the international ones will struggle.

It has been mentioned a few times.
CT does need 2,3 and maybe 4 star hotels, but it does not work out to have too many in town/ CBD area.
5 star hotels come with 5 star views (mountain, city, ocean, stadium etc etc etc) SO having a 3 star, although needed, cant be in town.

What utter bull. i totally disagree. You get many prime hotels all over the world that have the same views as the 5 star next door yet at a 3 star offering. The world famous Peninsular Hotel in Hong Kong shares its amazing views of the skyline with the YMCA next door which offers 2/3 star comfort.

Heck most of the views in CT see the mountain anyway, and the majority of views in town are of the building across the street.

the majority of views in town are of the building across the street.
really?

The world famous Peninsular Hotel in Hong Kong shares its amazing views of the skyline with the YMCA next door which offers 2/3 star comfort.

.

I stayed at peninsular for my wedding aneversary a few years ago, Had a suite upgrade but Kowloon views. Simply an amazing hotel

really?

from all the rooms i have stayed in in the core cbd yes

Some images of hotels around the CBD

Tulip Hotel

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2772/4342719603_0510481f25_o.jpg

Lady Hamilton

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2763/4343531978_18e8e50f25_o.jpg

Fountains Hotel

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4034/4342529187_259a638c29_o.jpg

Vicky's B&B: Khayelitsha

http://lh3.ggpht.com/_U_TSHETQrW0/S0Pnur6Zk4I/AAAAAAAAAdA/Zqu35NvmyMQ/s640/IMG_6067.JPGhttp://lh3.ggpht.com/_U_TSHETQrW0/S0Pny2CIMCI/AAAAAAAAAdE/nIkxtJT5xFk/s640/IMG_6068.JPG

Mayor to officially open first backpackers on the Cape Flats

MEDIA RELEASE
NO. 106/ 2010
16 FEBRUARY 2010


On Thursday 18 February, Executive Mayor Dan Plato will officially open the first backpackers on the Cape Flats. The Blue Flag Backpackers is located in Steenberg and visitors will have the unique opportunity to experience a side of Cape Town that will take them off the traditional tourist routes.

All media are welcome to attend.

Date: Thursday 18 February

Time: 16:00

Venue: Blue Flag Backpackers, 128 Beethoven Street, Steenberg

Directions: Take the M5 towards Muizenberg which becomes Prince George Drive. At the traffic lights at the corner of Prince George Drive and Retreat Road, turn right into Retreat Road. Continue until you reach the traffic lights at 11th Avenue and turn left, the Steenberg Day Hospital will be on your left. You'll see a small prefab and corrugated iron church building on your right. Visitors are requested to park on the church grounds. The Blue Flag tour bus will shuttle everyone to the venue and return them to the church once the function is over.

Visit www.blueflagtours.co.za to gain more insight into this venture.

Will put this in the overall hotel thread, but its key for Cape Town that they are pulling out.

Arabella hotels up for sale
15 Mar 2010 - I-Net Bridge -

Intro
Luxury hotels Westin Grand Arabella Quays Hotel and Arabella Western Cape Hotel & Spa are up for sale.

By Adele Shevel

Luxury hotels Westin Grand Arabella Quays Hotel on Cape Town's Foreshore and Arabella Western Cape Hotel & Spa near Hermanus are up for sale.

The Arabella Hospitality Group said this week that it had decided to sell its South African Hospitality operations to concentrate on its hotel activities in Europe.

The sale process of the South African interests of the group will entail a managed bidding process administrated by Deutsche Bank, and is expected to be concluded within six months.

Foreign hotel operators have entered South Africa relatively recently and Absa Investments analyst Chris Gilmour said foreign hotel operators have not made a huge impact on the local terrain.

According to the STR (Smith Travel Research) Global Hotel Benchmark, average annual occupancies in South African hotels was 58% in 2009, down 13.6% on the year before, while average room rates increased a mere 1.5% in 2009.

Cape Town five-star hotel occupancy was 12% lower in 2009 than in 2008. In addition, the average room rate was down 0.4%.

Lee-Ann Bac, a director at Grant Thornton Strategic Solutions, said Cape Town five-star hotels had performed slightly worse than Cape Town hotels with fewer stars.

The situation had moved from one of undersupply to oversupply, she said.

"We're unlikely to see new hotel developments in the near future," she added.

Source: Business Times

It was in the news last year,will try and find article.

It was in the news last year,will try and find article.

Maybe they didnt find any takers and now tryong to offer it 'freshly'...

No its been out there for a while. Probably just checking what the interest is.

It was in the news last year,will try and find article.

ha ha, yeah I also read this article last year, shame maybe they didn't get any response so they asked the reported to re-report on it....shame!!

Oversupply of 5-star hotels, it must suck!!:bash::bash:

well when you see the occupancies they have been dealing with not surprised they getting out. And the supply keeps increasing...eish...

This should be here, the most up to date numbers available. Of the 29865, it would seem that about 19,000 are hotel rooms.

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4021/4388120656_ed52b06c7b_o.jpg

This should be here, the most up to date numbers available. Of the 29865, it would seem that about 19,000 are hotel rooms.

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4021/4388120656_ed52b06c7b_o.jpg

Wow, it's hard to believe that Cape Town has more beds than that monster of a City Jhb....hectic, just shows how rife the competition is in the good old Mother City, hence why some hotel chains are bailling out..... :ohno::ohno:

The figure should reach 20,000 but will remain at that amount for about 5 years.

Rio is around 20,000 in the 2-5 star category including planned hotels, and that's a major tourist destination with 10 million in the metropolitan region.

If we were to launch an Olympic bid, I don't see how accommodation would be a a major issue.

I never would of had guessed that Bloemfontein had less beds than Rustenburg and Polokwane.

Taj opens to full house

Article By:
Wed, 24 Mar 2010 07:51
Taj Cape Town, the newest luxury international five-star hotel in the city centre and the first Taj property in South Africa, marked its official opening with all 177 rooms fully booked. The hotel began pre-opening trials several weeks ago, taking limited room reservations. The Restaurants, Mint and the Bombay Brasserie, have been well received and the third restaurant, the Twankey Bar, a contemporary seafood and champagne bar, is now also open.
The Jiva Grande Spa, which offers a range of health and beauty treatments as well as traditional Indian aromatherapy and Ayurvedic treatments, is taking bookings.
“We’re now 100 percent ready to welcome Capetonians and out-of-town visitors to the Taj Cape Town,” says General Manager, Michael Pownall.
He says that every aspect of the hotel had to be ready before it was declared officially open because after an investment of over R500-million by Taj, Tata Africa and Eurocape, two years of construction and the meticulous restoration of two historic Cape Town buildings, expectations were very high.
The hotel was completely booked out for its opening week with an international company’s global conference attended by delegates from over 15 countries.
Pownall says there has been tremendous interest and a steady flow of reservations since the soft openings. Forward bookings for the next three months are better than expected with strong demand for the World Cup period and beyond.
“We’ve had a great deal of positive feedback here and overseas. Taj has a reputation for its luxury service culture as well as creating iconic hotels in heritage buildings at great locations around the world. Cape Town’s popularity as a world-class leisure destination and unique facilities such as the Jiva Grande Spa, stylish restaurants and heritage banqueting and conferencing rooms all work strongly in our favour. But so too does our location in the historic heart of Cape Town, which provides an alternative to the Waterfront.”
The Taj Cape Town is offering an introductory special from R3500 per room for two people, including breakfast. For more special offers, bookings and reservations visit www.tajhotels.com/capetown (http://www.tajhotels.com/capetown) or call +27 21 819 2000.

^^ nice.

Nice to see the Taj attracting a crowd for the opening, their chain took a knock after the bombings in India.

Cape Town offers best value for 2010 FIFA World Cup visitors

March 29, 2010 in Accommodation
Cape Town offers best value for 2010 FIFA World Cup visitors(Forimmediaterelease.net) Cape Town is set to offer the best value for money during the 2010 FIFA World Cup, according to the results of a month-long accommodation pricing survey carried out by Grant Thornton South Africa on March 26, 2010. On the back of much international criticism that South Africa is price-gouging during the 2010 FIFA World Cup, a survey was contracted by the Minister of Tourism, Marthinus van Schalkwyk, to establish a clear picture of prices throughout the country.

The survey polled 2,479 accommodation establishments from all nine provinces with 38 percent of respondents coming from the Western Cape region. Establishments included hotels, guest houses, bed and breakfast establishments, lodges, backpackers, camping, and self-catering facilities. The survey results have shown that 65 percent of Johannesburg establishments are charging more than 50 percent higher than their peak season rates, with Durban coming in at 53 percent, hiking their prices to 50 percent and over their high season rates. The survey found that less than 20 percent of Cape Town’s establishments are going this route, proving that a hands-on pricing message campaign by the region’s tourism authorities has resulted in a fair, realistic pricing market for Cape Town.

The Grant Thornton Survey attributed the fair pricing in Cape Town to two occurrences, namely the excess supply of accommodation due to Cape Town’s excellent accommodation capacity and the recent opening of many new hotels adding to the already good levels of supply. This coupled with a significant slowdown in demand has forced operators to tightly control rates in order to achieve acceptable occupancies. The second factor is the efforts of Cape Town Tourism to promote ethical pricing during the 2010 FIFA World Cup™ and the signing of a 2010 FIFA World Cup™ “pricing code-of-conduct.

CAPE TOWN TOURISM WARNS AGAINST OVERPRICING

Cape Town Tourism CEO, Mariette Du-Toit Helmbold, commented: “Already, as far back as 2006, Cape Town Tourism launched a series of awareness sessions around the World Cup and provided the industry with pricing guidelines for the event in line with peak season rates. I strongly believe that our consistent messaging around responsible pricing and the industry’s commitment have paid off – setting an excellent standard for Cape Town in long-term pricing legacy and sustainability.”

Cape Town Tourism in particular was quick to warn the industry of pitfalls experienced by other international destinations who have previously hosted major events. “Countries that inflated tourism costs during the event, damaged their brand, and it has taken some of them years to rebuild perception,” warned Du Toit-Helmbold.

CAPEINFO.COM AND CAPE TOWN TOURISM CONDUCT PRIVATE SURVEY

International price sensitivity, security fears, and a perception that South Africa was out-pricing itself, led Cape Town Tourism, in partnership with www.capeinfo.com, to conduct their own price point survey as of January 2010. Their findings reflected those of Grant Thornton’s survey - that the larger portion of establishment owners in the Cape are pricing responsibly and bookings are on the increase.

THE CODE OF RESPONSIBLE PRICING FOR CAPE TOWN

Only a few weeks ago, major Cape Town tourism industry role players signed the Code of Responsible Pricing for Cape Town thus committing to, and encouraging establishment owners to, price sensibly and offer value for money. It also serves as a reminder to be mindful of tourism’s role in social responsibility and the sustainable legacy of the 2010 FIFA World Cup.

LOCATION AND OCCUPANCY LEVELS

Cape Town Tourism’s most recent member poll around hotel occupancy during the FIFA World Cup period, revealed that five- and four-star hotels in and around the CBD and Green Point areas are doing very well. Most were fully booked on match days with limited availability for the rest of the World Cup, whereas hotels of the same grading further afield, in the northern and southern suburbs, as well as Somerset West, are seeing slower bookings and more availability due to their distance from the games.

Du-Toit Helmbold carries on to say: “My advice to tourism businesses is to remain responsible as far as pricing is concerned and not expect significant immediate or short-term gains. If we can deliver excellent value for money experiences, the long-term benefits of hosting the World Cup will far outweigh the short term and will have positive spin-offs for all of us. Let us work together towards an unforgettable event, welcoming all visitors with open arms to the Mother City, and let us look towards a bright future for tourism in Cape Town. Thank you Cape Town!”

For more information on World Cup accommodation or the Code of Responsible Pricing for Cape Town, please contact Cape Town Tourism on +27 21 487 6800.

www.capetown.travel

Rabbit in a Hat Communications Tammy White Phone: +27 21 447 3198, +27 73 202 5041 Email: tammy@rabbitinahat.co.za

New luxury hotel for Cape Town


http://s7.addthis.com/static/btn/lg-share-en.gif (http://www.addthis.com/bookmark.php?v=20)
14 May 2010
Hospitality group Newmark has acquired sought-after space within Cape Town's world-famous Victoria & Alfred Waterfront to launch The Queen Victoria, a new five-star luxury hotel.
Opening in March 2011, this small luxury hotel will be located at, what was until recently, the management offices of the V&A Waterfront Company. Newmark will transform these current administration offices into a "super luxurious city haven" at a cost of R56-million.
Top global destination

"We are fortunate to have acquired a long lease agreement from the V&A Waterfront management for the QV development," said Newmark MD Neil Markovitz in a statement last week.
"Together with our Victoria & Alfred Hotel and Dock House Boutique Hotel & Spa assets, our third hotel offering within the Waterfront precinct now cements our interests and commitment to this top global destination."
The Queen Victoria will offer 38 rooms and suites including an expansive penthouse suite overlooking Cape Town's picturesque harbour. A 30-seater restaurant offering elegant dining as well as a stylish bar will both also offer bay views.
Peerutin Architects and Francois Du Plessis Interiors are tasked with creating an ambience that is contemporary and exudes an air of pure style and panache in keeping with the world’s most refined boutique hotel properties.
Across the courtyard from Dock House, guests at The Queen Victoria will have use of the Elements Spa @ Dock House as well as its designer pool and spacious gardens overlooking the harbour.
Attracting corporate trend-setters

At the same time, Newmark has acquired a 30% stake in the art deco-styled La Splendida Hotel located in Mouille Point for R28-million. It also has a management contract to operate the hotel from 1 June onwards.
The iconic hotel on Cape Town's "platinum mile" currently offers 24 rooms and suites, as well as the popular Café Splendida restaurant. An initial upgrade project of R4-million has been allocated to transform the property into a funky, yet functional, destination.
"The new La Spendida will be an affordable-chic hotel and hip restaurant that will appeal to South Africa’s corporate trend-setters and the lucrative film production industry," said Newmark Hotels' operations director Andy Nold. "She's going to be a great asset to Cape Town."
Newmark, a management and marketing hospitality company, also operates the recently re-styled Ambassador Hotel in Bantry Bay which includes the popular Salt Restaurant & Bar and the new Salt Deli & Vodka Bar.
SAinfo reporter

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Hotel sector’s low end pulls in Cup fans

24 Jun 2010 - I-Net Bridge -

Intro
Despite a huge surge in the number of four- and five-star hotels in SA over the past few years, it is the other end of the market that has been most popular with soccer fans visiting the country.

JULIUS BAUMANN

Transport and Tourism Editor

Despite a huge surge in the number of four- and five-star hotels in SA over the past few years, it is the other end of the market that has been most popular with soccer fans visiting the country.

Both Accor Hospitality’s Hotel Formula 1 and City Lodge’s Road Lodge have done well despite securing little or no business from Match, the agency handling accommodation on behalf of Fifa.

“Most of the rooms we received back from Match were in the Road Lodge brand. Yet the brand has done extremely well in the first 10 days of the tournament with a lot of walk-in or last-minute business,” City Lodge CEO Clifford Ross said yesterday.

This was in line with Mr Ross’s expectations ahead of the Cup. “The fans are not here for the luxury of a five-star brand but to enjoy the World Cup. Therefore accommodation is at the bottom of their spending priorities.”

Philippe Trapp, MD of Accor’s operations in south and east Africa, said Formula 1 too had been popular with soccer fans. “Occupancies were very good considering that Accor have no contracts with Match.”

Mr Trapp said the World Cup had shown there was a real demand for affordable accommodation and that there would be increasing demand from budget leisure travellers.

Yet few two-star rooms were built in the past three years. Research from Pam Golding Hospitality shows that nationally the number of five-star rooms has grown about 22%, from 8013 rooms in 2007 to 10295 rooms in 71 hotels this year. In the one-star market the number of rooms had grown at a far slower 13%, from 3156 to 3645 in 46 hotels.

This trend is more pronounced in Cape Town, with five-star rooms having virtually doubled to 3395 while not a single one-star hotel room was added between 2007 and this year, staying static at 392 rooms.

“The market is now only waking up to the fact that this is an underserved market. While there is an oversupply of rooms in some nodes, there is a distinct need for budget — one- and two-star — establishments,” said Joop Demes, CEO of Pam Golding Hospitality.

“This is even true of Cape Town, where the oversupply in premium rooms is most acute. There is a market for budget hotels at the edges of the city centre.” Pam Golding is already working with an international hotel group to develop new budget properties around the country.

However, Mr Ross is more cautious about expanding Road Lodge’s portfolio. “Demand is still extremely weak, particularly in the corporate market, and we don’t expect to see any real improvement before the second quarter of next year. Therefore, City Lodge will be more selective in building new hotels across all its brands and only tackle projects where it is good for the brand or the product will perform well.”

While Road Lodge has traditionally outperformed the rest of the portfolio, the recession has brought occupancy in line with the other brands.

Mr Demes said the key to building a budget hotel was to keep costs as low as possible to provide the most affordable room rate. Far too often developers overcapitalised, resulting in higher rates once the hotel opened.

baumannj@bdfm.co.za

Source: Business Day

Pure supply and demand.

Cape Town hotels 40% full

Jun 25 2010 13:06
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Cape Town - Accommodation establishments nearest to the Cape Town Stadium and other attractions were benefiting most from the soccer World Cup, Cape Town Tourism said on Friday.
In an assessment released as the tournament reached its halfway mark, it said occupancy levels for the metropole as a whole had averaged 40% for the first two weeks.

This figure increased by six percent from week one to week two and indications were that this upward trend would continue.

However some 28% of establishments were already enjoying occupancies of from 71% to 100%.

"The beneficial effect of the 2010 FIFA World Cup to accommodation establishments in Cape Town has been felt to the greatest effect in concentrated areas near to the stadium, major attractions and Fan Walk/Fan Fest areas," the organisation said.

"Establishments in the City Bowl, Waterfront and Greenpoint areas have experienced a 71% average occupancy during the past two weeks, around 20% up on the same period last year."

In general, establishments further from the centre had had disappointing bookings, with 39% reporting occupancy levels of below 20%.

English and American fans dominated the influx.

The average stay was currently three to four days, but this should increase as the tournament progressed.

Cape Town International Airport had reported that the number of international arrivals for June 2010 was up 44% on the same period in 2009. Domestic arrivals were up by 10%.


- Sapa

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Glut of 5-star hotel rooms in SA

Jun 24 2010 08:08
Nellie Brand-Jonker
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Cape Town - Hotel occupancies are down on last year’s levels after too many new hotel rooms were apparently built in the run-up to the World Cup soccer tournament.

About 10 000 new hotel rooms have been introduced countrywide since the beginning of last year, says Clifford Ross, chief executive of City Lodge Hotels and chairperson of hospitality organisation Fedhasa’s committee for group hotels.

The biggest expansion has been seen in five-star hotel rooms. According to Pam Golding these have increased close on 30%.

Gavin Wood, head of investments at Kagiso Asset Management, said the group does not currently regard the hotel sector as a good investment opportunity because too many new rooms were added in the run-up to the World Cup soccer tournament.

Kagiso’s data indicate that from 2006 to 2010 the number of hotel beds countrywide climbed 40%.

Wood does not believe the country can sustainably expect many more tourists over the next couple of years. There will be an oversupply of hotel rooms, he reckons.

Much of the expansion is concentrated in particular areas, such as Sandton and Rosebank in Johannesburg, as well as in Midrand and Cape Town.

Ross said that, of the 10 000 total, 4 390 new rooms were opened in Johannesburg.

According to Pam Golding the number of rooms in Johannesburg has risen 29% in the past three years.

Dirk Elzinga, managing director of the Cape Town International Convention Centre and the new Fedhasa Cape chairperson, said that since the beginning of last year 10 new hotels with 1 579 rooms have opened in Cape Town.

Six of these are five-star hotels: Crystal Towers, 15 on Orange, Taj, One & Only and Coral International and Pepperclub. Together they have more than 1 000 rooms.

Pam Golding says that rooms in Cape Town have risen close to 20% in the past three years, and the five-star segment has expanded by 51%.

The Durban environment has seen a rise of almost 36% in hotel rooms, according to the property group.

This is an oversupply that will take years to work out of the system, said Wood, and it will result in competition, which will impact profits.

Kagiso expects a significant decline in occupancy rates and consequently a downward trend in profits and share prices, he said.

Many people in the hotel industry do not believe that the oversupply is related only to the World Cup soccer tournament.

The oversupply is the result of increased occupancies in these areas prior to the economic recession and cannot now be ascribed to the World Cup alone, said Ross.

The industry did very well before 2008 and because hotel developments take many years to plan and develop hotels were caught by the economic downturn which led to an oversupply in certain areas.

Kamil Abdul-Karrim, managing director of Pam Golding Tourism and Hospitality Consulting, reckons it's a misconception that the increase in rooms was motivated by the World Cup.

He thinks it was also driven by the strong economic growth after the previous decade and would not have been a problem had it not been for the 2008 economic crisis.

According to Ross, national occupancies are now about 55%. For the same period in 2009 they were 61% and in 2008 71%.

Johannesburg's occupancy rate is also currently 55%, compared with 63% and 76% in the previous years.

- Sake24.com

For business news in Afrikaans, go to www.sake24.com.

As jy wil nie hoor nie, dan moes jy dan voel.

People who continue to open 5 star hotels are idiots. Thankfully Holiday Inn Express have decided another 3-star hotel is in order. Hopefully more people will start catering to the 1-3 market soon.