Tsogo Sun: "Durban is the strongest hotel market in SA"
Comparatively better domestic tourism demand in Durban has seen JSE-listed Tsogo Sun Hotels stick to its plan to reopen the historic 111-year-old Edward Hotel, despite the group already having a significant presence on the city’s beachfront.
Group CEO Marcel Von Aulock tells Moneyweb the hotel reopened on Monday, becoming the fifth property the group now operates along the Golden Mile. He says it has opened all seven of its hotels in greater Durban (including two in Umhlanga), while several properties in Cape Town and Joburg remain closed. He was speaking following the group’s release of a dismal set of half-year results (to September 30), which came out after the market closed on Friday. Revenue was significantly impacted by the Covid-19 crunch, including lockdowns and travel restrictions.
“Our decision to reopen the Edward Hotel as Tsogo Sun-managed property comes as Durban has the strongest hotel market at the moment in South Africa … It is not as reliant on international tourists and business travellers as Cape Town and Joburg,” notes Von Aulock.
“We have a lot of stock on the Durban beachfront, so we have drawn staff from our other hotels in the area to reopen the Edward Hotel … We wanted it opened and on our booking system in anticipation of the city’s traditional domestic tourism festive season peak in December. Durban is likely to be busier as it is more accessible, with many people driving to the city from Gauteng,” he adds.
He says Cape Town and the Sandton node in Johannesburg are the “worst affected” due to limited international travel as well as restricted spend by corporates on events and business travel. He welcomed the easing of international travel to South Africa, announced by President Cyril Ramaphosa last week, but points out that this is unlikely to see a major uptick in bookings for November and December.
