Mixed bag for Tshwane guesthouses

Hotels and guesthouses close to Loftus stadium are smiling, whilst others are disappointed.

"The majority of our guests are international visitors staying for the full period of the World Cup and others staying for shorter periods surrounding match days. We are also expecting some local guests," said Christine Liebenberg, general manager of Holiday Inn Express in Sunnyside.

Town Lodge Hotel is almost 80 percent full, according to co-ordinator Dean Jacobs. So are many others around the city, mostly reserved by foreign guests who have been arriving since the beginning of the week.

Meanwhile, several accommodation facilities in Tshwane entered into a contract with Match, a company appointed by Fifa, to accredit them to become provide official host accommodation. Match booked all their rooms but in April the accommodation establishments were disappointed when in some cases Match returned half the reservations.

Among those disappointed is Suzi Mafela, chairwoman of the Tshwane Township Accommodation Association, which represents guesthouses in 17 townships.

"We are in debt because we have spent so much renovating, thinking that we would get business. It was a huge blow when Match told us the news. We were told there were guests but they all wanted to be in the CBD and not in the townships," she said.

Nic Hanekom, of the Centurion Accommodation Association, described Match's performance as poor. "There are guesthouses which have received a few guests. Business is not as we expected. There are a couple of places that are fully booked with Italian journalists and spectators due to the Italian camp being near to them," he said.

Anamarie Stillwell, chairwoman of the Pretoria East Guesthouse and bed-and-breakfast Accommodation Association, said facilities were not more than half full.

Pretoria News

Posted at 07:31AM Jun 11, 2010 by Editor in Residential  |