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On the 13th of June 2010 myself and three friends set out on a 14hrs roadtrip to Bloemfontein from C… Readmore…
Hello  CapeInfo is not just for Cape businesses. Most content is nationwide. CapeInfo's newsletters have always been known for forceful views and informed comment. While we're never mean-spirited, we certainly don't pull any punches. Some disagree with us but respect our views and integrity. This month we're tilting at the windmills of foolishness that have gripped South Africa. We do want your comments please – especially if you're one of those who rarely comments publicly. Click here to have your say and read what others say. There are two kinds of service providers when it comes to the 2010 World Cup – the vultures, chasing the roadkill, and the nurturers who build national tourism in the long term. We don't buy the "law of demand" in exceptional circumstances. Do prices triple in Cape Town over the weekend of the Argus/Pick n Pay Cycle Tour when the city is full? Are those hotels still standing in Haiti justified in charging rescuers and journalists the earth... because they can? No, life on this planet demands responsibility, and it is an immutable law of nature that every action has a reaction. Right now, South Africa's nurterers are winning. Click here to comment.2010: What rates? How many bookings?
The first survey had 471 responses, thanks to the support of Cape Town Tourism, Fedhasa Cape, the Guest House Association of SA and Prince Alfred Tourism! Knysna Tourism said they would ask members to participate but we saw no evidence that it happened. We're working hard at getting broader national representation and we hope Johannesburg and Kwazulu-Natal accommodation establishments will add their stats, with others following. If you are have accommodation establishment please kick butt at your local tourism office. We need your input.
What's as interesting though are the comments that were added when responses were made on CapeInfo. (Cape Town Tourism members respond on the CTT website.) Most of these are at the end of the January survey result summary or the actual February survey form. (If you have an accommodation establishment in SA only, and your results have not been added, please do go ahead and submit your responses. Surveys are anonymous but we do record IP addresses and cookies are used.) The real value of monthly tracking surveys is that we can follow changes in bookings and prices being charged. Just before this newsletter was sent out, the number of February responses was just under 300 compared to the 471 for the whole of January, so it is premature to compare the monthly statistics. Looking at an individual month's results only tells part of the story, which is why we are repeating these surveys monthly. But there are already some interesting figures. Room rates & confidence in World Cup legacy coming down
Now to tread on ice... the drop in confidence appears to come from the fact that other organisations have started asking their members to participate in the survey, and their confidence in the legacy factor is far lower. This is a stat to watch in future and identify where it comes from more clearly. While they do need to have their ducks in a row, those with no bookings should not be too worried. Bookings will only follow the allocation of tickets and the next allocation takes place on February 5. And the following wave of bookings follow the next round of FIFA ticket sales. Click here to comment on this. 2010 World Cup Fair Deals – a reminder
Note to accommodation establishments on CapeInfo: If your World Cup rates are current peak season or below, please select this option in your administration page.  Much of our comment on 2010 World Cup appears in the CapeInfo blog – A Spaniard in the Works and the following recent stories relate mainly to the World Cup. Click here to read the full stories. Each story has a link for comments just below the heading and we'd love to hear your views.
Our Wordpress blogs are one of the last items still to be integrated into the website's content management system. That was due to take place just before last Christmas and we're holding thumbs it will happen in the next month.
Tracking surveys prove value; now for the global Fans Survey!
CapeInfo's accommodation tracking surveys have proved their value, not only in measuring what's happening across an industry, but also as a forum to share information and influence change. The new global Fans Survey will build on this, making contact and getting to know fans before they arrive.Profile of 2010 World Cup fans
Forecasting is either tempting fate and an act of utter foolishness, but then some crystal ball gazing (with the benefit of wisdom and experience) may shed some light on our forthcoming visitors. Well, the first prediction is a relatively easy one. Two-thirds of all fans, or spectators at matches, will be South Africans. That's who most tickets are being sold to. So forget about hordes of dollar-, sterling- and euro-flush foreigners banging your doors down. If you're in the travel and hospitality industries, you better be catering for South Africans first! Will Fans stay outside the Host Cities?
CapeInfo most ambitious survey yet is being prepared – talking to fans before they visit South Africa while they make their preparations, discovering their perceptions, concerns and questions.A Politician's Foefie*
Way back in 2002, CapeInfo identified the need for a photo opportunity at L’Agulhas, the southernmost tip of Africa. So, it was with some delight that we received the announcement about a competition for the southermost tip last week, issued by the Western Cape's Ministry of Finance, Economic Development and Tourism. It's an amateurish joke! The brief includes statements like "It is an ICONIC IDEAS competition – it does not have to be a concept for an actual structure. If it is a structure the dimensions can’t be too large. Local materials would be a plus. Can’t be too reflective as it is a significant maritime area, no reflection at night. It is the Southernmost Tip of Africa, Mother Africa needs to be reflected." But two things despatched this initiative to the trash can. Fedhasa – when credibility fails
It is a sad day when one has to question transparency and integrity at Fedhasa – South Africa’s oldest representative hospitality organisation. The whole issue of Rooms4U has been covered in previous blog posts but what was missing was any response from Fedhasa – which is at the centre of the whole controversy. 2010 World Cup bonanza overstated
Some interesting statistics from Gillian Saunders at Grant Thornton South Africa, which monitors on an ongoing basis the various impacts the World Cup will have on South Africa and its economy, show that the impact of the World Cup on South Africa may not be what many people are expecting. The real impact is the international marketing exposure if we do things right.More on 2010
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Comments
It is fine for people to have lower prices in winter (when there is not a world cup) and then to increase them in the summer when there is more demand, it only seems natural to adjust them for the world cup (increase the prices) as there is increased demand.
No one coming to SA would expect the prices to be lower or even the same as peak season prices.
We as hotel owners have every right to charge what other countries charge for this once off event and I think people will realise when they arrive that if they were to return to SA again it would be a lot cheaper. They are not going to refuse to return because their hotel was expensive during the World Cup, they're not stupid, they realise it is an expensive time to visit.
If you can afford R30, 000 for 2 air tickets to watch a game of football then I am sure you can afford R1800 a night for a hotel room in the centre of Cape Town which is what I am charging (3 x the normal rate).
If I go to any other city in the world I pay this price and that is when there is no special event on like the world cup.
The media is giving the impression that it is the people’s god given right to be able to fly around the world and follow their team in a football match...it isn't! It is a privileged for people who can afford it. If you can’t afford it you watch it on TV.
Unfair pressure is being put on small hotels and B&B owners to cut their rates, to make it the same price as peak season (or even low season - where is the logic in that???). We as individual businesses will be the ones taking the loss - with the empty promise of helping the tourism industry.
I know that if I cut my rates it will not make any difference except that I will lose out while everyone else makes money. If SA really wants to do something positive they should take all the tax that is generated from the tourists paying these ‘high prices’ and invest it directly in crime prevention, housing for the poor, education and tourism. This will bring more people back to SA than cheap hotel rooms.
I went on the internet and got a quote for accomadition in Rusternburg And PE and got Quoted 1500rand pp 2000 Rand pp b&b then i phoned the one in Rusternburg and said i wanted to stay in feb 300-400 PP are people crazy the last world cup in Germany we were payin 69-70 euros per night per couple
SA has now lost a lot of fans as it is pricing itself out on the holels and air fair
We went to the draw in CT and in Long Street we were paying 20 rand per pint insted of 14 rand
140000 went to the last game England Played in Germany the most ever to try and watch a football game
there are only 7000england applied for tickets all were sucsesfull but a few
the goverment must wake up put extra flights on even if thay subsdise them as people wiil come back to this brill countrey ACT NOW
Nov,Dec, = R 600 per person, per night B&B, that is not too much for the World Cup. I have a Guest House in Hermanus, have a number of bookings, using the term...long term relationship....Guests don't mind paying, as we all do, if you getting the excellent service and quality for the money. Most are complaining about the air Fares..too expensive!!!
You are gouging. Three times the normal rate? That's gouging. The message you send is that it's OK to milk the fans because they can afford R30k for air tickets. The airlines' antics aside, what YOU are doing is milking the situation. It's called greed, no less, and it gives the industry a bad name.
How can we get listed as "Fair Deal" for 2010 ?
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