TSOGO Sun is launching new ‘limited service’ hotels in South Africa called hi Hotels. These new hotels will fall into the same portfolio segment as the group’s other select-service brands like Sun Square, Garden Court and StayEasy. The first development, a 123room site in Montecasino, will launch in December, with a second hotel planned for Silverstar Casino, Muldersdrift, during 2021. ‘Limited service hotels’ typically offer limited amenities, excluding things like large conference facilities, banquet halls or internal restaurants. The idea for the Montecasino development came from looking at different construction methodologies, specifically modular hotels, says Marcel Von Aulock, ceo of Tsogo Sun. “One of the key features of this development
is that it’s lightweight. You can build these hotels on existing structures without having to reinforce the structure.” Marcel says the Montecasino development is adding another tier of products to the casino’s portfolio since hi Hotels comes in at under R1 000 a night.
Hi Hotels will offer bigger rooms with lower rates as the hotels will be built at the cost of a budget hotel, he says. Other hotels are finding innovative ways to stay competitive in an industry faced with numerous
challenges, including homesharing platforms such as Airbnb. Hotel brands branch out Legacy is finding a creative way to utilise privately owned apartments in Legacymanaged buildings that are left empty for periods of time, through what it calls a ‘rental pool’. When an apartment is unoccupied, the owner can put the property into the rental pool. The property is then rented out on the owner’s behalf by the hotel management team and the owner is paid a rental pool dividend. The management team also handle the marketing and maintenance of the property and the longer a guest stays in the apartment, the lower the rate. Tracey Teichmann, manager of Sure Adcocks Travel, believes that, as well as being a great option for investors, this is
a great option for agents who are struggling to find accommodation for their clients. Marriott announced in April that it was entering the home-sharing business with the launch of Homes & Villas by Marriott International. They are offered in over 100 destinations, and Marriott Bonvoy loyalty members can earn and redeem points when they book and stay in these homes. Instead of building and marketing its own homesharing unit, Marriott will instead act as a distribution platform for the selected property management companies it is working with, similar to Airbnb’s model. Robyn Daneel–Spicer, director of Sure Stellenbosch
Travel, believes that a lot of people would trust staying in a Marriott ‘home’ more than an Airbnb home, given the latter’s often less-thanstellar reputation. Robyn also believes that Marriott would have more of a stringent selection process in choosing a home to display on its platform. In 2016, AccorHotels bought homesharing platform, Onefinestay for US$170m (R2,4bn). Unlike Airbnb, Onefinestay oversees each rental directly, providing toiletries, bedding and other amenities to serve the highend house-rental market. In the same year, Accor also bought a minority stake in Oasis Collections, another short-term vacation site.
