WITH travel to Cape
Town booming over
the summer season,
agents are battling to find
accommodation for their
corporate clients in November
and early December.
TNW’s sister publication, SA
Tourism Update, has reported
that inbound operators are
experiencing record bookings
for the 2016/2017 summer
season, but that this is
creating availability issues in
Cape Town.
Senior manager of CWT,
Sharon Burgers says the
agency’s Johannesburg
team has experienced
constraints in terms of
booking accommodation in
Cape Town over November.
She says several events
and conferences during the
month have added to this
challenge.
Tshifhiwa Tshivhengwa,
ceo of Fedhasa, says there
is just too much going
on in Cape Town and too
many people heading to the
destination at the same time.
The accommodation shortage
may force corporates to
organise events in places
beyond Cape Town, he says.
He says the influx of people
travelling to Cape Town is
partly the result of travellers
who would normally have
travelled to Europe heading
to Cape Town instead.
“Availability will vary day to
day,” says Alan Campbell,
group brand manager of
Premier Hotels and Resorts.
He adds that the group is
already at 100% capacity
in Cape Town for several
periods over the summer
season.
Alan says it is usually
the four-star hotel options
that fill up first. He says
corporates still needing to
book accommodation over
November need to try and do
it as soon as possible.
Eric Yakaba, travel
consultant of Club Travel
Corporate says booking
over peak periods can be
particularly challenging
with clients who leave
bookings until the last
minute and with those that
are very specific in their
accommodation requests.
He says alleviating the
problem is about managing
the clients’ behaviour and
encouraging them to book
early and remain flexible
in their accommodation
choice.
Heather Casteling, owner
of Cape Corporate Travel
says agents need to look
beyond the traditional
accommodation options and
booking channels.
She says agents should
explore smaller B&Bs and
check internationally-based
booking engines as these
sometimes have availability
not reflected on the actual
hotel website.
