Western Cape top in hotel sector growth

THE Western Cape has
been outperforming every
other province for hotel
investment with Cape Town
being the most popular city
in Southern Africa for new
investments, says Joop
Demes, ceo of Pam Golding
Hospitality.
The national 2014 yearto-date
average revenue
per available room growth
(RevPAR) as at the end of
September 2014 is 8,3%
compared with the same
period last year, with the
Western Cape recording
RevPAR growth of 19,2%
for the first nine months
this year compared with
the same period last year.
The September year-to-date
average occupancy in the
Western Cape has grown
by 6,8% compared with the
first nine months last year.
Joop says the acquisition
of the Protea Hotel Group by
Marriott earlier this year has
sparked foreign direct hotel
investment interest that
has predominantly focused
on the Western Cape and
Johannesburg, with the US,
China and the Middle East
leading the surge.
“We are aware of a
‘pipeline’ of 11 hotel
projects in Cape Town with
an estimated 2 102 rooms
in total. These hotels are
scheduled to open within
the next four years and if
they all proceed it will create
a collective investment
in excess of R3,5bn and
create in excess of 2 000
direct jobs,” said Joop.