Whale Cottage Portfolio Blog

Franschhoek was largely booked out as far as its accommodation is concerned over the Women’s Day weekend earlier this month, thanks to the law firm Edward Nathan Sonnenbergs (ENS), which chose Franschhoek for its annual staff and family get-together.   The law firm is one of the largest in Africa, with more than 360 legal, tax and forensic practitioners, and has branches in Cape Town, Johannesburg, Stellenbosch and Durban.

The booking probably was the largest group booking ever for Franschhoek, and the law company’s contribution to Franschhoek can easily be estimated at about R 500 000 over the two day period.   The economic contribution to Franschhoek may well be double that, if shopping at wine cellars and shops, as well as additional services rendered, is added.   Air and bus transportation will have benefitted the broader economy too.

“At ENS we are very aware of the importance of our people and, aside from many employee benefits, we also hold an annual retreat where all professionals, plus their families, are accommodated at a special locale.  The aim of these retreats is to, firstly, thank our professionals and their families who support them through the stresses of daily life and, secondly, to give everyone an opportunity to truly unwind in a setting outside of their normal environment” said Amanda Framcke, Marketing Team Leader: Events at ENS.    

“This year we were pleased to choose Franschhoek as the firm was looking for somewhere different to their usual venues which were more resort-like.  This retreat had a different feel to it and was exactly what we were looking for.  Franschhoek offers not only beauty but an array of exciting options all in a secluded area with a quaint small town feel.  It’s a wonderful place to relax and unwind and enjoy the many options it has to offer” she added.

ENS has an in-house marketing and events team that organises all events, including accommodation and flight bookings, catering, entertainment and anything else that is needed to make an event a success.  “This retreat involved approximately 280 adults which consisted of our practitioners and senior services team, as well as spouses and roughly 50 children.  This meant extensive arrangements and we were thrilled with the support we received from the various places of accommodation and other venues we used.  Because of the size of the group and special dietary requirements, we used an external caterer for all meals other than breakfast which everyone enjoyed at their place of accommodation.  We did, however, have lunch at Haute Cabriere on the Sunday of the long weekend which was a special highlight of the trip”.

Not only did ENS staff and their families stay in Franschhoek at 15 of the town’s guesthouses and four hotels, but suppliers did as well.  Watershed, a band performing for the group in the town hall on one of the evenings, was accommodated at Whale Cottage Franschhoek.

“Our programme for the weekend included spa activities, horse riding and quadbiking at Rheebokskloof, a mosiac workshop, fishing at La Ferme, bicycle hire, cheese and wine tasting at Franschhoek Cellars, chocolate tasting and visits to the ice cream shop.  We would like to also mention our appreciation for the transport company we used in Franschhoek (Eddie), the Municipal Officials and the local businesses for their participation and hospitality”.  Lunches and dinners were served for the ENS group in the Town Hall, an outside catering company having been appointed.

“The response from our practitioners and their families has been extremely favourable with many commenting that they would like to return to Franschhoek for our next retreat.  It is fair to say that this was one of our most popular getaways yet.” 

Whale Cottage Portfolio: www.whalecottage.com

Whales feature in the 2009 German national election coverage by TV station ZDF, through a clever play on words, with the television station labelling it “Wahlwatching 2009″.   In German election is “Wahl”, while “Wal” is a whale.   Both words are pronounced in the same way.   A whale logo accompanies the election campaign coverage. 

ZDF, one of the largest TV stations in Germany, has created a blog for its election coverage, which also carries the “Wahlwatching” theme - http://blog.zdf.de/wahlimweb/.  The German national election takes place on 27 September.

Whale Cottage Portfolio: www.whalecottage.com

Salt restaurant at The Ambassador Hotel has a most apt name, with its close proximity to the Atlantic Ocean in Bantry Bay.   Earlier this week the restaurant hosted a most successful food and wine pairing gourmet evening, in conjunction with Dalla Cia wines and grappa.

The Dalla Cia Sauvignon Blanc 2008 was served on arrival, followed by the Dalla Cia Chardonnay 2008 to accompany a most delicious goats’ cheese and butternut rotolo.   The Dalla Cia Giorgio 2006 accompanied a roast quail, served with mushroom polenta.    The main course was an excellent springbok pie in a fine two-coloured pastry, served with Dalla Cia Cabernet Sauvignon 2006.  The pannacotta included grappa, and was served with the Dalla Cia Grappa.   The wine offering was generous, with a top-up served per variety, and the evening was good value at R 350 per head.

The nicest part of such an evening is the wonderful company one is lucky enough to enjoy.  George Dalla Cia, and his charming Italian wife Elena, was a gracious host, and his distributor Mark McCarthy, and partner Tanja Schuermann, exchanged interesting information about new restaurant openings, and wine news.   Lauren Newhouse, from the hotel’s PR company, was an entertaining and bubbly table companion.

Whale Cottage Portfolio: www.whalecottage.com

The Sweet Service Award  goes to Woolworths in Regent Road in Sea Point, for trusting a customer with payment for a trolley-full of groceries on the day that Woolworths had a technical problem in accepting payment by credit card.   A small sign, not visible to customers entering the store, stated that the store could only take payment in cash, which meant that most customers arrived at the till with their trollies, wanting to pay with their credit cards.   An imprint was done of the card, and the customer was asked to sign the credit card slip when next in the store, given that she is a regular shopper at the store.

The Sour Service Award goes to Google and its representative in South Africa, New Approach Marketing, based in Johannesburg.  About once a week a heavily British-accented person calls guest houses, starting with the insulting introduction to the effect of: “Hello ma’m, I am calling from Google.  Have you ever heard of our company?”.  This is enough to get one’s back up.   When one questions where they are calling from, the caller gets defensive, especially when one has a caller with such a distinctive British accent claiming to call from Johannesburg.  Any questioning of this has led to a torrent of abuse, including a lady caller, who decided to call back to add to the verbal abuse of her male colleague, by calling the recipient of the call a racist and referring to our countryfolk as “blimming South Africans”!  The call centre staff are rude, and never allow one to finish a sentence, that it would be a surprise if they sold anyone Google adwords.  A more gentle salesperson later in the day explained that New Approach Marketing is representing Google in South Africa, and can get guest houses in Hermanus in the top 10 of Google for searches on “B & B in Hermanus” and similar, in “8 - 12 weeks”, on a “no contract” basis, at the cost of R 1 300 per month + VAT + R 265 set up fee.   He explained the broad Manchester dialect in that 30 of his colleagues have come from the UK to set up a branch of the company in Johannesburg, to train South Africans to take over the call centre eventually, and will move to Perth and to Canada, to set up similar operations there.   As a company was calling on behalf of  S A Tourism a few months ago, the caller was asked if the calls are being done on behalf of S A Tourism - his diplomatic but evasive answer was “not as far as I am aware”.  The content of the call was reported to George, the manager of New Approach Marketing in Johannesburg, and he promised to investigate.   His response was that it must be a competitor company calling directly from the UK, also representing Google, that made the abusive calls!

The WhaleTales Sweet & Sour Service Awards are presented every Friday on the WhaleTales blog.  Nominations for the Sweet and Sour Service Awards can be sent to Chris von Ulmenstein at info@whalecottage.com.   Past winners of the Sweet and Sour Service Awards can be read on the Friday posts of this blog, and in the WhaleTales newsletters on the www.whalecottage.com website.

Today the full list of winners of the 2010 Platter’s Wine Guide 5-star wine winners has been released on the blogsite of The Pinotage Club.  The Platter’s website does not provide any information about its top red and white wine 2010 winners, and the number of varietals and multi-winners, as provided in its media release two days ago and reported on the WhaleTales blog yesterday - see below. 

Franschhoek has three 5-star winners in the list, the most ever - Chamonix Chardonnay, Stony Brook Ghost Gum, and Boekenhoutskloof Cabernet Sauvignon.  A surprising omission from the list is Hamilton-Russell, known to be one of the best Chardonnay and Pinot Noir producers in the Hemel and Aarde Valley.

The full 5-star 2010 winning wine list  is as follows:

Whale Cottage Portfolio: www.whalecottage.com

The highly regarded South African wine guide Platter’s has announced its two winning white and red wines for 2010, being Palladius 2008 from Sadie Family Wines, and Le Riche Wines’ Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve 2005.

Platter’s Wine Guide has given an early taste of its winning wines, and has also revealed that 41 wines have made the highly-sought after 5-star category, the highest number of 5-star wines since Platter’s was introduced.  As the Platter’s Wine Guide will only reach the shops in November, few clues as to the Winery of the Year, Superquaffer of the Year, and the five-star wines have been revealed.

However, the Platter’s media release states that 6 000 wines were evaluated this year, and 105 of these made the five-star shortlist, for the final selection of 41.  By wine variety, five-star winners include 5 sauvignon blancs, 5 Bordeaux-style red blends, 4 Bordeaux-style white blends, 4 shiraz wines, 4 unfortified dessert wines, 3 ports, 3 chardonnays, 2 cabernet sauvignons, 2 Pinot Noirs, 2 red blends, 1 grenache, 1 chenin blanc and 1 pinotage.

Platter’s has also revealed that multi 5-star winners are Woolworths, with four 5-star wines, which include a sauvignon blanc and a bordeaux-style red blend.  The other two 5-star Woolworths wines have not been revealed.   Boplaas Family Vineyards, traditionally a port winner, Cape Point Vineyards, Distell (5-stars for its Nederburg and Fleur du Cap wines) and Sadie Family Wines are also multi 5-star winners.

The Platter’s South African Wine Guide will be launched in November, with a detailed evaluation of all the South African wines tasted.

Whale Cottage Portfolio: www.whalecottage.com

With just over nine months to go before the 2010 World Cup, the marketing for Cape Town and the Western Cape appears to have become close to invisible.

About a year ago Cape Town Tourism was given the mandate by its members to accept the City of Cape Town’s directive to manage the marketing of Cape Town, a job previously done by Cape Town Routes Unlimited.    A Marketing Strategy was to have been prepared by Mariette du Toit-Helmbold, the bubbly Cape Town Tourism CEO, and she spent many hours obtaining input from members of the tourism industry to develop such a strategy, and a positioning for Cape Town.   She was a prolific writer and sent out numerous media releases.   The last release sent out by Cape Town Tourism, however,  was over a month ago, on 21 July.  

Cape Town Tourism has added a 2010 World Cup page to its website, and it is printing two issues of its Visitor’s Guide, instead of the usual one issue per year.  This appears to be the sum total of its current marketing activity.

At the time of her many brainstorming sessions, Du Toit-Helmbold favoured a positioning for Cape Town as the centre for innovation, design and creativity, but this has not been translated into a pay-off line, and it is not visible in the design of Cape Town Tourism’s website and letterhead.   The signature at the bottom of Du Toit-Helmbold’s e-mails has the pay-off line for Cape Town: “Living Cape Town.  Loving Cape Town”.    The website does not carry this pay-off line at all, but justifies the official Cape Town website www.capetown.travel as follows:” your trusted, impartial guide to Cape Town”.  The company started Twittering actively about three months ago, but now is invisible on Twitter. 

Cape Town Routes Unlimited is even quieter, and only sends out a weekly Events newsletter to the industry, and irregular CEO newsletters with far too many photographs, mainly of its CEO Calvyn Gilfillan.   An industry newsletter which helped inform tourism players has silently disappeared.

The CEO’s of Cape Town Tourism and of Cape Town Routes Unlimited last month met with the new Tourism heads in the City of Cape Town and Western Cape, Felicity Purchase and Alan Winde, respectively.  Could Du Toit-Helmbold have been silenced since attending this meeting?   The dates appear to coincide.

Interestingly, media reports earlier this year indicated that Cape Town Tourism had been awarded the marketing of Cape Town for another year, instead of referring to a three-year contract having been signed.   It intimated that the City had to seek tenders for the marketing, and could not just hand this over to Cape Town Tourism, as had been made public a year ago.   No information about a tender process, and the winner thereof, has been made public.

The meeting between Cape Town Tourism and Cape Town Routes Unlimited would have covered the prevention of duplication in the two marketing bodies’ marketing activities, and collaboration, where possible.  No further communication has been received in this regard from either body since the meeting last month.

Guy Lundy, CEO of Accelerate Cape Town, an organisation that connects with businesspersons to attract and stimulate economic growth for Cape Town, has criticised the marketing that is being done for Cape Town, reports the Cape Argus.   He too complains that too little marketing is being done, and that which is being done, is wrong, he says.   “Branding Cape Town as Africa’s party city for the World Cup should never have happened”, he said.   “The World Cup is that one opportunity we have to showcase the city to the world.  We don’t want to market ourselves like another Ibiza.”   Lundy says that Cape Town has changed its pay-off line from “Africa’s party capital” to “ready to welcome the world”, a line which was used in a few ads run in the local Cape Town newspapers, without much credibility, given that all the major Cape Town roads, its airport, the Cape Town station, and the rapid bus transport system are not yet ready for the 2010 World Cup!

Whale Cottage Portfolio: www.whalecottage.com

Statistics SA has confirmed what all in the hospitality industry have been experiencing - income from accommodation fell by 5 % in the April - June period compared to a year ago, reports the Weekend Argus.

Had the Confederations Cup and the British and Irish Lions Tour, and to a far lesser extent the IPL, not taken place in this quarter, the drop in accommodation revenue would have been even greater.  June showed positive growth of 6 % on average, compared to the negative growth in April and May, proving that the IPL did not live up to its promised contribution to the economy and protection against the recession!   June has been the only positive growth month this year so far.

In Cape Town RevPAR (revenue per available room) increased by 14 % in June, the first month in 2009 with a positive figure, based largely on two rugby matches in Cape Town, with rates having been increased to R 880 per room on average over the match days, and occupancy increased to 51 %, the first occupancy increase in the 12-month period.

Stats SA also records the “number of stay nights” to have decreased by 10 % compared to 2008, with hotel income dropping from R 1,99 billion in the second quarter of 2008 to R 1,86 billion in the second quarter this year, a 7 % decline.   Guest house income grew by 2 %, and that of caravan parks and campsites by 8 % in the same period.

Whale Cottage Portfolio : www.whalecottage.com

A restaurant that opened in October last year when the Cape Royale Luxury Hotel and Residence opened in Green Point is 1800°, named after a special New York-style griller which grills steaks from the top at 1800 degrees F (982° C), our waiter Emmanuel told us on arrival at the table.   The restaurant has established itself for its excellent steaks.

Given the 5-star grading of the Hotel, the interior decor of the restaurant is disappointing, it being ’all over the place’ - tables are placed next to each other, but separated by cane screens, which means that you can hear every word the couple next door says, but you cannot see them at all, much like sitting in a confession box!    The benches at the walls of the restaurant are covered in a brown fabric, with random white stripes, and garish plastic-like yet fresh orange/yellow flower arrangements above each.   The restaurant is very brightly lit, and the music cannot be heard, as the noise level of the patrons rises as the evening wears on.

Emmanuel introduces the restaurant by telling us where the cloakrooms are located, an interesting but important touch.  He talks us through the menu, describing almost every dish as “lovely”, and recommending all of them highly.  Yet, he feeds back that the chef is not recommending the sirloin on the particular evening, as it is too tough - 10/10 for this honesty!   He explains about the flavoured salts, “infused with herbs”, that one can select from a list, to enhance the steak, and brings a sample of three salts to the table.   A selection of sauces - Argentinian, German mustard, Italian mushroom and herb - and more can be ordered with the steak, and a starch comes with the dish.  A side salad and vegetables can be ordered, at a most reasonable R 16 each.   The fillet steak costs R 130 for 200 grams, 300 grams cost R 160 and 400 grams cost R 190, while the 200 gram rump costs R 120 and 300 gram R 140.   A discount of 10 % off the price of the steaks is running in August, but the waiter does not tell us that.  

Starters are mainly soups and salads, and cost R 35 - R 60.  The linefish of the day costs R 97, and other main courses are reasonably priced.   Desserts cost R 37 - 48, and are predictable - chocolate bomb, coconut pannacotta, lime tart, creme brulee,  ice cream and sorbet.

The Manager Lauren arrives at the table soon after we arrive, to check on things, but as we have not received anything yet except the winelist and menus, we cannot answer her question as to how we are doing.

The restaurant fills up quickly on a Friday evening, and soon the waiter is hardly to be seen.  The wait for the steak is quite long, but worth it, as both the fillet and the rump are outstanding.  The flavoured salt does little to add to its delicious taste, and the sauces are excellent.

On tasting the 2007 Brampton Shiraz, the customer proclaims that it needs a lot of breathing.  The bottle of wine is placed on a nearby table, and the customer only sees that the screwtop has been placed back on the bottle by Emmanuel when he pours more wine in the glasses.   This is a serious deficiency in Emmanuel’s training.

Lauren, the Manager, is very attentive as the evening wears on, and comes to the rescue in describing the ingredients and preparation of a chocolate dessert special.   While the customer does not choose the chocolate dessert, the chef sends a complimentary slice to the table anyway.  The chef sends his business card too, asking for feedback of his food. 

The bill arrives with a spoonful of chocolate truffle for each diner, almost as if the bill has to be sweetened.   The automatic deduction of the 10 % discount off the cost of the steaks is commendable, as it was not mentioned during the evening - the steak special is printed on a piece of paper, and lies at the reception desk.  

On paying at the reception desk, due to the wait to have the payment taken,  Cheny at the front desk asks the “plastic” question as to how the customers enjoyed the “experience”!  The customer asks what ‘experience’ she is referring to, as it is a restaurant much like any other, just lacking in atmosphere.  

Underground parking is available for free, and can be arranged with the doorman on arrival.

The total cost for 2 steaks, one dessert, the bottle of Brampton Shiraz and a cappuccino was R 405.

Whale Cottage Portfolio: www.whalecottage.com

FIFA is planning to give away 120 000 tickets for free for the 2010 World Cup, reports Reuters.   The tickets will be allocated to ‘poor’ South Africans, ‘…..the biggest local fans of the game’, the report says.

Despite South Africans being eligible to buy tickets at reduced prices, the FIFA event organizers want to ensure that the most needy South Africans can attend the top soccer event.   The 40 000 construction workers who worked on the country’s 10 stadia will each receive a ticket, and the remaining 80 000 free tickets will be given to the six major FIFA sponsors, for their social projects.

The media report also states that 28 of the 62 matches are already sold out for the 2010 World Cup.

Whale Cottage Portfolio: www.whalecottage.com