Whale Cottage Portfolio Blog

The Board of Cape Town Tourism has diplomatically told the MEC for Finance, Economic Development and Tourism, Alan Winde, that it is not happy to turn back the clock, and support his proposal for a centralised provincial tourism marketing agency, in that this would impact on the running of Cape Town Tourism, and of the marketing of brand ‘Cape Town’.

Last month MEC Winde announced his plan to consolidate Cape Town Tourism and Cape Town Routes Unlimited into one centralised provincial body, and to market one centralised Cape Town/Western Cape brand, which created an outcry, and resulted in a carefully worded statement from Cape Town Tourism (read our blog post).

In a recent meeting between the Chairpersons of Cape Town Tourism and Cape Town Routes Unlimited, and of MEC Alan Winde for the province and Alderman Felicity Purchase for the City of Cape Town, the way forward was discussed between the two parties.  It was agreed that an apolitical body was needed which would not change every time a new politician was elected at provincial or City level.   They also agreed to appoint an independent Change Manager to lead the process of negotiation between the two parties.  Both parties importantly agreed that Structure must follow Strategy.

Given the consultative nature of the process, Cape Town Tourism called a meeting of its members, to inform them of the MEC’s plan, to present to its members its counter-plan, and to hear the industry speak.  It was disappointing to see so few, and so few heavy-weight, members attend.

Mariette du Toit-Helmbold, CEO of Cape Town Tourism, provided background to the process of tourism unification, it not being the first attempt to unite the two tourism bodies.   In 2002 the provincial government and the City decided to unify the marketing of Cape Town, by taking this role away from Cape Town Tourism (Sheryl Ozinsky was the CEO of Cape Town Tourism at the time), through the creation of a Destination Marketing Organisation (DMO), named Cape Town Routes Unlimited.  The role of Cape Town Tourism was to unite seven local tourism bureaus, stretching as far as Somerset West, into one Visitor Information network, with unified Cape Town Tourism branding.  Cape Town Tourism was re-created, with a new Board of Directors and a new Constitution, created as an apolitical industry association, a body for members run by a Board elected by its members, and reasonably independent of the City of Cape Town’s funding, in that it focused on the generation of own-income.

A review organised by the City of Cape Town Mayoral Committee member Simon Grindrod in 2007, and a report full of negatives about Cape Town Routes Unlimited, led the City to withdraw its funding of Cape Town Routes Unlimited, having been a 50 % funder of the body, and gave the body the required one year notice.    In 2008 Cape Town Tourism was appointed to market Cape Town, and it was allocated the monies that would have gone to Cape Town Routes Unlimited, after Cape Town Tourism had asked its members’ support in taking on this role - the industry was unanimous in expressing its support.  This led to a city and a provincial marketing body, each marketing Cape Town, and with overlap in marketing the province as well.

MEC Winde is proposing that tourism marketing for Cape Town and the Western Cape be centralised into Cape Town Routes Unlimited, but that this body change its name.  It would be the primary body marketing Cape Town, and would be largely funded by the City of Cape Town.   This, Cape Town Tourism’s Board believes, is turning back the clock, as Cape Town Routes Unlimited is exactly such a body established six years ago, and has failed dismally.  The MEC wants a single destination marketing organisation, a single marketing strategy, and a single brand (currently it is the mouthful of ‘Cape Town and Western Cape’).   Further, the MEC has proposed that Cape Town Tourism market Cape Town domestically, while the province market it internationally.  Major events should be marketed by the province, and smaller localised events should be marketed by each affected or organising tourism body.  Cape Town Tourism stated that it felt that the MEC’s proposal contained too much emphasis on structure, even though he himself has stated that Strategy should drive Structure, especially given that the MEC has specifically suggested that the Board of the new body be appointed by the Premier and the Mayor, once again politicising tourism marketing.

Cape Town Tourism stated that the implications for Cape Town Tourism of the MEC’s proposal would be as follows:

1.  All marketing policies would come from provincial level

2.   A joint Cape Town/Western Cape brand is not feasible, Cape Town Tourism correctly stating that “Western Cape” is not a brand but a ‘collection of brands’.

3.   Strategy, structures and policies will once again be approved by politicians, given the proposed structure.  The body should be apolitical, and tourism must be protected against political changes.

4.   The province is proposing to only fund the establishment of the new DMO, and is expecting the City of Cape Town to fund all marketing costs, reducing the marketing budget dramatically and adding more administrative costs, reducing the monies available for marketing.

In its carefully worded response to the MEC, the Board of Cape Town Tourism stated that it was important that the marketing of world cities such as Cape Town should be driven by international best practice.  It does not support the establishment of a single DMO, but rather would like to see distinct roles and responsibilities for the two parties.  It was emphasised that Cape Town Tourism does not want to take over the marketing of the province (although many a Cape Town Tourism member would like to see this happen!).

Cape Town Tourism stated that its counter-proposal to the MEC was as follows:

*   create a joint integrated tourism marketing network

*   brands must be managed at local and regional level

*   Cape Town is the key tourism brand in the province, with its own unique identity, and cannot be straight-jacketed into a provincial marketing programme.

*   International best practice shows that successful city marketing is city-driven tourism, based on public/private partnerships.

*   The lifetime value of Cape Town’s ‘customers’ must be harnessed, via Customer Relationship Marketing.

*   Duplication of marketing activity and expenditure must be eliminated.

*   Cape Town Tourism should take over responsibility for the Convention Bureau and Events, two functions sitting with the province, and dominant sources of tourism income.

*   Cape Town Tourism should be the hub of tourism stakeholders, including the citizens of Cape Town.

In concluding the discussions at the Cape Town Tourism member meeting, the members were given an opportunity to state their views.  The tremendous success of Cape Town Tourism in marketing Cape Town and in dealing with the world’s media based in Cape Town during the World Cup demonstrates how successful the body is, and that it should not be re-engineered if it is working so well, the members were told.   Given that both bodies are spending taxpayers’ monies, it is expedient that such money not be wasted by creating a new structure.

POSTSCRIPT 24/8: An e-mail sent to Cape Town Tourism members during the course of today includes the following: “In a new development, the MEC has given his assurance that no decision will be taken on the issue of tourism structures before a tourism strategy for the Province has been agreed, in consultation with key city and regional stakeholders. Cape Town Tourism fully supports this move and will be taking part in the strategic planning process”

Chris von Ulmenstein, Whale Cottage Portfolio: www.whalecottage.com

Sante means health in Italian.  While it may be built in the Tuscan style, Sante is anything but healthy, and has a long way to go to reach the level it once had when it opened six or so years ago.   It is badly maintained and managed, and should not have opened so early, a mere two months ago, before achieving its 5-star grading it once had.

Let me start at the beginning.  Sante was the dream of Eduard du Plessis and his then partner in a design agency KSDP Pentagraph.  They sold their agency to the largest London-based design agency, and it was the money they made that led to the development of the “160 hectare working wine estate”, consisting of a 10-bedroom Manor House, 39 Spa Suites (different buildings with suites in each), and privately-owned homes, which were to be rented out to give the owners rental income.  Southern Sun was awarded the contract to run the hotel at that time, and it was professionally run, and its Walter Battiss collection, the private property of Du Plessis, lent it class and modernity.  It had an outstanding Spa, which Conde Nast voted as one of the Top 3 in the world in 2006.

Du Plessis and his partners sold Sante to Fidentia, whose Arthur Brown is facing fraud charges.  When he was arrested, the Hotel was closed down, as there was no money for its upkeep.  In the past two years numerous rumours circulated as to hotel groups buying the property, said to be valued at around R 300 - R 400 million.   I had stayed at Sante in both the Southern Sun and the Fidentia eras, the former a good, the latter a bad, experience.

In May this year, after a two year silence, the first media reports announced the re-opening of the Hotel and Spa on 1 June, it having been leased by Carlos Vilela from the liquidators for a 10 year period, with the option to buy it during this period, according to a media report.  It was a Cape Times feature on Sante, as well as a glowing review in the August edition of The Franschhoek Month, that made me pick up the phone and make a booking.   I wanted to stay after the Women’s Day long weekend, thinking the hotel would be full over the weekend, but the reverse was true.  A large contingent of police persons was to take over the hotel for a conference this week, and therefore I chose to spoil myself for the weekend. (After my stay, a staff member confirmed that the police party had cancelled).

I did the reservation with Ilse Bock, who quoted R 1500 per room, but R1000 for single occupancy.  She nagged me to book, but I received nothing from her.  In frustration I spoke to Janet Samuel, the Deputy GM, who had an attitude which should have served as a warning.   She told me that the server was down, which was not allowing e-mails to go through. They resorted to faxing the reservation details and credit card authorisation form (plus a string of most off-putting terms and conditions), barely legible because the type size was so small.   Lo and behold, a second warning I should have heeded, was that the rate was confirmed as R 1500, but Ilse quickly changed it, saying she had quoted me an incorrect rate but that she would honour it.

I asked Ilse what star grading the hotel has, and Ilse could not answer initially, but then said 5-stars.   She sounded so hesitant about this, that I asked her to ask the General Manager to call me.  Despite the GM Kristien De Kinder being off-duty, she did call, and confirmed that they are not 5-star graded yet.  She told me that she would not accept a lesser grading, and that they are working on achieving the 5-star requirements.  In the same breath, without asking her, she shared with me how difficult it is to manage staff, and told me that she had “fired” (her words) 20 staff in the previous week.  This should have been the strongest warning of all, but I was optimistic that the staff remaining would be efficient in running the Hotel and Spa.

I was chased by Spa Manager Anja Liebenberg to make the Spa bookings, as she said they book up very quickly, especially over weekends.  I understood later why she was pressurising me to book, as she was off for the first two days of my stay, and wanted to make the bookings personally, on request of her GM.  Second, I discovered that they have many treament rooms but only six therapists, which means that they cannot take many clients.  I checked with Anja whether I would be eligible for the 25 % Spa treatment discount, which Ilse had sent with all the documentation (8 pages of Spa prices alone) - she was shocked, saying it was only 10 % off, but if I had been sent this offer (an opening special for June), she would honour it!

The dreadful dirt-road to the hotel, off the R45 from Klapmuts to Franschhoek, is still as bad as ever, and no grader has been sent there recently to scrape the road.   When I came to what I thought were the gates of the estate, there was no branding for the Hotel - just a brown tourism sign and the name of a farm on the walls.  It took the security person five minutes to get up to move the cones, without checking who I was from the board he had in his hand - a worrying introduction to the hotel security!  I was greeted by name by receptionist Michelle, and I asked her how she knew who I was - it transpired that I was the only guest staying in the hotel on the first night.   I was assisted with my luggage, had a room with a view onto the Paarl mountains and a dam, and on the surface nothing had changed, the original furniture still being in place.  Towels are new.   Michelle sweetly helped me get the internet going, always a concern, and it worked perfectly.  I asked her which TV channels they have, and she told me 11!   She could not tell me which they were, and they were not in the room book (they are SABC 1,2, 3, e-tv, M-Net, two SuperSport channels, Movie Magic1 and CNN).  After dinner I discovered that SABC3, which had the only decent movie, had no volume, and it took 45 minutes for the staff on duty to fix this.

Much later that evening I discovered that there were no drinks in the room bar fridge, the bath towels were not bath sheets, which one would expect for a 5 star-to-be hotel.  There were no spare rolls of toilet paper.  The glass shelf in the shower tilts, so the products tend to slide off it when it gets wet.  I froze that evening, discovering that there was only a thin artificial duvet on the bed, and no blankets in the cupboards - I was told that the CEO does not want to allow down duvet inners (a cost issue?) .   I could not get the underfloor heating to work, even though the setting was at 30 C.  In the end I had to switch on the airconditioner, to be able to sleep.  I had to call Reception to check how to switch off all the room lights, in a central control panel hidden behind the bedside table, but too far from the bed to switch them off!

The next morning I rushed to breakfast to meet the 11h00 deadline (not how I like to spend my precious time off). I stepped into the Breakfast Room, only to find the tables laid but no buffet table laid out at all!  I was told by the waitress that they don’t do it when they have so few guests.   The Restaurant Manager Sofia reiterated this, and I told her that I did not find this acceptable, and she laid out a tiny set of bowls with cereals, fruit and yoghurt, on the corner of the buffet table furthest away from me.   There was miscommunication between the waitress and Sofia, as I had ordered two slices of toast with my eggs, and the waitress only brought one slice.  I was told that I had only ordered one slice, and therefore I did not receive another!  I had to beg for a second slice.   I had to ask Sofia to not serve me any further food, as she smelt so strongly of smoking when she brought the eggs.  Kristien the GM came to chat and asked if all was in order, but when I told her of my experiences since my arrival, she looked at me as if it was completely normal that I should have experienced all these problems.  She seemed particularly sensitive about my reaction to their restaurant winelist (see my review tomorrow of Sommelier Restaurant), which she had received from her staff.   I must commend her presence at the hotel on each weekend day - a first for a GM in any hotel I have ever visited!

The Housekeeping Manager Anja had come to chat at dinner on the first night, even though she had nothing to do with the restaurant, and gave me some valuable background.  She herself runs a guest house in Wellington, while the GM Kristien runs her 5-bedroom guest house Perle-du-Cap in Paarl alongside her GM job at Sante.  It transpired that the new CEO Carlos Vilela runs a restaurant called Asia in Paarl, and closed down another two weeks ago, called Perola Restaurant (could be first signs of cashflow problems, in conjunction with the staff firing, especially as some of the more forthcoming staff told me that the fired staff  - with one exception who is working out a month - left with immediate effect, due to cost cutting).  Anja met Carlos at the latter restaurant, and this led to her appointment, and seemed the route of the GM’s appointment too - these two managers were not mentioned in media reports covering the opening function on 1 June (at which Western Cape MEC for Finance, Economic Development and Tourism Alan Winde spoke and over-optimistically praised the hotel for helping to boost the economy of the Western Cape, creating “150 employment opportunities”).   Most staff working in the Hotel come from Paarl, not known as being the centre of service excellence.  Both Anja and Kristien are Belgian and friends.  Anja was willing to please, and she organised extra blankets (very thin summer throws) but brought to the room by equally heavy smoking-smelling housekeeping staff, and got electric blankets from the Spa when I asked her if this was possible.   The bar fridge was stocked the following day, but was not switched on, so no drinks were cold.    After this I was ready to settle in and enjoy myself, after the bad start, or so I thought.  An enjoyable facial by a most friendly and obliging Charlene confirmed that all was on track, except that an error had been made for a massage booking for the following day, but was quickly fixed.   I was surprised that the GM and her Managers wear “civvies”, a most unusual dress code for a 5-star-to-be hotel.

In a paid-for advertorial in a Wellness supplement in the Cape Times of 30 July the hotel writes:”We are not here to re-invent the wheel, but to bring Sante back to life and provide our guests with the ultimate in service excellence and bestow upon them the luxury spa experience that one would expect from an establishment as ours”.  It goes on to state:  “All staff was hand-chosen and appointed for their distinctive customer-service ethics (sic) and their outstanding achievements in their professional fields.  Our mission is to offer you a place where you forget all your worries and trust us as professionals of beauty, rejuvenation, wellness, relaxation, tranquillity and peace to bring you back to life”.   It concludes with Vilela being quoted: “We are aiming high to exceed previous standards and guest expectations.  Every member of my team has the same vision and is committed to making this a reality”!  Promises I discovered that they are nowhere near achieving.

I was woken by the “Niagra Falls” outside my room on the second (rainy) day of my stay - the hotel building does not appear to have gutters, and all the rainwater came down in one section outside my room.   I saw some buckets in the passage to the Breakfast room too, to catch water from the leaks inside the hotel. The occupancy of the hotel had improved to full house in the Manor House, and so a Breakfast Buffet was set up in the Restaurant, and not in the breakfast room.  I was not told this, so once again I saw the bare buffet table, and sat waiting for service, but there was none!  When I went looking for staff, I was told that the breakfast was served in the restaurant.   Most dishes were three-quarter empty, and there was no fresh fruit at all.  There was no one to ask for some for about 15 minutes.  When I saw Sofia and asked her about the fruit, she said that they were busy cutting it, and stated that she had been checking the mini-bars in the rooms, explaining aggressively that she cannot be expected to be in the restaurant all the time, and that breakfast finishes at 11h00.  She had a list she was ticking off in terms of hotel guests who had come for breakfast, and she would have seen that three further rooms’ guests had not yet come for breakfast, arriving even later than I did.   Kristien the GM came to greet and chat to guests at a table close by, and ignored me completely, not a good sign.

I went to the Spa, to enjoy the facilities, or so I had hoped.  The first step was to sign an indemnity, requested by Anja the Spa Manager.   I went upstairs, and was shocked to see that most of the lovely innovative original features of the Spa were not working - the Experiential showers were in near-darkness, riddled with wet used towels lying on the floor, and the lovely fragrances of the showers of days gone by - e.g. rainforest, mint - have gone, and the water was ice cold, not attractive on a cold and wet winter’s day.   The Laconium door was open, and its light on, but it was not working - there was no sign on the door to tell one that it was out of order!   An open door intrigued me, but I soon discovered that it was the geyser room, and not a treatment room, so I retreated out of that quickly!   All that was left to enjoy then was the pool, but it had two babies and very loud foreigners dominating it, whom the Spa Manager was unable to get to leave, as children under 16 are not allowed in the Spa section of the property at all.  Some downlighters in the pool area do not work.   I wanted to shower after being in the pool, but all the showers in the Ladies cloakroom had no hot water.  I was now close to having had enough.  The Spa Manager Anja apologised, saying that it was a day in which everything was going wrong (it was only lunchtime then).   There was no notification on the cloakroom to warn one of the lack of hot water.

I saw Kristien the GM in Reception, and reported the Spa cold water problem to her - once again, she had the “I know all about it, and we are working on it” air about her, and then lashed out at me, in close distance of hotel guests who heard her, about how I had done nothing but complain since I had arrived.  I reminded her of all the problems I had experienced, and she did the “my staff are perfect” routine, adding insult to injury by asking why I had not left if I was not happy.  I told her it was because the hotel had taken a 50 % deposit, and would be taking the balance on my departure.  The way she said it, it sounded as if she would absolve me from the second 50 % payment, and this made me decide to leave, given everything that I had experienced.  When I went to the Reception, the Duty Manager Mannie asked me to sit down to pay - the second 50 % of the accommodation cost being on the bill, even though I was leaving one day early, at the “invitation” of the GM.  I “invited” Mannie to ask Mr Vilela, the hotel CEO, who once worked at Sun City, the only background that I could find about him on Google, to call me to discuss the bill.  I am still waiting for him to call, and to react to my review, which I sent to him for comment, offering to post his reply with it.

The Sante website is full of exaggerations and dishonesty: it describes the 10 Manor House rooms as “gorgeous suites”.  They have a massive bed (although 5 of them have two double beds, which cannot be made up as king beds, as they are stand-alone, annoying Larry and Heather Katz, one of the couples staying there).  It quotes UK Elle as it being “One of the Top 16 Spa’s on Earth” - yes, about 4 years ago, with working, state-of-the-art facilities at that time!  It provides the menu for Cadeaux, a restaurant meant to be in the Spa section, but the restaurant has not been in operation since the hotel opened!  The Sommelier restaurant is mentioned, but there is no menu for it!  Chef Neil Rogers is mentioned as being in charge of “both” restaurants, but he was one of the 20 staff to be fired!  (I heard that a chef from Grootbos is starting in September).  The food photographs on the website are nothing like the food that was served at Sommelier.  The “Terms and Conditions” state that children are welcomed in the Spa Suites only, but two children were in the Manor House, and were not kept quiet by their parents or the hotel staff.  The hotel brochures are more than two years old, reflecting the paintings on the walls at that time, and not what has replaced them now, and also refer to its “5-stars”, an absolute no-no!  The room folder had the “Happy Anniversary” card to Mr & Mrs Nothnagel still in it!

What can I praise? The location and its view, but far more attractive in summer - my room was in shade all day, making it cold and dark.  The “captiveness” of it, as the gravel road is so bad that one is not encouraged to leave the property to take a drive to Paarl, Franschhoek or Stellenbosch.   The Sunday Times and Weekend Argus being available.   The wonderful therapist Charlene, who did the facial.   The use of the innovative grape-based TheraVine product range in the Spa (but not carried through into the hotel rooms, where the Rooibos range is stocked).

I was most relieved to leave the Sante “zoo” after enduring two days of stress whilst staying there, the exact opposite to what I had come for!   The Hotel’s marketing is dishonest and its website misleading and out of date.  Sante is still a “sleeping beauty” and has not yet woken up to the real world of accommodation hospitality and Spa excellence it so proudly boasts about!

Sante Winelands Hotel & Wellness Centre, on R45, between Klapmuts and Franschhoek.  tel (021) 875-8100  www.santewellness.co.za

Chris von Ulmenstein, Whale Cottage Portfolio: www.whalecottage.com

The Western Cape MEC of Finance, Economic Development and Tourism is unhappy that his well-meant attempts to create a unified Tourism strategy for Cape Town and the Western Cape is not receiving the industry support that he would like, and is particularly unhappy that Cape Town Tourism has publicly stated that it is unhappy with the MEC’s proposal.   He has given the industry until 27 September to provide input into his proposal.   Our comments about the proposed Tourism Strategy can be read here.

We publish the MEC’s full Media Statement below:

“MEDIA STATEMENT BY ALAN WINDE - MINISTER OF FINANCE, ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AND TOURISM 

Over the past week a number of articles and statements have appeared in the media regarding the desire of the tourism community and leadership of the Western Cape to create a shared, single solution for marketing of the City of Cape Town and the wider Province as a leading, compelling and highly competitive tourism destination on the global stage. In so doing we as a destination will unlock sustainable, equitable growth and development for all people of the province. Critical to this process is the passing of Resolutions for the creation of a new Provincial Tourism Marketing Model. These Resolutions have been shared, timeously and transparently, with the tourism community. Overt invitation has been extended for solicitation of inputs to the Resolutions, clearly reflecting the desire to ensure that this process takes into account collective points of view. Public expression of viewpoints on the vision for destination marketing and the process currently underway is invaluable as it demonstrates that the consultative processes put in place are in fact working. I note with concern, however, the public rejection by Cape Town Tourism’s Board of the proposals detailed in the draft Provincial Tourism Marketing Model. This declaration, and the impact it is having in dividing the tourism community, demonstrates the risks in putting premature statements of failure of process ahead of vision and trust in the process. It serves no purpose other than to arrest progress. 
At the outset, let me confirm that the Resolutions put forward represent a document in the making, intended to inspire robust debate on the best way forward for tourism in the Western Cape.  At this stage no assumptions or proposals are made for either the marketing strategy, nor the structures that will roll it out once these have been defined. 
I would like to urge tourism industry players to engage with the document in a responsible manner.  We, as leaders in the future of tourism for our province, should show respect for the process and act in a manner that honours the institution of democratic engagement. 
Please submit constructive comments based on the content of the document to my office via taepartnership@pgwc.gov.za by 27 September 2010. 
I re-emphasise that the end result of this process is a collectively defined way forward that will see us become a globally competitive tourism destination that brings social and economic benefits for our people, and ensures a positive experience for travellers to our province.  By working together, ‘Team Tourism’ can create a proud, lasting legacy that will endure well beyond our tenures.  The traveller should always remain at the heart of our efforts.” 

Chris von Ulmenstein, Whale Cottage Portfolio: www.whalecottage.com

One could see it coming!   The marketing of Cape Town and the Western Cape province has been a problem for the last number of years, in that the province and the city were run by the Democratic Alliance and ANC parties, respectively.  That is, until last year, when the Democratic Alliance won the city and the provincial elections.   The new MEC for Economic Affairs, Finance and Tourism, Alan Winde, vowed from the word go that he would address the strained relationship between Cape Town Tourism and Cape Town Routes Unlimited, as far as each body’s marketing of Cape Town in particular, but also of the Western Cape province, is concerned.  Now the relationship is about to become more, rather than less, strained!

One needs to go back in history to paint a picture of continuous turmoil in the tourism industry.   Initially Cape Town Tourism was marketing Cape Town, and the Western Cape Tourism Board marketed the province, a harmonious relationship existing between the two tourism bodies, one funded by the City of Cape Town, and the other by the province.   As the political parties changed, new Ministers of Tourism at provincial level tried to reinvent the wheel, and the biggest change of all was the establishment of the Destination Marketing Organisation (DMO), taking over the old Western Cape Tourism Board, as well as the marketing role for Cape Town from Cape Town Tourism, about seven years ago.   Cape Town Tourism only retained its role as Tourism Information agency.

Numerous complaints from the tourism industry about the lack of marketing visibility of Cape Town, the “gateway” to the rest of the Western Cape, were aired, and the new DMO, which became known as Cape Town Routes Unlimited, was blamed for not knowing what it was doing.   Political differences between the province and the City of Cape Town, as well as the lack of Cape Town Routes Unlimited’s marketing performance, led the City to withdraw its 50 % contribution to the running of Cape Town Routes Unlimited two years ago, leaving that body vulnerable in terms of its funding, and crippling it in terms of its marketing role.   The City signed an agreement with Cape Town Tourism, whereby it allocated its previous Cape Town Routes Unlimited funds to Cape Town Tourism, with the responsibility for the agency to market Cape Town in addition to its tourism information role.   Due to its funding cuts, Cape Town Routes Unlimited was forced to cut its marketing projects dramatically, and to focus mainly on marketing the province.

However, Cape Town Routes Unlimited did not leave the marketing of Cape Town out of its marketing strategy, and once again the industry complained about the duplication in the marketing of Cape Town by both bodies, something that the new DMO had been created to avoid.   When Winde, and his counterpart in the City of Cape Town, Felicity Purchase, met last year, the two marketing partners agreed that they would encourage co-operation and that they would avoid duplication where possible.  Winde confirmed that there would be no consolidation of the two bodies.   The industry was told that a strategy of co-existence between the two bodies would be presented to it, but no such strategy has been forthcoming in the past year.   Cape Town Tourism was forced to appoint a Cape Town Routes Unlimited director on its Board (this is not reciprocated on the Cape Town Routes Unlimited board), to ensure that the two bodies were aligned.

This week the Minister changed his mind, and made the shock announcement that he is “pushing for the speedy implementation of a new efficient destination marketing model so that the region may benefit from the current window of opportunity created by the Soccer World Cup”, reports Southern African Tourism Update.  Now this sounds like a ludicrous statement as a start - another DMO in the making, when we have one already?   Did we not just host the most amazing World Cup without integration of the two bodies?   What window of opportunity is the Minister referring to?   Why did he not get his act together, and create a united body before the World Cup, when it was needed most?   Accommodation in Cape Town and the Western Cape was not well booked for the World Cup, and the city did not have a single soccer team setting up a base camp in it.

Reading the Southern African Tourism Update article, and having been closely involved with the setting up of the DMO whilst I was Deputy Chairman of Cape Town Tourism, it sounded like deja vu.  The Minister wants to set up a new DMO, with a new “trading name”, responsible for the “marketing of the province, regions and cities within the Western Cape - as well as single tourism brand for the destination.”  This is exactly what Cape Town Routes Unlimited is meant to be, currently having the schizophrenic brand name “Cape Town and Western Cape”, all of which was criticised by the industry when it was launched about 5 years ago!

The new DMO would be solely funded by the Western Cape province, according to the Minister, and all municipalities in the province must contribute to the DMO, including the City of Cape Town, endangering the marketing role which has been allocated to Cape Town Tourism.  Members of Cape Town voted by overwhelming majority to support the acceptance by Cape Town Tourism of the marketing of Cape Town at its AGM two years ago.    Municipalities must present their marketing plans to the new DMO, it is proposed, and define how they will support the marketing activities of the DMO.  The Minister also wants to move the head office of the DMO from Burg Street to the V&A Waterfront, in a building to be called “Tourism HQ”, to be “more visible and accessible to tourists”!   Now this is something I do not understand, given that Cape Town Tourism is responsible for tourism information and accommodation  bookings, via its network of tourism bureaus around the Cape Town metropole, including Somerset West and Strand.  The first problem one saw was when Cape Town Routes Unlimited set up a “Gateway” tourism bureau at the V&A Waterfront, taking the “ownership” of it away from Cape Town Tourism, even though it is staffed by and carries the branding of Cape Town Tourism!

The municipalities were presented the new model by the Minister last week, and they have been given two months to table their response.  It is interesting to see how the new Cape Whale Coast DMO will deal with this news of the Minister, as it set itself up as a marketing agency for the coastal area stretching from Rooi Els to Gansbaai and including Hermanus.  This DMO is already making the fatal error of encouraging the members of the local tourism bureaus to become members of the DMO, in addition to being members of the bureaus.

Winde motivated his new strategy on the basis of “absolute duplication of national, provincial, and municipal marketing resulting in taxpayers’ money being spent three times in the same place”.   He stated that the Cape Town Tourism and Cape Town Routes Unlimited marketing of the city and the province caused confusion, and that the city and province did not have a clearly defined marketing strategy.

Not surprisingly Cape Town Tourism is not happy with the Minister’s announcement, and its Board announced last Friday that it will oppose the Minister’s move.  CEO Mariette du Toit-Helmbold’s words were carefully chosen when she wrote: “Cape Town Tourism has noted the proposal and embarked on a  comprehensive negotiation process with the City of Cape Town and the office of the MEC.   The Board of Cape Town Tourism has indicated that it is not in agreement with the proposal in its current format.”

She continued by stating the support of the City of Cape Town for the marketing role of Cape Town Tourism in marketing the city, exactly what the Minister proposes to change.  She wrote: “Cape Town Tourism is committed to protecting the interests of tourism in Cape Town and finding a workable solution that will most effectively realise the tourism opportunities in the city, whilst eliminating duplication and confusion. Cape Town Tourism has received reassurance from the City of Cape Town that we are and will remain the City’s tourism promotional and marketing body and that Cape Town Tourism’s structure will not change.”

It is disturbing to see that the same tourism marketing issues are being addressed again, and that tourism history is repeating itself, a waste of taxpayers’ funds in itself. It appears that every new provincial Minister of Tourism in the Western Cape sees it as his role to redesign the tourism bodies and their role, much like new Marketing and Brand Managers like to change their marketing strategies and advertising campaigns (and ad agencies at times too), just to make their mark.

This is likely to become another long drawn-out battle between the City and Province about the marketing of our precious brand “Cape Town”!

POSTSCRIPT 26/7:  Cape Town Tourism has sent out another e-mail to its members, reiterating its view about the Minister’s proposal, and has made the document available, inviting comment and input from its members:   “I informed you of the proposed centralised model for tourism marketing that was put forward by the MEC for Tourism and Economic Development, Minister Alan Winde. Cape Town Tourism has indicated to the office of the MEC and the City of Cape Town that the proposed model for a single, provincially centralised tourism destination marketing structure and brand for Cape Town and the Western Cape is patently misguided. If implemented, it will have negative consequences for tourism in Cape Town” , wrote Cape Town Tourism CEO today.

Chris von Ulmenstein, Whale Cottage Portfolio: www.whalecottage.com

The Easter weekend looks to be a busy one for the hospitality industry, a welcome last burst of business until the dreaded winter lull commences after the weekend.  

Three major events take place this weekend: the Old Mutual Two Oceans Marathon and the Cape Town International Jazz Festival in Cape Town, and the KKNK in Oudtshoorn.   These events are estimated by Cape Town Routes Unlimited to generate R 780 million in income for the Western Cape, reports Southern African Tourism Update.

The Old Mutual Two Oceans Marathon will be run for the 40th time in Cape Town today, with a 56 km ultra marathon, a 21 km marathon, and 5 km and 2,5 km fun runs creating a choice for the 26 000 participants.

The Cape Town International Jazz Festival is in its 11th year, and its economic benefit is estimated at close to R 600 million.   The star of the Festival will be George Benson, who performs at the Kippies venue at the Cape Town International Convention Centre tonight.  His show will be a tribute to Nat King Cole.  Judith Sephuma, Toots Thieleman, Jason Moran, La Melodia, Jonathan Butler, TKZee, MiKaNiC, Regina Carter, Melanie Scholtz, and Bilal are some of the 40 artists and bands performing today and tomorrow.  Billed as “Africa’s Grandest Gathering” and rated as the fourth best jazz event in the world, the Jazz Festival is expected to draw 32 000 jazz fans over the two days.

The KKNK (Klein Karoo Nasionale Kunstefees) runs until 8 April, and is a feast of mainly Afrikaans music and theatre.  Experimental plays usually are first performed in Oudtshoorn.  Award-winning ‘Die Naaimasjien’, with actress Sandra Prinsloo, will be the highlight.   Musically, David Kramer will entertain with ’David Kramer se Kaapse Breyani’.  Other musical stars include Elsabe Zietsman, Amanda Strydom, Karen Zoid, Coenie de Villiers, Chris Chameleon, Koos Kombuis, classical guitarist James Grace, and the inimitable Nataniel.

March was a bad month for business, severely down on previous years, and it is evident that hospitality businesses are concerned about the winter ahead, given the impact that punitive increases in petrol, electricity, municipal rates and other municipal charges will have on consumers.  The only counter to these cost increases is the decrease in interest rates by 0,5 percentage points, reducing the costs of car and bond repayments.    A number of restaurants may not survive the quiet period ahead, and the reduced bookings for the World Cup may not bolster their earnings enough for them to survive the winter.

Western Cape Minister of Finance, Economic Development and Tourism, Alan Winde, said as follows:”The industry went through a rough patch over the last 18 months because of the global economic recession.   It is therefore very reassuring to know that our destination plays host to events of this calibre.  They certainly support the Western Cape Government’s objective of growth, job creation and poverty reduction and will help to build a long-term, sustainable tourism industry”.

Chris von Ulmenstein, Whale Cottage Portfolio: www.whalecottage.com

The Grant Thornton survey about World Cup pricing, conducted on behalf of the Ministry of Tourism, shows that “most World Cup accommodation prices have increased by a reasonable amount, despite persistent concerns about profiteering, South African Tourism Minister Marthinus van Schalkwyk said on Friday”, says a Reuters report.

The survey found that the accommodation pricing of the 2479 accommodation establishments, including hotels, guest houses, B&B’s and self-catering establishments, that participated in the survey, were charging a premium of less than 50 % on their 2010 summer rate.  However, the rates premium in Gauteng, which sees Johannesburg hosting the opening and closing matches, is more than 50 % for more than two-thirds of the establishments, according to the survey.

According to a media release from Cape Town Tourism, the survey results show that fewer than 20 % of accommodation establishments in the Western Cape are charging more than 50 % of their 2010 rate, reflecting this province’s call to responsible pricing.

Van Schalkwyk is quoted as saying that ”The majority of accommodation establishments in South Africa are very responsible, we know that 74 percent will be charging prices during the World Cup that are very reasonable” at the news conference.

The Tourism Minister said that rate increases were to be expected during major events, but warned the industry about the damaging effect exorbitant prices could have on the World Cup legacy.  ”We will continue to do everything to discourage excessive premiums when these do occur.  I am satisfied that by far the majority of accommodation establishments are acting responsibly and are sensitive to our warnings about price hiking and its effects” said Minister van Schalkwyk.    The Minister encouraged soccer visitors “to shop around to get the best deal”. 

The Tourism Minister’s “praise” of the industry was to be expected, in that the survey conducted on his Department’s behalf could not have come up with any other finding for South Africa, to save face in the face of international criticism about “price gouging”.   However, praising price increases of “below 50 %” is not commendable, as the accommodation industry guideline for World Cup accommodation rates was the 2010 rate + 10 %.  The ‘under 50%’ rate that lies between 11 - 49 % is equally rip-off as is that which lies over 50 %!  

The Gauteng accommodation industry is profiteering from the demand versus supply in Johannesburg, and it being a central point for matches at a number of stadia.   The two-thirds of estabishments charging an add-on of more than 50 % should be ashamed of themselves for charging excessively.  

The sample size of just more than 2 400 establishments is small in comparison to the many thousands of accommodation establishments in the country.   One would assume that the more price compliant establishments would have been more likely to have responded to the survey, therefore skewing the results.

Minister of Finance, Tourism and Economic Development in the Western Cape, Alan Winde, has threatened to name and shame the Western Cape “overnight accommodation establishments” that charge excessive rates during the World Cup.  The Minister would be advised to check on restaurant and transport prices too, as reports of excessive pricing have also been levelled against these sectors, reports Eye Witness News.  

Flaws in the Grant Thornton questionnaire design may also have skewed the results - read our criticism of the study questionnaire here.

Chris von Ulmenstein, Whale Cottage Portfolio: www.whalecottage.com

Representatives of Cape-based tourism bodies as well as some commercial entities met in the offices of Cape Town Tourism yesterday, to sign a declaration of fair World Cup pricing and operation, to maintain and protect the reputation of the Western Cape and of Cape Town.

Driven by Western Cape Minister of Tourism Alan Winde and Cape Town Tourism CEO Mariette du Toit-Helmbold, representatives of Cape Town Routes Unlimited, Backpackers South Africa, FEDHASA Cape, SATSA, Portfolio Collection, Fair Trade in Tourism South Africa, the City of Cape Town, and the Western Cape Ministry of Finance, Economic Development and Tourism signed to support the declaration.    It is interesting that the Portfolio Collection is represented, when other accommodation guide publishers, and other tourism associations were not included in the ceremony yesterday.

Du Toit-Helmbold has reminded the accommodation industry how important it is that pricing for the World Cup should be kept at a reasonable level (the summer rate is suggested), and that short term “rip-off” pricing will damage the reputation of the city and province.  

The Code of Responsible Pricing for Cape Town has been created around four core principles: 

‘Fair Value’ means that the tourism sector will create fair and reasonable rates for the 2010 FIFA World Cup™ that are linked to current seasonal rates. 

‘Responsible Tourism’ underlies Cape Town’s commitment to be a destination that values and promotes social responsibility and environmental protection. 

‘Sustainable Tourism’, whereby businesses will be expected to be mindful of the interests of maintaining a legacy for Cape Town beyond the 2010 FIFA World Cup™. 

‘Consumer Protection’ against hidden costs and fees that surprise and annoy consumers.

It is interesting that MATCH, FIFA’s accommodation agency, was not invited to the Code signing ceremony, being the biggest culprit in charging “rip-off” pricing by loading the accommodation rate of its signatories with a 30 % commission.   Also, despite signing the fair pricing code, none of the signatories have spoken out about MATCH’s irresponsible accommodation rates.   Only Portfolio cautioned its advertisers about signing with MATCH, and that may have been out of self-interest to ensure that their advertisers receive the bookings, from which Portfolio can earn commission.

FEDHASA Cape Manager Rema van Niekerk is quoted in the Times today as saying that she will terminate the membership of hotels that are found to be transgressing the Code.   All complaints will also be passed on to the Tourism Grading Council of South Africa (TGCSA), the article says.  However, they have no mandate to act on pricing, given that the TGCSA is a standards assessment body.

The focus of the Code appears to be accommodation pricing, but relates to all tourism products and services.   It will be interesting to see how restaurant pricing, rumoured for example to be about R 1 000 per person for a set menu at Beluga during the World Cup, will be monitored relative to this Code.

Surprisingly, Cape Town Tourism has not communicated with its members about pricing guidelines, as they seem to assume that their members read the Cape Town Tourism website regularly, or the newspapers reporting on the media releases sent to them by Cape Town Tourism.

Chris von Ulmenstein, Whale Cottage Portfolio: www.whalecottage.com

Despite a commitment made more than six months ago that Cape Town Tourism and Cape Town Routes Unlimited would work together to market Cape Town and the Western Cape, and would work to avoid duplication in their marketing activities, little synergy between the two bodies is evident.

Now Western Cape Finance, Economic Development and Tourism Minister Alan Winde has confirmed that the two bodies will not amalgamate, and that nothing will change in the relationship between the two bodies until the end of the World Cup in July, reports Travel News Weekly.  

Winde also stated that a new focus would be the closer co-opration between role-players at national, provincial and local government levels in the Western Cape.   When the DA took both the province and the city in the last election, Winde stated that he would ensure that he would work to the unification of tourism at provincial and City level,  and would prevent it from being vulnerable to political party changes over time. 

The return of Cape Town Tourism CEO Mariette du Toit-Helmbold from maternity leave on 1 April should result in new vitality for the city tourism body.  Du Toit-Helmbold is a dynamic and enthusiastic marketer.  In her absence, Belinda van Niekerk has run Cape Town Tourism, but as she comes from an admin and financial background, she lacks Du Toit-Helmbold’s flair, energy and communication skills.   The new Marketing Manager of Cape Town Tourism, Leanne Burton,  has used Du Toit-Helmbold’s absence to build her own brand name, rather than that of her organisation or (more correctly) of the acting-CEO, in her PR activities for Cape Town Tourism, and has created some hostility with the media.

With the World Cup about 60 days away on her return, Du Toit-Helmbold will have a huge challenge to help fill her members’ beds, given the disappointing bookings over the World Cup to date, and to excite Capetonians about the benefit of Cape Town being one of the host cities for the world’s largest sport event. 

Chris von Ulmenstein, Whale Cottage Portfolio: www.whalecottage.com

A report in the Cape Argus two days ago described the desperate attempt by Cape Town Routes Unlimited’s Marketing executive David Frandsen to obtain funding from Parliament for the marketing of Cape Town in Germany for the 2010 World Cup.

The report reflects the sad state of affairs as far as marketing Cape Town and the Western Cape province goes, and was highlighted in aWhaleTales blog report and letter to the Cape Argus about the lack of marketing of Cape Town just a few days ago.  No response was received to it from Cape Town Tourism, Cape Town Routes Unlimited or any other tourism players.

According to the report, the 2010 marketing campaign for Germany has been cancelled by Cape Town Routes Unlimited,  and it is likely that further 2010 marketing campaigns for the city and the province may be cancelled due to a lack of marketing funds.

The report states that the head of the parliamentary committee on trade and international relations said that the provincial government and the city should “‘urgently’ rethink their funding model and help where necessary”.   The City’s response, via its Deputy Mayor Ian Neilson, is that Cape Town Tourism is doing the job, and that any change in the funding can only be considered in 6 months from now.   He also referred to the collaboration that is meant to be happening between Cape Town Routes Unlimited and Cape Town Tourism, following a meeting of the CEO’s of these two organisations, and their respective political heads Alan Winde and Felicity Purchase.  The nature of the collaboration has not yet been communicated to the industry, despite the meeting having taken place more than 10 weeks ago. 

The Cape Argus report states that at the Cape Town Tourism/Cape Town Routes Unlimited meeting, Cape Town Routes Unlimited had been told to find alternative funding, to fill the R 24 million void created by the withdrawal of the City of Cape Town’s funding.  

Both tourism bodies are doing little or no marketing, in a month which sees forward bookings looking most dismal, with a projected occupancy to be the lowest this year, and worse than any September before.

Cape Town Tourism sent out a media release to co-incide with Tourism Month, which started on 1 September, but seems full of empty rhetoric.   “During Tourism Month, Live It, Love It, LOUDER!is focused on celebrating “My Cape Town” - an exploration of the different corners of our hometown and a window into the lives of the people who live there. Capetonians will also learn more about their hometown in readiness for the role as world cup hosts.  To showcase this personal perspective of Cape Town, the “My Cape Town” Flickr Pic competition is being launched on 1 September with the theme “This is the Cape Town I Want the World to see”.  Enthusiastic photographers and proud citizens can submit their entries via www.capetown.travel/worldtourismmonthand stand a chance of winning a cash prize of R15 000″ says Cape Town Tourism’s Mariette du Toit-Helmbold. 

Cape Town Routes Unlimited got some Capetonians together, and taught them how to do the Diski-dance, in preparation for the 2010 World Cup.   Cape Town Routes Unlimited has also just launched a “Beyond the 90 Minutes” campaign, to encourage soccer fans to visit other parts of the Western Cape when they come to Cape Town to see the matches.   Six themed itineraries, including Adrenaline Adventure; Gourmet; Culture and Heritage; Natural Beauty;  Body, Mind & Spirit; and Cosmopolitan Vibe have been presented on the www.tourismcapetown.co.za website.   Locals and the media are also addressed on the ‘Beyond the 90 Minutes’ section of the website, and special accommodation offers are promoted for this month already.

Cape Town Routes Unlimited has also launched a World Cup 2010 Soccer Fan competition.  “South African soccer fans are known for their outrageous, fun and colourfully decorated costumes and accessories worn at matches to show support for their favourite team. Soccer fans from other countries attending the 2010 FIFA World Cup™ in South Africa are also expected to come all decked out in support of their national side.  CTRU is looking for the liveliest, most inspired and colourful pictures of fans at soccer matches from around the world. All they have to do is post their best photo on the ‘Beyond the 90 Minutes’ Flickr group at www.flickr.com before 31 October 2009. Not only do they stand the chance to win a Cape Town and Western Cape 2010 travel package worth R50 000 including accommodation and meals, but also a special, limited edition makarapa (a decorated miners’ helmet unique to South African soccer fans and fast becoming a ‘must-have’ fashion item) of their very own”  says the Cape Town Routes Unlimited media release.

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