SOUTHERN Sun Hotels is extremely positive about the future and is expecting a busier year in 2009 than in 2010, says gm communications, Priya Naidoo.
  “We believe that the many events, such as the Fifa 2009 Confederation Cup, the British and Irish Lions rugby tours, the elections and inauguration, Soccerex, the Australian and English cricket tours and the Fifa World Cup Final Draw, are expected to play a big part in fuelling the demand for hotel accommodation,” she says.
 
The hotel industry also expects to benefit from the tens of thousands of delegates to several big conferences taking place in Cape Town, Durban and Sandton next year. These include 10 000 delegates attending a gynecology conference in October 2009 and 3000 delegates at an International Aids Society conference in July, both in Cape Town.
 
Another highlight next year will be the 40th anniversary of Southern Sun Hotels, which the company will celebrate in style. Details are still in the planning stage.
 
Meanwhile Southern Sun has contracted 80% of its current hotel room stock in South Africa to Fifa via its accommodation provider Match for 2010, making it the single largest provider of hotel beds for the World Cup. Priya says Southern Sun is “very happy with Fifa’s rules” and encourages other hotel groups to register with Match to coordinate accommodation provision for the event.
 
She says Southern Sun has been experiencing double digit growth countrywide over the past five years. Particularly encouraging, she says, has been the June/July low season growth of occupancies in Cape Town. “We have not experienced a traditional low season in Cape Town this year. In fact, we have exceeded our occupancies compared to the same period last year.” She ascribes this to the SunBreaks promotions, which have stimulated the market. “We have done a lot to stimulate demand, packaging shorter breaks including air, accommodation and car hire, dropping the rates, including breakfasts and letting kids stay and eat for free.”
 
She says Southern Sun has spent R600m in the past two years on upgrades and refurbishments of its properties. The group currently has a total stock of 13 250 rooms, including properties offshore.
 
New developments include the R180m Southern Sun Hyde Park Hotel due to open in June 2009 and the new StayEasy Rustenburg scheduled to open early next year. Further as yet unnamed developments are in the pipeline, including the expansion of the two-star StayEasy brand in South Africa.