The newly refurbished 280-room The Maslow – located in the heart of the Sandton CBD – will reopen to guests on Thursday (October 1).

The hotel has been closed since South Africa first entered national lockdown on March 26 but GM, Herman Swart, told Tourism Update that there were already forward bookings for conferences and events as well as hotel guests.

The hotel is a largely corporate hotel and while Swart admits that corporate travel will be slow to recover, the forward bookings offer “green shoots of hope”.

“Our location in South Africa’s richest square mile also counts in our favour and the relationships we have with major corporate companies in Sandton – such as Rand Merchant Bank and Discovery, amongst others – has counted in our favour as local businesses slowly start to reopen as well,” he said.

While conferencing was The Maslow’s mainstay pre-COVID, Swart said he believed there would be a big demand for exhibitions in the post-COVID era. “Many companies are relaunching their product offerings and our multi-purpose venue offerings work well for that.”

Up to 450 delegates can be accommodated but the facilities can be adapted to accommodate small, private meetings as well as cinema-style or banqueting delegates.

Food and Beverage Manager at The Maslow, Rapula Modikwane, pointed out that the lush gardens and private dining room, amongst others, could be utilised for corporate events as well, from intimate dinners to power business lunches and even picnics.

“With its state-of-the-art technology, the four-star hotel can satisfy every business traveller’s need from the productive Wayfarer business lounge, to physical and virtual conferencing facilities, WiFi and the top-end luxury Africology spa to massage away the stresses of the day,” said Swart.

The hotel has also teamed up with technical services and conferencing equipment specialists, MGG Productions, to offer new digital experiences for the corporate traveller. This includes live streaming services.

The refurbishment has seen the rooms adapted to executive travellers’ needs, offering power sockets to recharge cellphones and laptops as well as facilities for video conferencing calls from the comfort of the bedroom.

Complimentary high-speed Internet access is available throughout the hotel and makes emailing large files a simple matter.

Urban tourist destination

Although The Maslow is largely a corporate hotel, it does draw about 30% international travellers, as the area is an important urban tourist destination.

According to Cluster Revenue Manager, Tracy Pretorius, Johannesburg offers many activities for visitors. “Where in the world can you travel down a goldmine, visit the Apartheid Museum, the stock exchange and a lion park, all in one day?”

She added that Sandton was also the gateway stopover to attractions such as the Kruger Park and Sun City.