Change is the only constant.....

Have you checked into a hotel recently ? Maybe taken a vacation at a wonderful safari lodge here in southern Africa ? As we move from the cooler but sunny winter season into the decidedly warm climes of summer I note with great interest the manner in which many properties are setting their price modules.

There is clear understanding that global travel is under pressure. Noted that business travel in Asia & north America is looking good but traditional vacation style for us folks looking for a break is very definitely lower this year than last and last year was far from the best. So what are the suppliers of hotels, guest houses, safari destinations and other peripheral support suppliers doing to stimulate demand ?

Some offer a free night or two if you stay for a few, some are just cutting their rates by fearsome figures and other say " if we cannot get the rate we need, we will accept a lower occupancy ". A few, very few, are getting creative with added value options and combining their property with that of an attractive alternative. An African safari property joins hands with a beach property in Mozambique, great flow, energies and highly attractive. So what is the correct thing for these often multi million US $ properties to do in their pricing module ?

Before we go there let's take a step back. If you an owner of US $ 10 million worth of property here in southern Africa, how keen are you to get a reasonable return on your investment ( ROI ) ? That's close on R 75,000,000.00 of boodle tied up either working or conversely, not working for you. It concerns me to witness a buyer taking up an option to purchase say a safari or wilderness property with little or no idea of the very industry that they need to secure their ROI. They believe that if you chuck enough money, passions, enthusiasm and advertorial at their property all will be well ( in the Land of Nod maybe ).

We have far too much product ( hotels/safari/wilderness ) properties in southern Africa in the hands of the incompetent chasing the Holy Grail of guests. The sequence of events from the euphoria of buying their property to indignation and disillusionment of selling is profound, has an effect on our industry and sets up a knock on effect throughout the chain of supply. We see varied efforts to get their property onto the over supplied market place. Cut prices, unsustainable offers, meaningless discounts fall at our feet like confetti at a wedding.

So, how is a pricing module going to change all of this ? You have to only look at the likes of the longer players in our industry, Wilderness Safaris, Singita, Londolozi, &Beyond and possibly a hand full of the newer players such as Shamwari, Tintswalo, Last Word and Victoria Falls Safari Lodge as an excellent example of suppliers who appreciate, understand and work witin a pricing model that matches the industry at all levels.

It is all about sustainability, what we sell today HAS to be here tomorrow, next month, year and indefinitely if we are to do it justice. Too many rise and fall within a short span of time, consumed by their " importance " and disrespectful to the very animal required to secure its future.

Ciao

Colin J. FRYER.
Centre Stage Travel.
info@cstravel.co.za