Cape Town - Hotel chains have made sure their guests are not left in the dark when Eskom is forced to pull the plug.
Mark Satterfield, Marriott International business leader in South Africa, said the group’s hotels were equipped with generators that allowed essential services to continue during load shedding which minimises the impact on guests.
Matthew Cornall, general manager of the Pepper Club Hotel & Spa, said the hotel was lucky in that when it was built about four to five years ago, it included an installed diesel generator.
He said staff at the hotel were often asked by people overseas, when making reservation enquiries, what contingency plans were in place in the event of a power failure.
“It puts us in an advantageous position, but if you had a hotel without one (generator), it would be detrimental to your business.”
However, Cornall said that even though the hotel was equipped with a back-up generator it was often inconvenienced during load shedding as Eskom did not always adhere to its load shedding schedules.
“Our first-hand experience is that even with a generator we found that the schedule was not adhered to, and for foreigners that is a perception issue, which is not a good image for our country. If Eskom is going to have a schedule then they must stick to it.”
Marcel von Aulock, chief executive of Tsogo Sun, said: “We did a major investment in generators during the 2008 power crisis. Accordingly we have very little impact from load shedding, other than it is much more expensive to run on diesel than on the main grid power. Our season was not bad and in line with our expectations.”
Renaldo Pretorius, marketing manager of Park Inn by Radisson, Cape Town Newlands, said although the hotel was a newly built hotel which opened last month, they had not been affected by load shedding that much as it was equipped with back-up generators.
“We have light sensors in the hotel that help with the energy consumption. The hotel has a Responsible Business Initiative for energy consumption and water consumption. The hotel had its grand opening on December 4 and the occupancy has been wonderful, we received a lot of support with regards to the sports teams and supporters in the Newlands area.”
The new hotel employs 30 deaf and hearing-impaired staff. Deaf colleagues at Park Inn by Radisson Cape Town have different tasks in all departments, from transport to maintenance, housekeeping, security and reservation.
Contrary to many hotels in the industry where hearing-impaired colleagues are commonly employed in the back of the hotel, the hotel offers a great opportunity to break any handicap barriers.
Elsabe van der Walt, creditor clerk, confirms: “It’s very difficult to find a job when you are deaf. I feel I’ve been given a chance here.”
Cape Argus