The University of Johannesburg (UJ) plans to build a teaching and training hotel on its Auckland Park Bunting road campus to tackle the growing need for tourism and hospitality managers.
The project will be an extension of its school of tourism and hospitality, which opened a few years ago thanks to a massive capital injection by business tycoon Sol Kerzner.
An audit in 2007 on skills in the tourism and sport industries indicated that about 8 000 tourism and hospitality managers will be needed in the next three years.
The hotel will allow students to integrate the theory and practice of conferencing, food and beverage services and accommodation management.
It envisages that new students will conduct practicals to perform basic skills, while senior students fulfil leadership roles and manage peers under the supervision of the school’s lecturers.
The hotel will also grow UJ’s capacity to host industry professionals from around the world.
To realise the hotel, the university hopes to enter into a business arrangement with a third party that would invest in, build, design, develop and operate the commercial side of the hotel.
“We are eager to receive proposals from prospective partners in this endeavour,” says Professor Henk Kriek, the designated project leader and the deputy vice chancellor for finance at the UJ.
“We encourage them to let the proposals reflect innovative ideas and concepts.”
The university envisages a facility with a 100- to 150-bedroom capacity, a plenary conference centre with associated supporting conference rooms and facilities, a health spa, a restaurant and bar, lounge, pool terrace and any other facilities and services proposed by the bidder.
Self-catering studios for international lecturing staff and students will need to be developed so that these can be managed and serviced by the hotel management company.