Rethink: If South Africa is going to be leaders in African tourism, offering an experience like no other, then the
industry will need to align with incoming international standards. Photo: Supplied
It is no secret that tourism underpins a significant portion of Cape Town’ economy. This demand continues to drive the hospitality sector, evident in the steady pipeline of hotel developments across the city, alongside the much-debated explosion of Airbnb short-term rentals.
The rapid growth of Airbnb within the tourism sector demonstrates the agility of the short-stay market in outpacing the formal hotel sector in responding to market demand.
Some of the more notable and iconic hospitality developments are the upcoming 500-room Marriott Hotel Harbour Arch in the Foreshore precinct.
The skyline is further evolving with One on Bree, which is under construction and set to become Cape Town’s second-tallest skyscraper with 505 hotel rooms. In Green Point, the R2 billion The Granger development, adjacent to the DHL Stadium, will include a 190-room hotel.
The luxurious R1.5bn Marriott Edition Hotel, Quay 7, is under construction at the V&A Waterfront and is set to be yet another landmark on the Cape Town hospitality scene.
With so many exciting new builds and an influx of new keys hitting the market, my mind can’t help but ask: How is South Africa’s hospitality development sector keeping up with these international design standards? Is our building industry ready to respond to the rise of high-end development work in both the hospitality and residential sectors?
It’s one thing to be a desirable city for tourists and charge premium hotel room prices but the execution of the hospitality experience must match. With all the luxury international hotel brands flooding in and the influx of international visitors, the expectation for a world-class hospitality experience will increase, too.
When contemplating the above, I decided to contact Johanna van der Merwe from TSL Group which consists of three interlinked design-driven businesses.
Its projects division, TSL Projects, has been appointed as the turn-key interior fit-out partner for the much-anticipated Marriott Edition Hotel in the Waterfront. This means it takes the design intent from the hotel group’s international designer and implements the concept here, using locally sourced products, which I love for our economy’s sake.
Van der Merwe identifies a clear skills gap that needs to be addressed. She notes that South Africa’s labour force, while understandably developing in certain areas, does not yet reflect the skill and experience typically found within construction environments in the US and Europe.
Locally, the building industry largely follows a traditional construction model, where the primary focus remains on the construction phase, with interior fit-out either absorbed into the process or treated as an afterthought in the final stages.
Van der Merwe believes that the traditional model should be split into two phases: one focused on the construction phase undertaken by the construction company and the other on fit-out. This is the model TSL is using for its Marriott Edition project at the Waterfront.
Key project stakeholders, including quantity surveyors, project managers and construction contractors, are predominantly construction-focused and often lack the specialised fit-out expertise and design-led perspective required to deliver high-end luxury projects successfully.
With incoming luxury clearly on the rise in South Africa, so too will the demand for flawlessly executed interiors, says Van der Merwe. And with 40 hotels in the pipeline for Cape Town, one can imagine that, as the hotel fit-out work rolls in, so will the demand for skills to get the job done to international standards.
Van der Merwe also highlighted the challenge for the traditional quantity surveyors to interpret the high-end interior designs into accurate provisional sums. Gone are the days of the entry-level 600×600 floor tile; the designs are often complex and require custom or handmade products. Enter companies like the TSL Group, which specialise in the detailed processes behind product procurement.
“If someone is tasked to provide provisional sums for a design concept they don’t understand, there will undoubtedly be room for error”, says Van der Merwe. This often leads to projects coming in over budget, not to mention the obvious procurement delays when products are unavailable for installation when needed. Lastly, you can have the perfect design, the perfect product and even a perfect installation but if your installation sequencing is off, the entire fit-out is unfortunately compromised and put at risk.
All the challenges affect how the industry is positioned to tackle incoming luxury hospitality projects. Sometimes, when things are always done a certain way, nobody questions it.
The general vibe I get from Van der Merwe is that the South African design-and-build industry is ripe for a pivot. Asking the difficult questions and challenging the status quo for how things have always been done is healthy — it encourages innovation and improvement.
At the end of the day, the real question is what is in the best interest of the paying client. On average, the projects allocate between 10% to 15% of the overall project budget to interior fit-out, which is a small portion of what guests and clients get to touch, feel and experience.
Albeit pricey, the guest won’t be seeing (or appreciating) the structural steel, brick and raw concrete that go into the builds. Working on a budget means ensuring the budget is fit for purpose. Once that’s done, working smart with the allocated budget is key to ensuring that design standards are met and that the developer or hotel operator achieves their vision.
If we are going to be leaders in African tourism, offering an experience like no other, then the industry will need to align with incoming international standards. The world is starting to appreciate well-considered, boutique-style offerings over the traditional, generic, copy-and-paste models of the past.
Perhaps there is a much-needed gap for skilled implementation partners to bring their design and fit-out expertise to the table to elevate not just the construction experience but also the client experience.
Airports Company of South Africa recently announced that for 2025, Cape Town International handled a record-breaking 11.1 million two-way passengers. In an emerging market like South Africa, our diversified economy is packed with hospitality opportunities.
Luxury hospitality is about detail, experience and flawless delivery. With tourism demand set to surge further, South Africa needs to lead rather than follow.
The industry must be willing to rethink old models, embrace specialised expertise and place the guest experience where it belongs — at the centre of the build.
