GOSTELOW REPORT—“Last Thursday, July 18th, was Mandela Day, and I joined 60 of my 400-strong team packing Stop Hunger Now food parcels,” says Joanne Selby, general manager of The Table Bay Hotel, Cape Town, South Africa.
The 329-key property, which is managed by Sun International, was actually opened by Nelson Mandela in 1997. For each of the past four years, 10 Sun International properties have, between them, packed 418,000 meals, enough to feed over 59,000 pre-school children three times a week throughout the school year.
Complying with UNICEF standards, the meals contain rice, soya, dehydrated vegetable mix and a fortification pack of 23 essential minerals and vitamins formulated to combat malnutrition.
Helping others and coping with shortages is nothing new for this South African would-be accountant, who was diverted by the lure of more exciting hospitality.
“I was in Zambia from 2003 until 2014, and during that time we had amazing adventures. My first Christmas, summertime in southern Africa, there was no lettuce — you can imagine it’s tough to make a salad without greens! Year-round I trucked in almost everything you can imagine, from wine to cigars, guest amenities and whole Parmesan cheeses. Whatever guests requested was added to a shipping manifest,” she recalled.
Over time she resolved some of the fresh-produce issues by developing a farmers’ market: “This supported 70 farmers and their families. Hydroponics and vermiculture ensured their businesses were sustainable and productive.”
In 2015 she moved to Cape Town, a lush agricultural area. One of her first initiatives was to set up a foraging program that allowed guests to join chefs to gather produce. In the latter half of 2017, however, the entire city had a severe water shortage, which received worldwide attention. With dam levels down to maximum 30% of capacity, The Table Bay was, like all hotels in Cape Town, told to cut water usage by 20% or be penalized.
“We did it. We installed two gray-water systems. We placed hand sanitizers in all public areas and bedrooms. Towel bathrobes were replaced by cotton robes, and restaurant linens by washable placemats and disposable napkins. We involved guests and staff throughout so that they too were part of the contribution to water conservation,” she recalled.
About 10% of future guests, mostly domestic, canceled during the seven months of severe shortage: Longer-haul business already had entire trips planned. The predominantly leisure hotel’s prime market is the USA, followed by the UK and Germany, with roughly 17% from South Africa. Average stay for all guests is 3.5 nights.
Occupancy is now buoyant, forward bookings are looking good and sustainability has become an asset. Arrivals get a welcome card that includes details urging water conservation (“a toilet uses 12-15 liters per flush, a tap uses 20-30 liters a minute, a five-minute shower uses 75-90 liters, and a tub uses 150-200 liters”). There are several other initiatives. Fresh orchids, for instance, have been replaced with protea, a South African flower that is particularly drought-tolerant.
The hotel’s linen-look bamboo napkins in its restaurants, and at its lobby lounge afternoon tea, are a particular success story. “We presented our procurement team with this challenge — they even found bamboo sheeting if it ever got to that! Single-use bamboo napkins are actually a little more expensive than linen but we save on water and energy,” she explained.
New ideas are continually emerging. A life-sized statue of a seal, Oscar, is the hotel’s mascot.
“We were looking for socks with seals as VIP gifts, and via social media we came across Sexy Socks, which for every pair purchased donates a pair to a schoolkid.
Supporting a local business and also contributing to our community is wonderful for us, and for guests, who remember us because their socks bear, discreetly, the hotel’s name and the Oscar-the-seal logo.”
Omnipresent immersion in the community is definitely a factor in encouraging a workforce that has accumulated 410 years’ long-service awards, says the boss, who is called ma’am or Mrs. Shelby (sic) by her team.
