As part of its 59 roundtable schedule for 2023, PKF hospitality held the 196+ roundtable south africa+ at The Winchester Boutique Hotel in Sea Point recently. For Nils Heckscher, Managing Director of PKF hospitality South Africa, it was a homecoming. As former MD of Winchester Mansions and chair of FEDHASA Cape, he hosted the event together with the hospitality and tourism consultant firm’s global CEO Christian Walter. Joining PKF Hospitality to represent the local industry was FEDHASA’s Cape current Chair Lee-Anne Singer along with board members Lesego Majatladi and Ian Lumsden.
A large part of the afternoon was spent discussing the skills shortage across the tourism industry “We have to identify what it will it take – in a post-COVID world – to attract new talent, retain our current teams and ensure a steady flow of trained, skilled team members. We need to engage with educational and associate bodies to ensure that the curriculum mirrors the workplace, builds a diverse and skilled workforce, and repositions hospitality as an industry of choice.” commented Lee-Anne.
“For too long we’ve simply added a few extra people to alleviate service issues; that no longer works and we need to improve training and processes to become better at what we deliver, whilst at the same time becoming better employers.” said Nils.
PKF hospitality brought an insightful global perspective to the discussion. Christian, Global CEO, “Our 22+ offices of PKF hospitality always have a local focus and a global reach.” It is this global reach that steered discussion around brand and the array of commercial options available to hotel owners, regardless of their room count. The barometer survey that was conducted during the session shone light on the debate around brand value, distribution and standards. When asked which contract types will be favoured in future, it was noted that hotel management agreements with a white label operator, under a franchise, indicated the biggest shift. This was closely followed by owner-operated hotels under a franchise agreement.
