Marcel von Aulock, who will lead the new Tsogo Hotels - the largest hotel group in the country and set to list on the JSE next month - sees Airbnb as positive for tourism in SA, but regards international hotel brands as a threat to some local hotel operators. "Would we be sitting at 66% occupancy rather than 62% if Airbnb wasn't here?" he asked, explaining that Tsogo Hotels does not operate in the same market as someone who wants to rent a place in Sea Point for six people during the summer holiday season. "The international brands are much more of a threat. In their desperation to get distribution they will offer incentives and make unviable hotels viable in the short term." He said some hotel operators offer guarantees to owners (property companies that often want a hotel as part of a bigger mixed-use development) that after a few years cannot be met, but they undermine the market. Tsogo Sun Holdings will next month split into two businesses, one focusing on gaming, Tsogo Casinos,...
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