The Orchards Executive Accommodation wins Guesthouse of the Year 2012

The Orchards Executive Accommodation owned by Salome Tshungu won the Guesthouse of the Year award in the fifth annual awards dinner of the Southern Sun Book-A-Guesthouse programme on 11 February 2012. In recognition for her superior product, service and attitude, among other prizes Tshungu received included the Crystal Trophy, an all-expenses paid holiday to Southern Sun the Cullinan in Cape Town and a hamper from Nestle.

“Sustainable tourism growth and enterprise development remains the focus of Southern Sun Book-a-Guesthouse, and the ongoing expansion of the programme, first launched in 2005, has attracted widespread industry acknowledgement and approval from quarters as high as the Minister of Tourism,” said Graham Wood, managing director, Southern Sun Hotels at the awards dinner.

In addition to recognising a superior and innovative product, the award acknowledges the guesthouse owner’s consistent compliance with the programme’s criteria, proven product innovation, enhancement and improvement, innovative marketing strategy, participation in training programmes, positive attitude, team work and leadership qualities.

Situated in Glen Austin in Midrand, The Orchards’ thirteen en suite bedrooms are dedicated to chiefs of different tribes in an effort to combine traditional African culture with modern comforts and amenities. The guesthouse also offers a conference facility and wellness centre for spa treatments and pampering.

Certificates awarded during the evening included those for new members enrolled in the programme in 2011, recognition certificates for members who completed their first year in the programme and those for graduates of the University of Cape Town accredited online guesthouse management course.

The awards dinner represented the culmination of the 2012 annual conference, when Southern Sun brought the Book-A-Guesthouse enterprise development programme’s 62 members and staff from all corners of South Africa to Sandton to attend it at the Sandton Convention Centre this past weekend.

The conference delegates, owners of the programme’s independently owned and operated member guesthouses learned how to create great memories for their guests in the year ahead through this year’s conference experience, the theme of which was “Creating great memories”.

The conference commenced with feedback from the GIBS Management Simulation programme which involved the programme’s Soweto-based guesthouses, and was led by GIBS lecturer, Brett Will.

Wilma Swart, Linda Reddy and Andrew Lee who were part of the Southern Sun group of managers who stayed at these Orlando West B&Bs spoke to the delegation about their experiences with the guesthouse owners during the development programme. The intention is to roll-out the business simulation into other regions in the coming year.

On 10 February, the members dining at Nambitha Restaurant on Vilakazi Street in Soweto, with Southern Sun, Joburg Tourism Company and other programme partners. John van Rooyen, Southern Sun operations director led the members through an enlightening “Magic Memories” guest satisfaction session on Saturday, when there was also a motivational talk about reinventing your personal brand by best-selling author, Timothy Maurice Webster.

The conference was widely supported by its partners and suppliers to Southern Sun such as Stone, Nestle, Bidvest, Joburg Tourism Company and etv, as well as regional tourism authorities. The programme draws on the support of tourism and corporate partners who all contribute towards the success of the member guesthouses. Over the past seven years the programme has grown to include more than 60 guesthouse and bed and breakfast establishments in four provinces in South Africa – Gauteng, Limpopo, KwaZulu-Natal and the Western Cape.

In the images above are Southern Sun Book-A-Guesthouse members creating great memories at the 5th annual conference in Sandton, as well as Salome Tshungu, owner of the Orchards, Guesthouse of the Year (left), with Graham Wood, MD of Southern Sun Hotels (centre) and Rebone Sesoko, Book-A-Guesthouse project manager (right).