Back to business

▶ Despite Covid restrictions being lifted, many people are still wary of going on holiday.

▶ On a trip to the Wild Coast Sun recently, I sat down with Peter Tshidi, the resort’s general manager, to discuss what had changed. He joined the resort in November 2019, just before the pandemic.

▶ Although the past 2½ years have been tough for all tourist attractions, Tshidi says it’s business as usual now.

▶ “At first [the lifting of restrictions] was strange. You forgot what people look like. You haven’t seen a full smile for a very long time.

▶ “But it has allowed us go back to full capacity, which means more rooms, bigger weddings and, of course, more revenue,” he said.

▶ “More importantly ... the face-to-face engagement has gone back to normal.”

▶ It seems as though people have really missed not being able to travel and Tshidi said business was better than prepandemic.

▶ The reason for this, he explained, is simple.

“The hotel industry is always a very busy one and we never had time to take a breather. These past years allowed us to stop and take a breather and assess the situation properly.”

▶ One of the biggest drawbacks of the pandemic was the inability to keep a full complement of staff.

▶ “Most companies go with the attitude when these things happen, ‘we have too many heads’.

▶ “We realised things had to change and we said to our staff they must take a handful of the bread, instead of all of the bread. And as business returned they could get more bread.”

▶ Things seem to be thriving post-pandemic, and it is clear that despite being a business, the well-being of the guests at the Wild Coast Sun is just as important as making a profit.