City Lodge Hotel Newtown in the central business district of Johannesburg. Picture: SUPPLIED
In SA, occupancies slumped to 58% from 61% because of low business and consumer confidence, high unemployment and uncertainty about Eskom’s sustainability as well as land expropriation, the group said. The economy shrank in the first quarter of 2019. “Our entire operational team is highly motivated to deliver on our brand promise and growing market share in a depressed environment, ideally positioning the group to benefit from better trading conditions as they arise,” Widegger said.
Tshwane University of Technology's Unathi Henama said City Lodge’s lower taxed profit was no surprise, given tough economic conditions. “In as much as Airbnb is competition to the hotels, it has also cultivated a new market of people who, in the past possibly could not even afford a hotel. The tough economic conditions are primarily to blame for the decline in profit.”