JULIUS BAUMANN

Aviation and Tourism Editor

A SHARP slowdown in corporate travel could see some hotels standing virtually empty in the days before the Soccer World Cup in June and July.

“While there is a perception the World Cup will make it impossible to find a room anywhere in SA, the truth is we have significant availability between June 1 and the start of the tournament. In fact, we have availability (during the Cup) that are far from the action (and) in host cities on certain off-peak days when matches are not being played,” said Danny Bryer, marketing and revenue director at Protea Hotels.

In December Match released 441695 bed nights — representing 31% of the total room nights — back into the market. Senior accommodation manager Vivienne Bervoets said last month the room nights released were on either side of the match period in host cities or in areas considered to be too far from host cities.

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Source: Business Day