After studying industry input to its Draft Guest Accommodation Policy for almost a year, the City of Cape Town adopted the final Guest Accommodation Policy on 7 April.   The announcement came via the Cape Times, and the industry bodies have not reacted to its contentious content.  Not much of the industry feedback and input appears to have been accepted by the City.

 

The need for a unified guest accommodation policy came about because the City of Cape Town consisted of six municipalities previously, each with their own rezoning requirements for accommodation establishments.   The unified City wants to implement one unified accommodation policy, to apply to all new applications for temporary departures and rezoning.

 

The City decided to ignore an industry request that a Bed & Breakfast, defined as an establishment in which the owners live and is predominantly a residential building housing the family, be allowed to have more than three letable bedrooms.   The new Policy stipulates “no more than 3 rooms and no more than 6 paying lodgers/guests per land unit”.   No self-catering facilities are allowed in a B&B at all, a very contentious rule.   B&B’s do not have to apply for temporary departures or rezoning.

 

Guest houses are defined as having a “maximum size of 30 persons or 15 rooms permitted”.   This is an above average large size for a guest house, but this request came from the industry.   What is completely contradictory is that both guest houses and B & B’s are not allowed to employ more than 3 staff members “at any given time”!   It would be impossible for 3 staff members, of whom one would be a manager, to be able to service 15 rooms every day.  It also means that no shifts could be set up, as it would increase the staff requirement.  The hospitality industry is supporting the initiative to curb unemployment, and to have a staff restriction placed upon it is not understandable.  

 

For backpackers, self-catering apartments and hotels no restrictions are set for the number of staff.   All establishment types, even hotels, have to provide on-site parking, one bay or more for every guest room, which many do not offer.

 

All establishments, irrespective of their definition, may not sell alcohol without a licence, and may only sell it at the times of the day specified in the City’s new Draft Liquor by-law, which is yet to be redrafted after the criticism it received from the hospitality industry.

 

More details of the new Guest Accommodation Policy can be found on http://www.capetown.gov.za/en/planningandbuilding/Publications/Documents/Guest_Accommodation_Policy.pdf