Neill Hobbs, a senior business rescue practitioner of Hobbs Sinclair, the business rescue practitioner for Shelley Point Hotel, stresses that one of the most fundamental aspects of a successful rescue operation is timing - applying for business rescue before it's too late.
Fortunately for the West Coast hotel, rehabilitation has proved to be successful, largely as a result of the fact that the owners at the time, Dale Capital Partners, applied in enough time to introduce an intervention programme and were prepared to inject capital to fund the rescue.
The success of the process can be also attributed to the involvement of Cape Town-based hospitality company, Bon Hotels, which has restored the faith of many in this property. Bon Hotels was involved in the eight-month business rescue operations and has successfully turned the ailing hotel around - Shelley Point has seen a steady improvement since its intervention and is beginning to break even with REVPAR (revenue per available room) also up 10% for the last six months.
Not only has the process kept the hotel going, but it has also spared many jobs and kept creditors at ease. After the successful transition, an offer of approximately R62 million was received from Brittania Bay Developers and the hotel was signed out of business rescue at the end of July 2014.
Bon Hotels has affirmed its confidence in the hotel by signing a lease agreement and has purchased the hotel business from Brittania Bay Developers. Guy Stehlik, CEO of Bon Hotels, said that they see huge potential in the property and that their hotel rescue strategy has afforded them the time to evaluate and realise the likelihood of continued success.
Bon Hotels' sales and marketing team believes that the hotel will succeed if it focuses its marketing efforts on the corporate and conference sector during the week, and the family leisure market over the weekends and holiday periods. It is currently upgrading amenities in order to make sure that these markets are 100% catered for.
The conference service providers on the West Coast should soon be enjoying new-found activity thanks to the Industrial Development Zone of Saldhana Bay. Immediate upgrades will include Wi-Fi throughout, refurbishment of the bar area, improvements to the property management systems, the introduction of a shuttle service to the beach, and investigations are underway to create an authentic West Coast beach-style restaurant close to the resort.
The 88-room hotel will be renamed Bon Hotel Shelley Point and Stehlik's clear objectives are to market the hotel as a resort. "Shelley Point has a lot to offer across a broad market," said Stehlik, "with a nine-hole golf course, spa and wellness centre, three beautiful beaches on the estate, as well as bowling greens and tennis courts - 90 minutes' drive from Cape Town, we are excited to take up the challenge. Shelley Point is a perfect fit for the Bon Hotels portfolio".
