New association for small hotels aims for representation and support |09 October 2023
The association’s meeting at the weekend was to mobilise as many members as possible in order to have a stronger voice
The newly formed Seychelles Small Hotels & Establishments Association (SSHEA) held a meeting over the weekend to mobilise as many members as possible in order to have a stronger voice.
The founding committee is made up of Vesna Rakic, Peter Sinon, Mike Ernesta, Daphne Bonne, Delta Horner, Anne Marie Pillay and Celestine Palmer. The latter two were not present for the meeting.
Speaking at their meeting at the Seychelles Institute for Teacher Education (SITE) auditorium on Saturday morning, Mr Sinon explained that in terms of representation, he equates it to the representation in the United Nations where Seychelles has its own spot. Similarly, small hotels and establishments should also have an association to represent them.
“We saw that our representation left a lot to be desired. Seychelles’ secret is the best kept secret. I do not see it moving, we do not see us being represented in things that are important,” stated Mr Sinon.
In her opening declarations, Ms Rakic, whose grandmother Adeline Palmyre opened one of the first guesthouses in Beau Vallon in 1976 – two rooms in her home ‘Villa Madonna’, and whose aunt, Sheila Smith was a member of the association in the 80s and part of the group that created ‘Unique by a thousand miles’ – stated that she acknowledges all the effort of those who came before the new association.
“There has been a significant increase in the participation of the small establishments. Yet, this weight and presence is not in our view being given the space or attention deserved.”
She said that statistically, 734 out of a total of 776 establishments have 24 rooms, accounting for almost 95 percent of the accommodation sector.
Furthermore, she conveyed that the primary objective of SSHEA is to better represent the views of the owners of the small establishments.
“Adopting a simple, practical approach, we created digital tools to collect your views and to communicate with you.”
She cited that one of the best examples of the representation of views is having a voice in the consultation and communication of National Policies.
One such example is the Tourism Environmental Sustainability Levy which she proclaimed to be a “wake up call of a lack of representation of the small establishments in consultation policy. A situation which went beyond lack of representation in my view to putting our segment in danger”.
Ms Rakic went on to talk about standards, echoing Mr Sinon’s previous remarks that a checklist for small establishments was similar to that of 5-star resorts.
“There is no issue in trying to promote the highest standards but let us look at those in the context of this segment in the face of high operating costs and in many cases low occupancy. How best to manoeuvre?”
Consequently, she noted that building a community where they learn and encourage each other can help resolve the many areas that SSHEA hopes to unpack. In addition, sharing information, pooling skills for fundraising to establish a secretariat, networking and seeking solutions.
In terms of collaborations with other stakeholders, including Seychelles Hospitality and Tourism Association, she stated that where interests align, it would be best to work together. However, where interests do not align: “We will protect and promote our interests, the interests of the small establishments.”
In conclusion she stated that SSHEA serves local communities since guests spend a large portion of their budget at community level, be it in restaurants, takeaways, at the market, on tours and visiting islands.
“The nature of our business segment ensures that earnings of the country reach the man on the street.”
A partial result of an ongoing survey was also released to the owners of the small hotels and establishments prior to the meeting and they were able to view and discuss the outcomes. There were 59 respondents in total; the majority being women representing 77.2 percent, and 21.1 percent men.
40 percent out of the 56 who answered how old they were, were between 55-64 years old, while 35-44 years was the close second and 19-24 was the least.
With regard to the number of rooms of their establishments, the majority had 1-4 rooms – 57.6 percent in total.
“This, I can say, reflects the tourism list, because when I looked at the path of the smaller ones, the majority of our segment is actually in that number of groups,” said Ms Rakic.
The survey also indicated that the majority of establishments were located in the northern and southern parts of Mahé.
Other questions related to the availability of a website for the establishment, which was 64.4 percent and the use of other platforms for marketing.
Another paramount question related to their constant struggles. Among the options of ‘crime’, ‘high cost loans’, ‘noise pollution’, ‘recruitment’, ‘staff productivity’, ‘high cost of operations’, ‘maintenance’, ‘problems with neighbours/landlords’ and ‘increasingly demanding clients’, they were all more or less equal to each other with high cost of operations slightly etching out the other options by a few percentages.
The survey is still active and will be for the remainder of the year.
Part of the meeting included a segment for questions and answers which included mostly suggestions as to how to improve the service. There was some discussion on booking platforms including commission on VAT component by booking.com. Some members also expressed using other travel platforms.
Sunny Esparon
Photos by Louis Toussaint
