The significant growth in the South African tourism industry in recent years has placed much focus on the hospitality sector in the country. The hospitably sector performs a vital role in the South African economy, as is the case globally, to provide accommodation to international and national tourists. Guest houses in particular have become one of the fastest growing components of the South African tourism industry. However, operating a guest house is not merely providing a bed, shower and breakfast facility for which a client pays and hopefully returns again in future. Rather, it involves significantly more than providing physical amenities. Not only does a potential entrepreneur require a suitable facility in a well-positioned location, but guest house owners and management must adhere to various strenuous safety, security and service measures, as well as municipal by-laws, in a tough and ever-changing business environment. The central theme and the main objective of this study was to investigate the safety, security, service and legal measures that need to be adhered for the successful management of a guest house in the Nelson Mandela Bay Metro. Together with an outline of the various steps required to start a guest house, a sub-objective was to compile a guest house manual that can be used by new and existing guest house owners and managers to improve their business. The target group was divided into two sections, namely guest house owners and managers on the one hand, and guest house clients on the other - hence two separate questionnaires were developed and used as measuring instrument for the empirical study. The results revealed that clients in the Metro are in general satisfied with the service they receive and safety they experience when staying in guest houses in the Metro. The premises are mostly neat and clean, the towels and bedding are regularly replaced and clean, while the parking bays are sufficient and safe, staff members friendly and approachable, and bookings are done promptly. Over and above the different by-laws to observe, it is the duty of owners and management to provide clients with a safe, secure environment with excellent service, and with sufficient lighting at the entrances, parking and reception areas. All staircases should be steady and iv non-slip, and swimming pools should have secured fencing around and/ or should be covered by safety nets. Staff should follow the correct procedures in emergencies, while concerted efforts should be made to adapt guest houses for the specific needs of disabled and elderly clients. To prevent the outbreak of food poisoning, and to ensure personal and kitchen hygiene, as well as the correct storing of food, are other important responsibilities of owners and management. Therefore, for a guest house to be managed successfully, the owners and management must take into consideration the required safety, security, service and legal measures.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:netd.ac.za/oai:union.ndltd.org:nmmu/vital:8986 |
| Date | January 2011 |
| Creators | Horn, Maryke Eda |
| Publisher | Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University, Faculty of Business and Economic Sciences |
| Source Sets | South African National ETD Portal |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis, Masters, MA |
| Format | x, 271 leaves, pdf |
| Rights | Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University |
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