Guest experience shines in the Sunshine Coast Tourism Excellence Awards

At GuestRevu, we are passionate about tourism, and each year we embrace the opportunity to contribute to the success of tourism right on the doorstep of our South African branch.

The Sunshine Coast, in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa, is one of the best holiday spots in the country if you are up for sun, sea, sand and surf, and that’s where our South African branch is lucky enough to be situated.

The various hotels, bed and breakfasts, guesthouses and other accommodation providers in the area are recognised annually in the Sunshine Coast Tourism Excellence Awards. All the awards are granted solely on the opinions of guests, so the awards really are a reflection of the quality of the guest experience provided.

Each year, GuestRevu is one of the sponsors of the awards, allowing pro bono use of our software over the high season to help evaluate entrants’ performance on several measures of guest satisfaction.

The awards ceremony took place on Friday 19 February at MyPond Hotel. MyPond is run by Stenden University South Africa (which specialises in hospitality management), another sponsor of the awards.

Chris Alexandre, founder and CEO of GuestRevu, lauded the participating establishments for their excellent results, saying, “as a group of tourism product providers, you should really be proud of the results that have come through […] these standards are exceptionally high, even by international standards. I am already looking forward to next year’s awards, and I fully anticipate similarly excellent results”.

As evidence of the quality of the reviews that were received, Dr. Wouter Hensens, dean of Stenden South Africa, pointed out that the average satisfaction score for the properties was 9 out of 10, and even the lowest score was a respectable 6.9 out of 10. Dr. Hensens, too, said, “We did a great job as accommodation providers in the Ndlambe area”.

What does it take to get such remarkable results? “Pay attention to the details, every single detail counts”, says Wessel Benson, general manager of the Mantis Collection’s Royal St Andrews Hotel, Conference Centre & Spa (which claimed first prize in the “hotel” category). He also says that having a great team and old-fashioned hard work helped to keep his guests so satisfied.

Chris Roberts, general manager of Oceana Beach & Wildlife Reserve, the winning establishment in the “game lodge” category, also attributes the property’s success to having a good team, and to the Mantis collection’s focus on the experiential. “We try to tailor every aspect of what we do”, says Roberts, in order to ensure that “people have unique experiences”.

At GuestRevu, we believe that the guest experience is the core of the hospitality industry, and the results of the Sunshine Coast Tourism Excellence Awards go to show that accommodation providers in our South African neighbourhood are giving guests fantastic experiences.