ExpaT-TowerS
consignment at a bar just to make extra money. I will eventually give the guest house either a Swahili or Kinyarwanda name. I would like people to feel like they have walked into a guest house in East Africa when they come here and besides, many of my target clientele are travellers from East Africa.” Laura also expects many in her East African network to have parties at the venue given the sizeable backyard complete with a delightful braai area. Fortunately for us, our tour included a sit down lunch which was prepared by the guest house chef who doubles up as the manager.
Laura believes that age is nothing but a number but admits that some aspects of running the guest house are challenging such as getting to grips with inventory and having employees. But working in hospitality is nothing new for her having completed a degree in Bsc Tourism. “Before joining the airline industry, I worked at a Midrand based travel agency for a couple of years. It was here that I conceived the idea of owning a guest house, as we were always struggling to find rooms for our travellers. There is definitely a
“I was raised in business oriented Uganda. There, even a receptionist would have beer on consignment at a bar just to make extra money!” Here the homely feeling takes a back seat and the manager , who previously worked at a Portuguese eatery, serves up a restaurant quality meal. In addition to the manager, Laura employs a house keeper and a resident driver. We finally cool off with drinks at the sports bar. It is an excellent setting with nice wooden furniture lined with burgundy coloured suede and the biggest screen of the house complete with all DSTV channels. “When I saw this bar, I instantly decided I was taking the guest house. The sellers looked at me as if they thought I was an alcoholic,” she quips.
big need in this industry. I also love entertaining and so as soon as I had secured an investor, I started looking around this area for a guest house. Out of the fifteen guest houses I phoned, only three were interested in selling and of those Beau Desert was by far the best option particularly because many travellers want proximity to shopping centres and restaurants. As the area is quite safe, guests can just walk across the road to the mall.” The place was so welcoming that we didn’t want to leave. And at only R500 per person per night, the prospect of staying the night was quite tempting. - : KC Rottok
28
EXPATRIATE