spassvogel

Sometimes I get the impression lodges/camps have lost gravity and don't acknowledge any economic environment their clients/guest live in.

The increase of the ZAR against the $ and € by almost 35% compared to early 2009 doesn't make them reluctant to even exclude the laundry.
E.g. Lion Sands River lodge and Sabi Sabi Bush lodge I just found out. I am sure this will become "fashion" and more lodges will exclude laundry.

What you think? Do you consider this stinginess?

I personally think the greed is just going through the roof and lodge owners can't curb showing it.

Are you feeling to return to SA for the X time or do you search for other destinations?

Femi

I would really like to return to southern Africa, but the exchange rate is making me rethink this. Glad I was able to take advantage of the earlier, more favourable rates. Trying to understand if the $1:ZAR 6-7 range is more realistic or 'normal' than $1:10, which is what it was when I began to increase my travel to SA last year.

I'm now looking for regions with a more favorable exchange rate (or 'bang for the buck') but have not come up with any yet.

HariS

SV,

Sounds like these places in SA are moving more and more in the direction of that hotelish sort of experience.

Lynneb

At the rates they charge they should include laundry. As Femi says the exchange rates are making S Africa less of a good deal now.

cary999

Here's a 5 year chart of Rand vs $$$ -
http://tinyurl.com/23ye45p
7:1 is the average I'd say, as it is today. Within the last 5 years varies from 6:1 to 11:1.

If SA not so good deal now, what/where is better? I need to know because I'm trying to plan a safari for 2011.

regards - tom

spassvogel

THX a lot for your replies!


tom
Generally speaking: The exchange rate has experiences ups and downs from 6/7 ZAR to the $ up to 10/11ish ZAR/$.

Besides the exchange rate fluctuation it's the rate increase which within 5 years has roughly doubled!

And despite that all now charging for laundry is just appalling!

To me the whole safari business seems to be kind of "cashing in as long as it lasts".

YES HariS - at some stage in the early 2000s lodges started adding spas, plunge pools and that sort of thing in order to enhance their services leading to a more boutique hotelish feel.

Lynneb
So think I.

Zimbabwe is a real deal still.

Zambia is going the same route as BOT but might get a set back as soon ZIM is fully back on the safari circuit.

I really don't know where to safari in the near future......

Or just keep out of peak season and visit in green season - as we were hoping for 2011 but have to postpone due to some trips to Australia in family affairs which require our presence.

sandi

It's talking from both sides...
"don't pack alot of clothing, as comp laundry is available"
vs
"pack your entire wardrobe or pay thru the nose for laundry to be done"

Or is this what we get for being "eco-friendly?" Sign of the times!

As with most things, unless people complain loudly... they'll keep on doing what they do... upping the ante on your already $1000/person nt room rate! Ugh!

cary999

Isn't that what you would do if you owned a safari camp? Wouldn't you raise the rate until customers started backing away, until you started to lose a lot of business? I would.

regards - tom

mytmoss

As far as I know, laundry has never been included at River Lodge, only Ivory so there is no change there.

Mike

LAleslie

Having your laundry done is a big attraction, and almost a necessity since you have to keep your duffle bag light on the puddle jumpers. It would make a difference in which camps I chose, possibly. Plus I assume this eliminates jobs in already desparate areas. I would frown on that if it's increasing the profits at the expense of the local population. Plus it's just dumb politically.

I want to be comfortable, but I want a safari experience. If I want to go to a hotel there's lots of competition in other parts of the world. They should be offering a unique experience that cannot be duplicated elsewhere.

cary999

About half the camps I've been to include laundry and half do not. What's the big deal? You can't afford another $40 with your $6,000 safari???

regards - tom

Femi

Tom that 5 year chart was helpful and confirmed my suspicion. Seems like the good times are over as far as the value of the USD in SA, and now reality bites.

I generally do not choose trips on the basis of whether or not laundry is included, but if it is (even for a nominal fee) it does make things easier. If I felt gouged I probably would be less willing to return to the same facility. Chances are the laundry wouldn't be the only opportunity taken to squeeze more profit out of the customer in places that gouge.

As for value, I'm planning to give Sri Lanka a try. However now that the war is over and there has been a surge in tourism, I expect prices to rise accordingly. I also think the wildlife viewing there will have to be taken on its own merit and not compared to an African safari.

christabir

The exchange rate is closer to where it "normally" is. As an emerging market, S Africa's economy is growing at a faster rate than ours. This is a good thing for SA! I'm not dissuaded by the currency, but it is adding some cost to our planned trip. No worries...

I do my own laundry in the sink or tub on safari. I've only stayed in a few places that do laundry for "free" and they don't do "smalls" most of the time anyway. The clothes dry pretty quickly - I bring Tide packets and a piece of clothes line and hang it in the shower and use the hangars. If you can hang them in the sun outside it's better, but we've had monkeys and/or baboons steal our clothes. Since I don't use the service, I add the money saved to our over-tipping fund.

I have never felt "gouged" in SA. We are just paying what the public will bear. But I won't be going to any high end lodges again any time soon now that I know I don't have to.

cary999

Well, ZAR:USD is 7:1 now and it has been very close to that for over half of those 5 years. I can accept it being 7:1. The blip to 11:1 was quirky and short lived. But I did get in a safari at 8.5:1 .

Value is obviously very much a personal thing. Sri Lanka, you may see leopard and elephant there but no lion. How much is it worth to you to see lion? Another $300 per day??? And then you still won't see tigers!!! Only thing I'm fairly sure of is that life flies by. (and taxes) Like someone once told me here - "your clock is ticking"

regards - tom

Lynneb

I have to convert from GBP so it's got worse for us.

It's not so much about being able to afford the laundry it's about the total approach to pricing.

I'd still travel to somewhere if they charged but I'd feel a little as though I was being ripped off in some way. Same way as I do if I stay in a 5* for business and they charge for drinking water.

The small things that are included in the price just give me a better feel somehow and enhance the service.

As these lodges are charging more because they've tarted up the soft furnishings and included a spa, I think they should continue to include the little extras that go with that.

Charging for small items smacks of low cost carriers.

spassvogel

tom
"About half the camps I've been to include laundry and half do not. What's the big deal? You can't afford another $40 with your $6,000 safari???"

< Sorry - obviously I coudln't get the point across. It's not about being able to afford or not. It's about gouging!

"Isn't that what you would do if you owned a safari camp? Wouldn't you raise the rate until customers started backing away, until you started to lose a lot of business? I would."

< Carefully evaluating what's acceptable is the clue here. Marketing wise gouging is a NO GO as it's hard to get people back if they once start turning their back towards a destination. It's a huge marketing effort to re-establish a brand once it's damaged.
But why I am telling you that ;-)

HariS

"Charging for small items smacks of low cost carriers."

Good analogy!!!

Femi

"How much is it worth to you to see lion?"

I'd happily pay a lot more (and am) for the chance to sit amidst a herd of elephants and simply watch them. Hence the appeal of Sri Lanka.

Back2Sabi

We paid for laundry at Sabi Sabi in 2008 so I don't think this is a "new" policy there. Tom's right. The cost of the laundry is surely less than 0.1% of your total safari budget. Is it more expensive than you might be able to find someone to do it at a b&b on another stop on your trip? yes. Is it that much more than you'd expect to pay at home to have someone do it? Not so much.

Why shouldn't I pay for services rendered? If I got a massage, I'd expect to pay for it or ordered a premium bottle of wine, I wouldn't expect to just get it for free. I'm not sure how $40 (and I don't even think we paid that much) for a week's worth of laundry is exactly "gouging." It's not like there wasn't something of value given in return.

cary999

"...sit amidst a herd of elephants and simply watch them...."
You've never done this in South Africa, even Kruger??? The "breeding herd", maybe 50 eles, is feeding and moving and so they are all around you and slowly meandering along. In a private camp you can stay with the herd, in Kruger you have to let them move to/away you on the road. And in Kruger you can see this for $150 per person day!!!

Also, FWIW the eles in Sri Lanka (when I was in grade school its name was Ceylon) are Asian elephants. Asian elephants are smaller than African eles being only about the size of an average dairy cow. At least that's what I remember from elementary school.

regards - tom