nyama

cooncat2: "I agree that the prices are high. However... the camps are not just paying guides. They are paying cooks, laundry workers, tent cleaners, mechanics, reservations/accounting staff (some), bartenders, "butlers", and for the generators or other power that provides our nice cool drinks, petrol for the vehicles, hmmmm..."

Here is an example from Kafue National Park:

old Shumba Camp (2005): about 250 US$ (sharing/single)
new WS Shumba Camp (2006): more than 600 US$ (sharing)

Salaries of local people havn't changed, and I'm not aware of a considerable increase of concession fees.

The price difference is mainly for the luxury of accommodation (more than US$ 100,000 investment/tent) and transport (Eurocopter).

nyama

PS: the temperature of the drinks was the same in both years...

cooncat2

Mitch - don't you get special rates because of the helpful work you do on your web site? If so, then your costs don't really apply to most people. If I am wrong, I stand corrected.

The other question I have is how do you afford your favorite camps in North Luangwa - Kutandala and Mwaleshi? I know that they cost far more than $250...

My only point in my original post was that if a person spends that much at a luxury hotel as compared to a safari camp, they are not getting as much value for their dollar. And though the other staff don't make a lot of money, all of these costs do add up.

nyama

Sharon, these were official rack rates.

I remember one Fodorite has booked Lufupa now. Would be interesting to know how the WS rates are today. In 2005 it was US$ 190 sharing/single full-board incl. three activities.

How do I afford it? Good question. I guess like most people - I'm working hard.

As you know I prefer longer trips. Zambia 2006 was four weeks, and Zim 2007 will also be four weeks. Putting some less expensive places in the itinerary makes it more affordable. However, with all these price increases it's getting more difficult.

sandi

cooncat - thanks for including the additional costs other than room/board, park fees and transport (air) to/from as I summarized. All have gone up.

While for Tanzania many of the lux prices have been higher than those in Kenya, for '08 these prices show increases anywhere from 20-25% over '07. And expect the park fee increases to go into effect as May 1, 2008 (if they keep to current schedule). Some outfitters may already be quoting the higher prices, while others are holding back until they definitely know.

PredatorBiologist

The supply and demand seem to be supporting the price level so I can't blame the owners for cashing in but I believe the profit levels in some lodges/camps are astounding. This is why I think it is good to look for companies with proven results for putting money back into the community because they certainly make enough to do so.

Based on things I have been told this will be a loosey goosey look and far from exact but I think it is definitely in the ball park. The typical guide in Botswana (top paid employee besides camp managers) makes $1,000 per month, an outstanding guide with years of experience and reputation might make $1,500 per month. Thus, one tent night of double occupancy in many camps pays the monthly wages of the guide. At the low end of the payscale a camp hand who does generic low level labor makes about $100 per month. Basically 2 nights of full occupancy takes care of paying all the support staff with a 3rd night taking care of all the guides. At a camp that fills just 6 tents a night at a price of $600 per person there should be about $200,000 left after paying for the guides and staff! A concession with an expensive annual fee of $250,000 would account for a little under $21,000 in a monthly expense. Power, vehicles and gas including repairs and allocations for additional purchases could be generously priced at another $20 to $25,000. Still have to feed people, have a marketing and central staff operation and of course travel agents are taking 15 to 30% off the top. All in all the profit of such a camp with just 6 tents full at all times would be in the $50 to $100k range per month. Figure most camps have more than 6 tent occupancy on average and many operators have more than one camp and you can see that owning a series of camps can be a very profitable business.

PredatorBiologist

Of course I need to mention there is a large capital start up to purchase the set up for the camp so even with large monthly profits it could easily take many months or in some cases I suppose a year or two to recoup all the investment but that is a pretty quick turnaround for a major investment and into strong profitability. It is easy to see how a large operator can afford to buy new camps or refurbish thier old ones once they have established the cashflow.

nyama

...and it also attracts foreign investors. Two of the most renowned operators in Zambia are no longer Zambian-owned although most people still describe them as "owner-run" operations.