Pretoria - Gymnasts, coaches and delegates who took part in the 12th African Gymnastics Championships in 2014 hosted by the City of Tshwane, were treated like royalty, but the two hotels which accommodated them were left out of pocket, as the more than R2.5 million bill was never paid.
The affected hotels are Manhattan and Burgers Park. The company which owns them turned to the Gauteng High Court, Pretoria, to recover the costs it had incurred from March 24 to April 1, 2014. It is claiming the money from the South African Gymnastic Federation (SAGF), which it said was responsible for the bill.
The hotels provided bed and breakfast to more than 200 delegates at the two establishments, as well as “a host of other services”, including dinners and a VIP cocktail function.
About 240 guests were issued prepaid Gautrain tickets from OR Tambo Airport and back, as well as daily transport from the hotels to the Rembrandt Hall Sports Centre at the University of Pretoria.
The plaintiff said in court documents that it entered into an agreement with two representatives of the SAGF that the two hotels would provide the accommodation and other services. In terms of the agreement, the VIP delegates were accommodated at the Manhattan hotel and the gymnasts and coaches and others at the Burgers Park Hotel.
It was agreed that the accommodation would be prepaid at a reduced rate of R910 for a single room and R1 100 per room for those sharing. This included breakfast.
The hotel group said it was further understood that it would include in its bill the invoices of other service providers, such as for hip-hop dancers who were responsible for entertainment, the Soweto Marimba Youth League for a performance during the opening ceremony, a TV news production team which filmed the championships and a graphic studio which provided corporate gifts.
Manhattan Hotel manager Nico Rowan said the hotels complied with all their obligations. According to him the VIPs were wined and dined and treated like royalty. They were even fitted with goodie bags in their rooms.
The SAGF disputed that it was responsible for the hefty bill, saying that the two agents who entered into the agreement with the hotel group, did not have a mandate to do so.
According to the SAGF, the agents acted on behalf of Algrodex - the official sponsor of the event - and that this company was thus liable for the bill. The SAGF said it never entered into any deal with the hotel group.
Pretoria News