Some of the delegates coming to the 17th Conference of the Parties of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP17) conference have not yet booked their hotel rooms, the official accommodation provider said on Thursday.
Erica Gardner of Thompsons Africa said she had no idea why delegates had not pre-booked their rooms for the November 28 to December 9 conference, which is expected to attract 15 000 UN-accredited delegates.
If they were hoping to get a room near the International Convention Centre, they are out of luck: these are all booked up.
Gardner said that almost everyone wanted accommodation near the ICC and there were going to be a lot of disappointed people.
She has 6 000 rooms on her books and delegates are going to be accommodated from Ballito in the north to Scottburgh in the south and inland to Pietermaritzburg.
About 60 percent of delegates would be staying the full two weeks of the conference, while the others would be coming for varying periods.
Gardner was still looking for rooms as she did not know at what point she would stop receiving bookings.
Some delegates were travelling on their own, while others were in coming in groups.
They were staying in a variety of accommodation from small bed ’n breakfast businesses to five-star hotels.
Delegates have had to pre-pay for their accommodation to clinch their bookings.
She did not believe that businesses had upped their prices and pointed out that it was peak season. The visitors could not expect to pay low- season charges.
Gardner said delegates who turned up without accommodation would still be able to get bookings by contacting her at the ICC during the conference.
Hoteliers are smiling at the boom in business, which will then be followed by the Christmas stampede to the coast.
And the global exposure that the city will generate is going to be good for future business, they say.
Heather Hunter, chairwoman of the KZN Accommodation Association, had good bookings from the Canadian and Belgium governments.
She said the event was a lot better for her Umhlanga B&B than the Soccer World Cup.
Delegates also wanted eco-friendly accommodation and she had installed solar heating and was harnessing water.
Mike Lambert, the chief executive of Three Cities Exceptional Hotels, said the group was bracing itself for a busy two weeks.
Restaurants might not get a boost in late-night business, however, as delegates could be working until 2-3am, said Warren Ozard, the operations manager of the regional Federated Hospitality Association of Southern Africa. - Daily News