Vital stats
- Players: Robert More, Britt More & Peter John Scott
- Company: More Hotels group
- Launched: 2010
- Contact: + 27 (0)11 880 9992
- Visit:www.more.co.za
Building a R100 million hotel business with 44 600 bed nights per year and 320 employees is no easy task in a down economy but Robert More, Britt More and Peter John Scott, owners of the More Hotels group, established in 2010, got it right by growing the business organically.
They first bought into the market in 2001, when they acquired the 4 000-hectare Lion Sands Game Reserve in Mpumalanga.
“We loved good food and travel,” says Britt More. “We found that when we created the kinds of guest experiences we would have liked, people took to us. We were good at it.”
Today the reserve is home to three game lodges. In Cape Town, the group owns Cape Cadogan, a chic boutique hotel in the city centre, and More Quarters, consisting of luxury apartments built from renovated slave quarters.
“In this industry, you really need to focus on sales,” says Robert More. “The second key factor is the guest experience. Some luxury hotels tend to buy lots of expensive furniture and fittings and think their job is over. But the customer service is about people and the experience they have during their stay.”
He notes that guests are their most powerful marketing tools. “People believe guests who have visited your establishment far more than they believe you. Providing a superior and caring customer experience will enable you to win your guests over.”
More Hotels is all about aggressive growth right now, which defines the company’s strategy for the next two to three years. Its market is around 70% international and 30% domestic. Funding for growth has been provided by the IDC and FNB.
Britt More says that the move from a family-owned business to a world-class hospitality company required investment in infrastructure. “We tripled the size of our HR, brought a partner on board and put proper business systems in place.
”We always re-engineer and restructure to ensure we continue to move forward. It’s hard work, which means you have to be passionate. You won’t remain motivated if you are driven only by money.” – MONIQUE VERDUYN