KNYSNA NEWS - The Simola Hillclimb proved to be a boon for local accommodation establishments, with some reporting a 100% occupancy rate between 1 and 4 May, when the event was held.
A hotel near the Waterfront said all 55 of its rooms had been booked for the duration of the hillclimb and that most of its guests had arrived to witness the annual motor racing spectacle.
Event first-timers
"Our guests were mainly locals [South Africans] from Cape Town and Johannesburg," a spokesperson for the hotel said.
She added that many of the guests had come to watch the event for the first time.
Colleen Harding, the marketing co-ordinator of the Knysna Accommodation Association, said the hillclimb always had a positive impact on the 60-odd establishments affiliated to the association, and on the town in general.
Colleen Harding
"Guest houses, B&Bs, self-catering [facilities] and Airbnbs located closer to the venue do a lot better than those, say, in Hunters Home," Harding said.
Restaurants 'extremely busy'
Her establishment, situated relatively close to Simola Hill, had been fully booked this past weekend, but her guests were not only made up of hillclimb enthusiasts, but also Germans and Swiss drawn to the town for other recreational purposes.
"Restaurants were extremely busy - this info from our guests who had to wait for ages for either a table or for their food to be served."
She said one of the hillclimb racing teams had booked into a hotel on George Rex Drive.
Reservations for next year
Francois Erasmus-Le Grange of an establishment in Brenton-on-Sea said it had also been fully booked over the period.
"Ninety-five percent of our guests came to Knysna specifically for the Simola Hillclimb, and they've already booked for next year's event.
"The BMW team wanted to stay with us but I could not accommodate them."
A luxury B&B on Leisure Isle reported an 82% occupancy rate and a spokesperson said some bookings had been linked to the event.
Harding said according to information from the reservation system NightsBridge, 1 126 bookings had been made for user guesthouses and B&Bs between 1 and 4 May.
‘We bring you the latest Garden Route, Hessequa, Karoo news’
