From the Breakfast Table Free Newsletter of BnB Sure the most comprehensive policy for B&Bs and Guesthouses

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December 2007

The B&B and guesthouse industry in South Africa continues to grow and do well and despite the fact that all sorts of legislation affecting these establishments seems to forever being passed this sector of the tourism industry adapts and grows.

The year has seen increases in numbers of foreign visitors and as this happens so too does the demand for higher levels of professionalism in B&Bs and guesthouses and it's probably safe to say that South African establishments are as good as any in the world and better than many.

The future looks extremely good for this sector.

DECEMBER CLOSE DATES

All BnB SURE branch offices will be closed on both 24 and 31 December.  All branches have answering machines that will be checked on those days in case of any emergency matters. On the 27 and 28 December we will be open from 9am to 12 noon only. The week of New Year we will open on 2-4 January from 9am to 3pm. and then from 7 January 2008 we will revert to our normal working hours.

WINDSCREEN CLAIMS MADE EASY

We are pleased to be able to tell you that from 15 January 2008 policyholders will be able to make their windscreen claims a lot easier.  They need simply to call the Toll Free number on 0800 55 66 77 switch through to "Windscreen Claims" when prompted to do so and this will take them directly to the PG Glass call centre where all will be taken care of as soon as they quote their policy number.  No claim forms to complete, no fuss and quick attention.

DISCLAIMERS

BnB SURE has never had a requirement that a disclaimer be signed in terms of general liability risks given that it is our belief that it is extremely difficult to do this in the B&B and guesthouse industry. We have however had a requirement that for the cover in terms of guest effects liability to be effective a disclaimer has been a requirement.  We are delighted to advise that this requirement has now been scrapped and no disclaimers are now required.

If, however, a B&B or guesthouse wishes to make use of a disclaimer from a business point of view readers are referred to the Legal section of our website on www.bnbsure.co.za

Welcome Awards 2008

In a bid to drive service excellence in the tourism industry, Minister of Environmental Affairs and Tourism, Mr. Marthinus van Schalkwyk, launched the Welcome Awards at the INDABA 2005 Opening Ceremony in Durban where he unveiled the Welcome Grand Prix Trophy. Continuing with this winning formula, the 2008 Welcome Awards will be presented, at the Annual Tourism INDABA, in May 2008, in Kwa-Zulu Natal.

The Welcome Awards recognise individuals and businesses that provide service excellence in tourism.

The aim of the awards is to:

To find shining examples of businesses in South Africa who are raising the standard of customer service 

·         To promote the Best-of-the Best as examples to the industry 

·         To enhance the visitor experience, which is fundamental to the growth of tourism

·         To encourage Word-Of-Mouth, longer stays and repeat visits

·         To identify South African innovations

The Categories include most classes of accommodation including Bed and Breakfast/guesthouses/country house, backpackers and Self Catering establishments

Entries opened on 31 October 2007 and close on January 4, 2008. 

Entrants will be able to enter on-line on the revamped Welcome Awards micro-site housed on www.southafrica.net. The micro-site will also be used to update information on the progress of the Awards, to announce short-listed candidates, to profile the candidates and promote their products and services. Relevant information in relation to the various stages of the process of judging will also be available.

In addition, entrants who have a website will automatically be entered into the online category and judged on the efficacy of their site.

Consumers will, for the first time in the history of the awards, be able to nominate those businesses that have exceeded their service expectations by calling the tourism helpline at 083 123 6789 and business owners can enter by downloading the entry form on www.southafrica.net

BnB SURE thanks FEDHASA Inland Region for this article

BnB FINDER

www.bnbfinder.co.za is growing all the time.  There are now over 1200 establishments listed on the site and bookings are increasing every month giving real value to our policyholders. In addition any policyholder who is registered with Nightsbridge and is insured with BnB SURE now has a link from www.bnbfinder.co.za to the Nightsbridge system giving real time on line booking.  BnB SURE reminds all those policyholders who have not made use of this FREE service to let us have their details and we will with pleasure add them to the site so that they too may benefit from our marketing of this site.

Now THAT is exciting news!

POLICY CHANGES

You may be aware that in addition to the dropping of disclaimer requirements altogether on the Liability section (It's never been there for General Liability) we have now also added power surge to the Buildings section up to an amount of R10,000, we have included a Fidelity section (dishonesty of employees) at no premium up to R10,000 and made changes to the basis of the Appliance Maintenance section.

The Appliance Maintenance section has now changed from 10 listed items to ANY item as described in the policy for repair up to R3000.  This is of huge benefit to the insured as this gives substantially wider cover than previously on the policy.  The electrical and plumbing extension also remains at R3000 any one repair and is NOT restricted to a limited number of repairs per annum.

FOCUS ON........

GUEST EFFECTS COVER

With the main holiday season of the year upon us we again encourage the buy up of guest effects cover.  This provides cover for guest effects not otherwise insured should they be stolen (or damaged) from the insured establishment.  The cost of this cover is a mere R10.40 per R10,000 per month and from our experience this is the cover the insured usually wants rather than relying on the liability section.  Despite strict liability IN SOME INSTANCES applying to guesthouses it is always much easier and simpler to handle this as a guest effects claim in terms of Contents where the establishment's liability does not come into the equation at all.

BRANCH OFFICES

Contact details of BnB SURE offices are:

Johannesburg  -  011 886-6066  Fax No. 011 886-1725

Cape Town office -  021 948-0432  Fax No. 021 948-3582

Durban office - 031 561-4986 Fax No. 086 685 6509

East London - 043 721 3101 Fax No. 043 721-3112

Managers: Johannesburg - Debbie Smith

                 Cape Town  - Trudy Venter

                 Durban  - Merran Johansson

                 East London - Lynne Reynolds    

BnB SURE ASSIST TOLL FREE LINE

We remind readers that use of the services offered through the BnB Sure Assist toll free line can only be activated by calling toll free on 0800 55 66 77.

THOUGHT FOR THE MONTH:

What a great year it's been and without even seeming to blink 2007 is almost behind us.  It feels as though it was no more than a few days ago that we were sitting down getting ready for the end of 2006 and here we are 12 months down the line.  We at BnB SURE hope the year has been a good one for every reader of this newsletter and we take this opportunity of wishing each of you a wonderful holiday season and for those who celebrate Christmas a truly blessed Christmas.

The good ole days weren't always good, and tomorrow ain't as bad as it seems.
                                                                               Billy Joel