'Fifa agency will hurt SA co's'

Johannesburg - Match, Fifa's accommodation agent, took business folk in Germany and Korea for a ride, and will do the same here if they get half a chance.

So says Tourism Business Council of SA CE Matsatsi Marobe, in the wake of SA Tourism's withdrawal from the Match advisory committee.

SA Tourism CE Moeketsi Mosola said the organisation cannot protect the tourism industry from Match's bullying attempts to get independent hotels and guest houses to make their rooms available to Match.

Morobe reckons South African businesspeople are fully aware that rooms in Germany and Korea stood empty during the World Cup Soccer fixtures in those countries, and their businesses lost money as a result.

This apparently happened after Match had reserved rooms and then dumped those that they could not sublet back into the market at the last minute.

South Africans also burnt their fingers with Earth Summit 2002, and fear a repetition. They would now rather take firm bookings at profitable tariffs than reserve rooms at low tariffs for Match and possibly sit high and dry in the end.

"Match pulled a fast one on businesses in Germany and Korea and wants to do the same here. They think they are coming to Africa and that we are idiots, but we've done our homework. They must come with decent contracts."

She says the 35 000 rooms that Match seeks are mainly for important guests such as sponsors, the media and teams. Match can't find them and, she says, is now starting to panic.

In the meantime, discussions with managers of independent hotels not associated with Match indicate that some of these sponsors in fact prefer not to do their bookings through Match. They are insisting on a South African tour operator that does direct bookings with hotels.

- Sake24