Published in Government Gazette No. 55542 on 16 October 2026, the extension is scheduled to take effect on 26 October 2026.

FEDHASA is calling on affected restaurant owners and hospitality employers to participate in the legal application and contribute towards the associated legal costs.

“FEDHASA understands the importance of fair employment practices and the role of collective bargaining in the hospitality sector. Our concern is not with the agreement itself, but with ensuring that the process by which it is extended to non-parties meets the legal requirements that exist to protect all affected parties, including employers who were not part of the original negotiations. We believe these questions deserve proper consideration by the courts,” said Brett Tungay, FEDHASA National Chairperson.

Implications for restaurant operators

The agreement introduces a range of employment-related obligations for affected businesses, including:

• Prescribed minimum wages, ranging from the national minimum wage of R30.23 per hour to R57.23 per hour for certain categories, including chefs and managers.
• Employer contributions of 5% towards the Council’s Provident Fund, in addition to the employee contribution.
• Contributions towards a funeral scheme.
• A uniform cleaning allowance of R17.50 per week.
• A minimum annual bonus equivalent to two weeks’ salary.
• Council levies of R16 per employee per month, shared between employer and employee, and a R25 monthly levy per establishment payable by the employer.

The association recognises that the restaurant industry encompasses a wide range of businesses, from large groups and independent restaurants to family-owned establishments, small cafés and tourism-dependent operators. Regulatory requirements can have meaningfully different consequences for businesses with different resources, turnover and staffing structures, and this diversity warrants careful consideration. FEDHASA encourages members to seek appropriate advice regarding their individual circumstances.

Legal process and next steps

FEDHASA has previously engaged with a similar matter, with the Labour Court granting an interdict on 2 March 2021. The association is now coordinating a fresh urgent legal application in respect of the current extension.

The outcome will be determined by the Labour Court, and FEDHASA will pursue the matter through the appropriate legal channels. The association is committed to engaging constructively with all relevant stakeholders throughout this process.

“FEDHASA has a responsibility to its members and to the broader hospitality sector to ensure that questions of this nature receive proper legal consideration. We are not seeking confrontation – we are seeking clarity. Where legitimate concerns exist about whether legal requirements have been met, it is appropriate to ask the courts to make that determination,” said Tungay.

Industry participation

Given the short period before the extension is due to take effect, FEDHASA is asking affected restaurant owners and hospitality employers to consider joining the proposed interdict application.

FEDHASA is also asking members and affected businesses to consider contributing towards the legal costs of the application. Broad participation will be important in enabling the industry to pursue an effective legal challenge within the available timeframe. Details of the appointed attorneys, participation requirements and cost arrangements will be provided directly to interested businesses.

Businesses wishing to participate should complete FEDHASA’s online form by no later than 17:00 on Tuesday, 20 October 2026.

“We recognise that this is a significant ask at short notice, and we are grateful to the members and businesses who are willing to engage with this process. The hospitality industry has shown resilience and solidarity in the face of many challenges. We hope that spirit will carry through here as well,” said Tungay.

FEDHASA will continue to engage with relevant stakeholders and keep members informed of developments as the legal process proceeds.

“These are young South Africans who have chosen hospitality as their career, honed their craft, and earned the right to compete on a world stage. For FEDHASA, backing them is a powerful statement about the kind of industry we are building – one that invests in its youth and celebrates the culinary arts as a desirable and prestigious career. We would love the support of our industry in this effort,” said FEDHASA Inland Chairperson Gustav Pieterse.

The BackaBuddy crowdfunding campaign, initiated by the SA Chefs Association, has set a target of R1.5 million. The campaign is built on the strength of many contributions, not the size of any single donation.

• 500 people giving R100 = R50,000
• 1,000 people giving R100 = R100,000
• 5,000 people giving R100 = R500,000

Contributions of R50, R100, or R200 make a real difference, and for those unable to donate, sharing the campaign is equally valuable.

The nine-strong team of young chefs comes from across South Africa, from Soweto and Rustenburg to Richards Bay, Durban, and the Western Cape. They trained at some of the country’s finest culinary schools and work in some of its most acclaimed kitchens, among them the Saxon Hotel, Villas and Spa, Four Seasons Hotel The Westcliff, and Marriott Hotel Melrose Arch. They are guided by Chef Donaldson Madubela (Technical Head Coach), Chef Marcus Gericke and Chef Catherine Adonis (Technical Coaches), Pieter Malan (Team Manager), Chef Mahlomola Thamae (Head of Talent), Chef Zana Alvarado and Chef Ras Van Gruene (Deputy Team Managers) and Chef Warren Franz (Team Logistics).

Every member of the team carries a deeply personal food story rooted in South African heritage and family. Seswaa and bogobe. Ujeqe with beef stew. A Sunday seven colours. Kalya spiced with saffron and prunes. Pap and pork trotters. Lamb biryani cooked over the fire. These are the dishes and the culinary traditions that have shaped this team, and that they will carry with them to Luxembourg.

For each and every one of them, the opportunity extends beyond competition.

“I am not only going to Luxembourg as Unami Binda the chef; I am going as a young South African woman carrying the flavours and experiences that shaped me,” said Chef Unami Binda, who works at Four Seasons Hotel The Westcliff.

Chef Phenyo Pooe from 54 on Bath, echoed that sentiment: “It’s about showcasing South African cuisine with modern techniques, honouring the past while proving our food deserves to be celebrated and shared with the world.”

Deputy Team Manager Chef Zana Alvarado captured the team’s collective ambition most simply:

“We are not just taking Team Masakhane to Luxembourg. We are taking a piece of South Africa to the world.”

To donate: https://www.backabuddy.co.za/campaign/take-team-masakhane-to-luxembourg
Campaign hashtag: #BackTeamMasakhane

For tailor-made donation discussions or partnership enquiries, contact:
Nwabisa Makumule
Partner Relations Manager, SA Chefs Association
📞 078 272 6909
📧 partners@sachefs.co.za

I recently had the privilege of joining a group of hospitality leaders for a candid discussion about the future of our industry, hosted between FUEL Online and FEDHASA, as well as various other industry engagements that I have attended over the past few weeks, and I wanted to share some observations.

Around the table in these conversations were operators, executives, academic doctors and professors and industry professionals who collectively represent thousands of employees, students and millions of guest interactions every year. While our businesses may differ, one theme emerged consistently throughout the conversation:

The future of hospitality will not be defined by technology, buildings or brands. It will be defined by people.

That may sound obvious in an industry built on service, yet many of the challenges currently facing hospitality stem from exactly that reality.

Across the country, employers are navigating a changing workforce landscape. Experienced employees are retiring, leaving the industry or pursuing opportunities elsewhere. New talent is entering our businesses full of potential, but often without the benefit of the mentorship and operational exposure that previous generations received.

At the same time, guest expectations continue to rise.

Guests today expect seamless technology, personalised service, immediate responses and memorable experiences. They want efficiency, but they also want genuine human connection.

The challenge for hospitality leaders is therefore not simply finding people.

It is developing people.

And that is where I believe some of our biggest opportunities lie.

South Africa Does Not Have a Talent Shortage

One of the most important takeaways from our discussion was that South Africa is not lacking talent.

What we often lack are the pathways that connect talent to opportunity.

As an industry, we frequently talk about skills shortages while operating in a country where millions of young people are actively seeking employment and career opportunities. The question we need to ask ourselves is whether we are doing enough collectively to bridge that gap.

• How do we expose young people to hospitality careers?
• How do we create meaningful workplace experiences?
• How do we ensure that education and industry remain aligned?
• How do we make career progression visible from the day somebody enters our industry?

These are not questions for individual businesses alone. They are questions for all of us as industry stakeholders.

Hospitality Must Become a Career of Choice

Hospitality offers something incredibly unique.

Few industries provide the same combination of human interaction, leadership development, entrepreneurship, international mobility and personal growth.

Yet many young people still see hospitality as a temporary job rather than a long-term career.

Changing that perception may be one of the most important responsibilities we have as industry leaders.

We need to celebrate the success stories more often.

We need to highlight the people who started as waiters, receptionists, porters, stewards and trainees and went on to become leaders and business owners.

I know this journey personally.

Having started my own career as an intern, I have seen first-hand what this industry can do when people are given opportunity, mentorship and support.

Hospitality changes lives.

We should never underestimate the impact our industry has on individuals, families and communities.

The Role of Technology in a People Business

No discussion about the future workforce is complete without talking about technology and artificial intelligence.

For some, AI creates uncertainty.

For me, it creates opportunity.

The reality is that hospitality has always evolved alongside technology. From reservation systems and online bookings to mobile check-in and guest apps, technology has consistently enhanced the way we operate.

Artificial intelligence is no different.

The future is not about replacing people with technology.

It is about empowering people with technology.

AI can assist with training, communication, knowledge sharing, translation, operational support and administrative tasks. It can help our people access information faster and perform their jobs more effectively.

But it cannot replicate genuine hospitality.

It cannot replace empathy or emotional intelligence.

And it certainly cannot replace the feeling a guest gets when they are welcomed by someone who truly cares.

The most successful businesses of the future will combine technology and human connection, not choose one over the other.

Rethinking Workforce Development

Another strong theme from our discussion was the need to evolve how we approach learning and development.

Traditional training methods still have a place, but the future requires more flexible, accessible and scalable solutions.

Learning needs to happen continuously.

It needs to happen on the floor, in real time and in ways that meet employees where they are.

Fortunately, we now have access to tools and platforms that can support learning in multiple languages, provide ongoing development opportunities and create more inclusive pathways into the industry.

The opportunity is not simply to train more people.

It is to train people better.

Our Greatest Opportunity

Despite the challenges discussed around skills development, labour mobility and workforce retention, the overall tone of the conversation was remarkably positive.

Why?

Because South Africa possesses something incredibly valuable.

• We have passionate people.
• We have a globally admired tourism offering.
• We have resilient businesses.
• And we have an industry that genuinely wants to create opportunity.

Rather than lamenting what has been lost, the task ahead is to invest in what can still be built.

If we can strengthen the pathways between education and employment, embrace technology responsibly, develop future leaders and continue investing in our people, I believe South Africa can build one of the most capable hospitality workforces anywhere in the world.

After all, hospitality has never been about buildings.

It has never been about systems.

It has always been about people.

And if we get that right, the future of our industry remains exceptionally bright.

South Africa’s hospitality and tourism industry faces a myriad of challenges.  But there is one battle we should never have to fight: having to persuade the authorities to obey South Africa’s own water laws.

Yet increasingly, that is exactly what communities and businesses are forced to do.

The National Water Act is clear. Section 19 places a duty on those responsible for pollution to take reasonable measures to prevent it from occurring, continuing or recurring.  Section 151 goes further: it is a criminal offence to unlawfully and intentionally or negligently, through an act or omission, pollute or be likely to pollute a water resource.

That word omission is important.  Allowing known sewage infrastructure failures to continue polluting our rivers cannot simply become accepted as another municipal service-delivery problem.  It is simply a criminal offence.

We are told to save water.  Government must do the same.

South Africans are continually reminded that we live in a water-scarce country.  We are urged to conserve every precious drop.  Money is spent on campaigns telling citizens to save water, while reported municipal leaks can continue for weeks, months and sometimes years. 

At the same time, failing sewerage infrastructure is allowed to discharge raw sewage into the very rivers and dams containing the water we are being told to protect.

You cannot ask citizens to save water with one hand while allowing it to be wasted and polluted with the other. 

For South Africa’s inland waterfront tourism industry, the pollution consequences are particularly serious.  Our rivers and dams should be enormous secondary economic assets.  Waterfront hotels, restaurants, resorts, lodges, boat building and boat sales, and recreational facilities have the potential to create thousands more jobs and attract substantial private investment.

When raw sewage enters a dam or river, environmental damage quickly becomes economic damage. Tourism suffers.  Investment is discouraged.  Existing jobs are threatened and potential new jobs are never created.

And the damage compounds.

Sewage carries high nutrient loads, particularly nitrogen and phosphorus.  This nutrient enrichment accelerates eutrophication and creates conditions in which invasive aquatic plants such as water hyacinth and water lettuce can proliferate rapidly.  So the consequences of failing sanitation infrastructure do not end when sewage enters the water.  The resulting nutrient pollution can turn already compromised waterways into masses of invasive vegetation –  degrading ecosystems, further restricting boating and recreation, and making waterfront tourism businesses even more difficult to operate viably.

And then comes another, deeply painful blow: the social-media attacks telling people to stay away and comments like “go there if you like driving your boat in human waste – go for it” and other damaging comments.  For operators already fighting every day to survive on a waterway contaminated through no fault of their own, those words hurt and cause damage – and they cost jobs.

What is often unseen behind those headlines is the extraordinary passion of these river and dam communities.  Locals, businesses and NGOs give countless hours and their own money to report spills, fight invasive plants, engage authorities and pursue legal action.

These river and dam communities choose to be part of the solution – criticism does not clean the water.  They are fighting for waterways they love, businesses they have built and, most importantly, the livelihoods of the people they employ.  So please, support those trying to hold on and make a difference.  If you are angry – and you should be – direct that anger at the authorities allowing sewage to enter our waterways, not at the tourism businesses fighting to survive despite it.  Right now, these dam and river communities need support – far more than they need damaging and very hurtful social media comments.

Instead of expanding, employing more people and contributing to economic growth, waterfront operators are spending extraordinary amounts of time trying to protect the natural resource upon which their businesses depend.  In a country desperate for economic growth and employment, this makes no sense.

Why must NGOs make government obey government’s laws?

Perhaps the greatest irony is that when repeated engagement fails, citizens increasingly have to turn to NGOs and NPOs for help to compel public authorities to do what legislation already requires them to do.

Citizens are effectively having to seek protection from pollution by asking the courts to make organs of state comply with laws created by the state itself.

That should concern every South African.

We do not need more legislation. We already have legislation. We need implementation.

Failed sewer pump stations, leaking pipelines and overloaded wastewater treatment works require competent technical management, preventative maintenance and rapid intervention.

But when authorities know infrastructure is failing and pollution continues unabated, an engineering problem becomes a governance and accountability problem.  South Africans understand that ageing infrastructure cannot be rebuilt overnight. What we cannot accept is chronic sewage pollution and water wastage becoming normalised.

Government does not need another campaign telling South Africans that water is precious.

We know it is.

Now demonstrate that you know it too.

Fix the infrastructure.  Stop the pollution.  Enforce the law – regardless of whether the polluter is a private company, an individual or an organ of state.

Protect our waterways. Protect our tourism industry. Protect the jobs they create.

South Africans should not need NGOs and courts to force authorities to obey their own laws.

Authorities, please walk the talk.

The latest Statistics South Africa Food & Beverage Survey (May 2026) paints a concerning picture for one of South Africa’s largest employers.

While many may view a decline of only 0.3% in real income as relatively insignificant, those operating restaurants, pubs, coffee shops and food service businesses know that these figures tell a very different story. A story restaurateurs have felt for many months – but is only now being reflected in the stats.  In real terms (constant 2019 prices), food and beverage income declined by 0.3% in May 2026 compared with May 2025.  Looking at the latest three-month period, food and beverage income fell by 0.2%, with restaurants and coffee shops declining by 1.7%, making them the largest contributor to the industry’s decline.

Seasonally adjusted figures tell a similar story, with income decreasing by 0.6% over the latest three months, once again driven primarily by restaurants and coffee shops.

These are not simply statistics.

They represent thousands of business owners who are working longer hours, carrying greater financial risk and employing millions of South Africans while trying simply to survive.

Turnover is Flat – Costs are Not

The greatest challenge facing the hospitality industry is that turnover has remained largely stagnant while operating costs continue to increase at unprecedented levels.

Every significant expense faced by restaurants has increased substantially over recent years, from electricity tariffs to food – to every single input cost.

For many hospitality businesses, these cost increases have far exceeded consumer inflation.  In practical terms, restaurants today generally require annual revenue growth of between 10% and 15% simply to maintain the same profitability.  Any increase below this often means the business is actually going backwards financially.

This is why a real decline of 0.3% is far more significant than it first appears.

Government Must Understand the Reality

The hospitality industry fully supports legislation that protects employees and customers.

However, new legislation must also be practical, affordable and proportionate.

Unfortunately, government departments often introduce new compliance requirements without fully appreciating the cumulative financial impact on businesses that already operate on extremely small profit margins.  Although aimed at improving workplace health and safety, these regulations introduce additional obligations.  Each of these requirements carries a cost.

For larger organisations these costs may be manageable.

For independent restaurants, cafés, pubs and family-owned food businesses already operating on margins often below 5%, every additional compliance requirement places further pressure on their viability.

No individual regulation may appear excessive in isolation.  The problem is the cumulative effect.

When combined with escalating municipal charges, increasing utility costs, higher food prices, rising wages and ongoing economic uncertainty, another layer of compliance can easily become the difference between remaining open and closing permanently.

One of South Africa’s Greatest Job Creators

The irony is that restaurants are among South Africa’s greatest creators of employment.  Few industries employ more people per square metre of trading space than the hospitality sector.  Importantly, our industry creates employment opportunities for people from every educational background.

Restaurants provide first jobs for school leavers, opportunities for individuals with limited formal education, practical workplace training, career development and entrepreneurial opportunities.  In a country where unemployment remains one of our greatest national challenges, this sector should be encouraged – not burdened.  Every restaurant that closes means job losses, suppliers lose customers, farmers lose markets, local economies lose spending.

The ripple effect extends far beyond a single business.

A Different Approach is Needed

FEDHASA believes there is a better way.

Government should actively work with the hospitality industry to create an environment where businesses can grow, invest and employ more South Africans.

This includes:

• Simplifying regulatory compliance for small and medium-sized hospitality businesses.
• Conducting meaningful economic impact assessments before introducing new regulations.
• Recognising hospitality as a strategic employment sector deserving of support.
• Ending the ongoing disruption to essential bulk services that is undermining business sustainability.
• Moderating above-inflation increases in rates and utility charges.
• Creating incentives for businesses that expand employment and skills development.

Hospitality is an Investment in South Africa

Restaurants are far more than places where people eat – they are community gathering places, tourism attractions, training grounds for future professionals and one of the country’s most accessible entry points into employment.

The latest Statistics South Africa figures should serve as a warning.

Our industry remains resilient, innovative and optimistic.

But resilience cannot replace profitability.

If South Africa genuinely wishes to reduce unemployment, stimulate tourism and grow local economies, then the restaurant and food service sector must be recognised as a strategic partner in economic development – not simply another industry upon which additional costs and regulatory obligations can be imposed.

Supporting hospitality businesses is not merely good for the industry.

It is good for employment.

It is good for tourism.

It is good for communities.

And ultimately, it is good for South Africa.

Behind that confidence is a sustained programme of industrial development, backed by public infrastructure investment, special economic zone incentives and private capital. The Richards Bay Industrial Development Zone has R252 billion in pipeline investment across 23 investors, according to the Department of Trade, Industry and Competition. Among the flagship developments is Nyanza Light Metals’ R15 billion titanium dioxide pigment plant. Construction is already under way and is expected to create around 3,000 jobs before employing up to 850 people permanently. Richards Bay is also positioning itself as an energy hub, with a liquefied natural gas import terminal, new power stations and supporting infrastructure representing almost R100 billion in additional investment.

Projects on this scale bring a steady stream of engineers, contractors, consultants, financiers and government officials into the city, some for a few days, others returning repeatedly as work progresses. According to André de Klerk, General Manager of BON Hotel Waterfront Richards Bay, this is translating into increasingly consistent business travel demand.

“We don’t have a high and low season like a typical leisure destination,” he says. “Our business follows industrial activity. Occupancy rises when a plant shuts down for maintenance, a delegation is in town, or a major project reaches a milestone. When that activity slows, so do we. Right now, we’re in one of our busier periods and we have been for some time.”

That level of demand has taken years to rebuild. Richards Bay’s hospitality sector was hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic, and just as recovery began, the July 2021 unrest in KwaZulu-Natal dealt another blow. De Klerk says the hotel had to rebuild its room rates from a much lower base, with several years spent simply recovering lost ground before new investment started driving demand rather than just restoring it.

“There have already been weeks where you couldn’t find a room in this town because two or three projects needed people here at the same time,” he says. “That didn’t used to happen.”

De Klerk emphasised the hotel’s booking window reflects the same industrial rhythm. During busy periods, guests typically book around a week in advance. At quieter times, bookings are made just four days before arrival, tied to project schedules or maintenance shutdowns.

The mix of guests checking in is changing alongside the volume. “The executive flying up from Johannesburg for a two-day meeting is only part of the picture now,” De Klerk says. “We’re welcoming metallurgical engineers overseeing technology transfer, project finance teams from Johannesburg and Nairobi, government delegations, environmental consultants, construction managers and representatives from development finance institutions. Some are here for a few days. Others stay for the duration of a project, with contracts that can run for several months.”

The hotel’s guests arrive from Europe, Africa, Asia and North America, largely to support engineering, mining, logistics and infrastructure projects, while domestic business travellers provide a reliable year-round base. De Klerk says repeat business is the clearest sign of that consistency, with companies returning on standing accounts for maintenance work, site visits and ongoing projects.

BON Hotels Group CEO Guy Stehlik says Richards Bay stands out against the other secondary cities where the company operates, across South Africa and West Africa. “Corporate demand is rarely the issue in these secondary cities. The infrastructure around it usually is,” he says. “Failing infrastructure is the constraint we run into most often outside the metros. Richards Bay is the exception. Given the scale of investment going into the IDZ, it’s no surprise it works as well as it does. If anything, it’s the market the rest of these cities could  be measured against.”

BON Hotel Waterfront Richards Bay has refurbished its guest rooms, public areas, restaurant and conferencing facilities to keep pace with demand. Its largest venue seats around 120 delegates, with most bookings coming from technical workshops, project briefings and training sessions.

Much of the investment pipeline has yet to move from planning into delivery. Stehlik believes the opportunities will extend well beyond the industrial sector. “Richards Bay has always had the industrial base. What’s changing is the consistency of business travel around it. As more investment moves from planning into delivery, we’ll see more people travelling to the city, staying longer and returning more often. That creates the kind of demand that gives airlines, hotels and the wider visitor economy the confidence to invest.”

The invitation was extended by Gustav Pieterse, FEDHASA Inland Chairperson, which represents the hospitality sector across Gauteng, the Free State, North West, Mpumalanga, and Limpopo. It reflects FEDHASA’s ongoing commitment to ensuring that every segment of the hospitality industry, and every professional within it, has a seat at the table.

The South African Concierge Forum will be represented within FEDHASA Inland by Masood Sadulla, Golden Key Member and Chief Concierge and Guest Experience Manager at the Saxon Hotel, Villas & Spa, together with Deon Prinsloo and Kagisho Ditira, co-founders of D&D Concierge Consultancy.

“The concierge is often the first and last point of contact a guest has with a property, and in many ways, with South Africa itself,” said Pieterse. “Bringing concierge professionals formally into FEDHASA’s structures is a natural and necessary step. Their expertise in guest experience, their role in shaping perceptions of our destinations, and their contribution to service excellence make them an integral part of this industry. We are proud to welcome them.”

Founded in 1949, FEDHASA is South Africa’s recognised national trade association for the hospitality industry, representing hotels, guesthouses, restaurants, conference venues, and catering establishments under one banner. Recognised by government as the official voice of the sector, FEDHASA advocates on behalf of its members on legislative and policy matters, supports skills development and transformation, and works to create a favourable operating environment for businesses of all sizes.

D&D Concierge Consultancy, known for its bespoke concierge training, consulting, and industry development work, has played a significant role in elevating the standards and visibility of concierge services across South Africa. The consultancy works closely with hotels, luxury establishments, and concierge professionals to enhance guest experience and operational excellence – values that align closely with FEDHASA’s own.

“This invitation is not only an honour, but a meaningful step forward for the concierge community,” said Prinsloo. “Being recognised by FEDHASA affirms the vital role concierges play within the broader hospitality ecosystem, and we look forward to contributing to industry growth, strengthening standards, and ensuring a strong, unified voice for concierge professionals.”

For Ditira, the significance of the moment extends beyond the immediate milestone. “This recognition marks a defining moment for the concierge profession, giving us a long-overdue voice within South Africa’s hospitality landscape. We are ready to contribute and to grow alongside an organisation that has championed this industry for more than 75 years.”

The collaboration is expected to open new avenues for professional development, networking, and closer alignment between concierge professionals and the wider hospitality sector, reinforcing FEDHASA’s position as the home of every voice in South African hospitality.

South Africa’s hospitality sector is facing a deepening frontline staff crisis, one that operators say has been building since 2019 and can no longer be deferred. At its heart is a challenge as simple as it is difficult to solve: many of today’s hotel workers have never been a guest in the type of property where they work.

The intuitive service knowledge that previous generations brought to the job through lived experience – knowing what good feels like, what attentive looks like, what a properly set table communicates – can no longer be assumed. It has to be taught, from scratch, often in formats that standard training content does not reach.

It was one of several hard truths that senior operators from Accor, Radisson, Capital Hotels, Southern Sun, City Lodge, Minor Hotels, and the Saxon put on the table together at the inaugural Frontline Workforce Roundtable Series, held at the Saxon Hotel, Villas & Spa in Johannesburg on 13 May. The session was convened by hospitality learning and development company FUEL in partnership with FEDHASA Inland and addressed a conversation the industry had been avoiding for years.

“This is a forum that has been lacking from a FEDHASA perspective for years,” said Gustav Pieterse, General Manager of the Saxon Hotel and FEDHASA Inland Chairperson, who attended the session. “It is critical, not just for the federation, but for the industry as a whole.”

The workforce challenge

The roundtable identified several compounding pressures that operators say have been building since 2019.

The changed labour pool was among the most critical issues addressed. Beyond the experience gap, operators flagged that a matric certificate can no longer be assumed to indicate functional literacy, meaning standard training content is frequently pitched above the level the learner can absorb. The training happens. The knowledge does not land. Standards drift as a result.

Training and L&D budgets have absorbed a disproportionate share of industry cost cuts across the same period. The middle management layer lost during Covid-19 has not recovered, leaving remaining managers to carry functions that once belonged to multiple colleagues, significantly reducing the number of internal voices making the case for staff investment.

“The bar for ‘good enough’ has been moving,” Pieterse said. “Not because anyone decided that was acceptable, but because the day-to-day pressure to keep operations running made it easy to defer the harder work of developing people properly. The room was clear: that trajectory is not sustainable.”

What operators say is working

Operators shared solutions they reported as producing measurable results in their own properties.

Hiring through existing employee networks has proven one of the most reliable retention tools. When a staff member refers a candidate, they carry personal accountability for that person’s success, an effect one participant described as “a bit of indirect blackmail, but it works.”

Structured multi-year progression pathways – from Youth Employment Service (YES) placements through internship to permanent employment, with each stage visible to the staff member upfront – give people a reason to stay. Those who can see where they are going are far less likely to leave for a marginal pay increase elsewhere.

Cross-skilling across departments, widely adopted as a Covid necessity, has become a talent identification tool. Several operators described staff whose potential only became visible once they moved across the property. In one case, a learner who independently completed optional engineering content in her own time surfaced a career direction her manager had never identified.

The room also challenged generic onboarding, with operators increasingly building differentiated induction journeys for different entrant types rather than running all new hires through the same programme.

Perhaps the most counterintuitive finding: operators who invest in staff development and lose those staff to other properties reported better outcomes than those who withheld development. Alumni become ambassadors and many return. “Either way, the investment stays in the industry,” Pieterse said.

Culture as the strongest retention lever

Across every practice the roundtable discussed, a single thread emerged. The properties with the lowest turnover and strongest service were not necessarily those with the best programmes or the highest training budgets. They were the ones where staff genuinely believed someone in the building cared about them.

“If people believe you care about the things they are battling with at home, they are far more likely to care about the things you ask them to care about at work,” one participant said.

Culture of belonging – the felt sense that a person’s future is possible in this place – was named by multiple operators as the single most reliable retention lever available. Not a policy. Not a perk. A daily practice of genuine care.

“That is also the reason for optimism,” Pieterse said. “The most powerful tool available to this industry is not something that has to be bought or outsourced. It is something hospitality has always known how to provide.”

Download the discussion report HERE.

The Employment Services Amendment Bill was tabled in Parliament in May 2026. The Revised Draft Business Licensing Bill arrived even more quietly, uploaded to a government website with no gazette notice and no opportunity for public comment. Both Bills hand significant new powers to government ministers, and both could make running a hospitality business in South Africa considerably harder.

“For years, FEDHASA has been calling on government to reduce red tape and the burden of regulatory oversight placed on all levels of business,” said Brett Tungay, National Chairperson of FEDHASA. “This legislation is further bureaucracy on bureaucracy. It is not what industry is calling for.”

Employment Services Amendment Bill

This Bill gives the Minister of Employment and Labour the authority to set quotas on the number of foreign nationals a business can employ, broken down by sector, occupational category, or geographic area. Non-compliance carries penalties of up to R1 million or 10% of annual turnover.

Hotels, lodges, and restaurants across South Africa rely on a mix of local and international expertise, in kitchen management, front-of-house operations, conferencing, and tourism services. Quotas imposed without clear criteria or proper industry consultation would make it harder to fill specialist roles, slow down hiring, and add compliance costs that many businesses cannot absorb.

The Helen Suzman Foundation described an earlier version of the Bill as “unworkable and, in all likelihood, an unlawful interference in South African labour markets and in the lives of foreign nationals lawfully residing in South Africa and who have been granted the right to work here.” FEDHASA agrees.

The Bill is expected to be published for formal public comment in the coming months.

Revised Draft Business Licensing Bill

The bigger concern may be the Business Licensing Bill, and the way it was introduced. The Department of Small Business Development added a significant new clause to the Bill on its website in May 2026, without gazetting it, without the Government Printer, and without inviting public comment. Industry only found out because someone was watching closely.

That new clause – Clause 17 – would allow the Minister to declare certain business activities or entire industries off-limits to foreign-owned or foreign-controlled businesses. For hospitality, where international hotel brands, foreign franchise operators, and cross-border investors play a direct role in job creation and tourism growth, this is a real and immediate concern.

“We are a country in dire need of employment,” said Tungay. “Why can’t we have foreign nationals create that employment alongside local South Africans, rather than legislating them out of the picture?”

FEDHASA has made formal submissions on both Bills and will engage at every stage of the parliamentary process. The association is calling on the relevant departments to conduct full economic and constitutional impact assessments before either Bill proceeds further.

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Johannesburg – Travel buyers and travel managers are, once again, navigating interesting times. The Middle East crisis has meant new routes, new hubs and a renewed focus on duty of care. Volatile oil prices and capacity constraints are squeezing costs at the same time. Travellers themselves are warier than they were a year ago, and the journeys they are being asked to take are often longer, with more stopovers and less margin for error.

Against that backdrop, travel perks carry more weight than usual. A flat bed, a lounge shower and a late checkout matter more when you have just flown an extra five hours via a new connection.

What makes this moment especially interesting is the picture sitting just behind it.

Before tensions escalated in February, airlines were betting big on premium economy and business class cabins – overhauling their fleets and offering passengers more space, connectivity, state-of-the-art inflight entertainment and, in some cases, hotel-like privacy. Hotels themselves are pouring investment into luxury and lifestyle properties, with the global luxury hotel market forecast by Skift to more than double to $369 billion by 2032.

All while travel programmes are balancing safety and traveller wellbeing against value and cost management. Competing priorities, all playing out in the small print of what your company will and won’t cover.

The airline perks you might not know about

Status used to mean miles flown. Today, it increasingly means money spent. As The Points Guy puts it, the “hamster wheel” of chasing flights is being replaced by credit card spend, shopping and bookings through an airline’s network of partners (including car rentals) rather than simply bums in seats. 

The perks are varied too – many unseen and underused. Most major programmes now let you extend priority boarding to companions, share lounge access with a plus-one, and occasionally use complimentary upgrades on partner airlines. Lounge access through the right credit card sits in the same category: a perk most eligible travellers underuse.

The biggest unseen perk, though, is corporate. As Herman Heunes, GM of Corporate Traveller South Africa explains, two passengers in the same business class cabin may have paid wildly different fares, depending on how the corporate fares were negotiated behind the scenes.

“Corporate contracts often come with soft ‘perks’ the retail flyer rarely sees,” says Heunes. “Including guaranteed availability, waived change fees, volume rebates, and sometimes even chauffeur transfers on carriers like Emirates and Qatar Airways. This is exactly where a managed travel programme adds value beyond rate.”

What business class actually gets you

The world’s top airlines are getting very serious about their business class offering. Qatar’s QSuite offers sliding doors, “Do Not Disturb” indicators and customisable ambient lighting – not to mention a turndown service complete with pillows, a quilted mattress, plush blanket and PJs. Cathay Pacific’s Aria Suite (winner of the World’s Best Business Class in the 2026 AirlineRatings Awards) has privacy pods, plenty of cubby storage, a 24-inch, 4K in-flight entertainment screen, free Wi-Fi and a 5-star, restaurant-style dining experience.

For Heunes though, business class is often misunderstood.

“While lie-flat seats are great, what corporate buyers are really paying for is productive time: the space to work on a laptop, sleep on an overnight flight, and arrive functional,” says Heunes. “For staff travelling on the long-haul routes that South Africans know so well, rest, productivity and morale means business class pays for itself before the seatbelt sign goes off.”

Hotel perks worth knowing

Hotels are arguably winning the perks race – with many designed around health and wellbeing.

The Wall Street Hotel in New York, for example, has partnered with the ness, a trampoline-based movement studio, to bring intentional, low-impact wellness directly to your room (complete with trampoline and sessions streamed on your in-room smart television). Shangri-La Singapore’s Horizon Club Business Rooms come with adjustable standing desks, dual 4K monitors on request, and complimentary pressing of business clothes. IHG (InterContinental Hotels Group) has implemented acoustic doors and heavy soundproofing, while Hyatt’s premium properties supply white noise machines.

Quieter perks are worth knowing about too. Pillow menus, once an outlandish luxury, are now pretty mainstream at upper-tier establishments. The Benjamin Royal Sonesta has a 10-choice pillow menu, and guests can choose from anti-snore, buckwheat, cooling pillows, and Swedish memory foam tailored to their sleep positions.

More mainstream? Most hotels are happy to offer all sorts of things if you only know to ask: chargers, adaptors, sewing kits, toothbrushes and toothpaste, yoga mats, boardgames and even weighted blankets, sleep masks and slippers. Kimpton Vero Beach Hotel in Florida, USA, even runs a “Forgot it? We’ve got it!” programme, letting guests borrow accessories like sunglasses and handbags.

Again, for Heunes, it’s the more practical perks that make the difference.

“Early check-in and late check-out are huge for long-haul travellers,” says Heunes. “Flights out of South Africa often seem to land at unfriendly times. Always check with your travel management company what’s possible, and what can be negotiated. Some hotels also provide a complimentary shuttle service, which is a big perk in anyone’s language!”

What your company will and won’t pay for

Luxury hotels’ concierge services are well-versed in special – often eccentric – requests (including Evian baths, egg-free omelettes and VIP access to shows and events) but, in truth, when it comes to business travel things are far more boring.

As Heunes notes, internal scrutiny of spend has increased and buyers are expected to show financial control while supporting productivity, safety and traveller wellbeing.

Depending on the size of your company (and travel programme) the budget could expand to premium economy or business class on flights over six hours, full board, hotel Wi-Fi, laundry, reasonable tips, and increasingly, properties that support hybrid work with ergonomic desks and good connectivity.

What companies almost universally will not pay for is the minibar, in-room movies, spa treatments outside an approved wellness stipend, seat upgrades without pre-approval, alcohol outside client entertainment, traffic fines, anything for a travelling partner, and direct bookings outside the managed channel.

Which could leave modern business travellers in a slightly awkward position: flown upfront to Heathrow, ergonomically supported at the hotel, and quietly paying for their own packet of cashews from the minibar. “This is where travel policies are so important,” says Heunes. “Even companies with small travel programmes need to agree on perks and spend – and how reimbursements are managed. It is a core part of any travel programme.”