It has been a good start to the 2025 year for independent hotels across South Africa.
This is as recent data from prominent hotel management software, RoomRaccoon, has highlighted a significant upswing in performance metrics. RoomRaccoon is used by independent properties nationwide.
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As reported by IOL, an analysis was done on over 4500 rooms across different properties including hotels, guesthouses and B&Bs.
The results have shown that the revenue per available room (RevPAR) for January 2025 has risen by 8% year-on-year.
This is an increase from R1 477 in 2024 to R1 593 in 2025. The growth has been primarily attributed to a surge in the average daily rate which soared by 16%, thus reaching R2 864 in comparison to the previous year.
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On the 2nd of January 2025, the peak average daily rate reached R3 480. This reflects increased customer willingness to invest in their travel experiences.
According to RoomRaccoon, guests are also opting for longer stays at independent properties.
‘We’re seeing the post-pandemic travel boom is beginning to stabilise, with occupancy rates dropping slightly from 60% in January 2024 to 56% in January 2025. However guests are staying longer, which increases the opportunity to generate more revenue from other areas of the property,’ said Niels Verspui, Market Head of RoomRaccoon South Africa.
Furthermore, RoomRaccoon’s findings indicate that independent hotels generated an additional R99.5 million in January 2025 from ancillary services. These include airport shuttles, game drives, guided tours and special packages. Notably, this is a significant increase from R73.7 million in January 2024.
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