News & Media | BON Hotels Blog

Do they know something we don’t?

We are all well aware of the adverse effect on the inbound tourism industry due to new Home Affairs legislation. Fortunately (in a twisted way) the rand is coming to our rescue, its poor performance making South Africa an enticing destination of choice for international holiday

September 8, 2015

Ringing the bell

We’ve put a bell in our office. Slap bang in the middle of everything and everyone. For the sole purpose of celebrating achievements.

August 26, 2015

Budgets – who’s driving the bus

I’ve learned that financial statements tell a story, a movie recapping all that has happened in terms of trading over a period of time.

August 5, 2015

Hello Africa, tell me how you are doing

I was scrolling through my recent blog posts musing that there has certainly been a lot to complain about lately!

July 20, 2015

Get the balance right

Don't turn this way Don't turn that way Straight down the middle until next Thursday

June 23, 2015

Thee Wise Men: watch and learn

Wow! We have received such a hearty and warm response from media and industry personnel with regard to my father, Otto Stehlik, joining us at BON Hotels.

June 9, 2015

Rock Bottom

I simply cannot avoid a topic that’s been weighing heavily on all of us these past few weeks. I’ve noticed a profound change in our demeanor: we as a nation are down, depressed, and dragging our heels and our hearts through this very tough time.

May 12, 2015

Game Changer

A major challenge has been keeping me awake at night, one that I have warned others about and yet one that has, quite frankly, landed us on the brink as a start-up

April 8, 2015

The revolving door

I’ve been a little concerned lately with the turnover of people in our new company. We’ve experienced a number of people starting with us and within a few weeks – or even days!

March 17, 2015

The Art of War

I was fortunate enough at an early stage in my career to find myself at an industry event, sitting next to a very well-known psychoanalyst.

February 25, 2015

Rats, gems and elephants

I’m not sure if it’s just the time of the year for new beginnings, or if BON Hotels has captured the attention of tons of job-seekers in the hospitality industry.

January 27, 2015

Dropping the ball

My team and I have recently undergone a truly humbling experience at BON Hotels

January 9, 2015

Bring on the Gramadoelas

There’s something very special about being the ‘small guy’. I mean, though we of course aspire to box in the heavyweight division, at the moment, the featherweight ring is where the exciting stuff is happening!

December 5, 2014

The value of PR

Being a start-up organisation, we are fairly constrained by slim marketing budgets.

November 25, 2014

Keep on trucking

As fledglings in the hospitality industry, my team has travelled the road (or ridden the rollercoaster, I might say!)

November 5, 2014

Rubbing shoulders

Networking has not been one of my priorities. I confess it is something I shy away from - I prefer to connect with people one-on-one.

October 14, 2014

Getting the basics right

As passionate hoteliers, we find ourselves in a difficult situation. Banks are slowly starting to warm to hotel projects - this time around less lenient, and on their own terms

October 1, 2014

Good people people

A successful hotelier is frequently asked the question, “What makes a hotel good?” The answers are endless, but there is one ingredient that will make or break a property.

September 19, 2014

Cool like that

Executive meetings can be intense and uninspiring. To liven things up, we have a tradition at BON Hotels EXCO meetings for each member to have a turn to present to the committee a ground-breaking emerging industry trend

September 18, 2014

Value vs Volume

I have always believed in the organic growth of BON Hotels and have sworn in the past that I would rather go bust than take on a property to rack up the numbers in our portfolio, without being able to add value.

August 25, 2014