Safety in South African guest houses

By Elouise | 1 Comments | Rating: 0 | |

This information will be useful for the traveller as well as the bed and breakfast (B&B) / guest house owner, in that they can better equip and protect themselves from unforeseen circumstances. Safety has always been a concern when travelling and now with the 2010 Soccer world cup at our door, we are expecting an influx of nation and international guests of whom all have a need to make sure that where they decide to call home is secure and safe for them and their families.

As a traveller, whether a South African travelling at home or international visitors to our shores, the guests at an establishment will want to ensure that wherever they chose to stay during their travels, the accommodation is of the level they would expect. Accommodation that suits them, food they enjoy and a location in which they can relax. But what about the insurance of the establishment they have chosen? It is interesting to note that an increasing number of foreign travellers and their travel agencies are making enquiries about the insurances before they make a reservation. An establishment without the correct insurances is simply, in effect, turning away bookings, and as we get to the stage where the number of foreign tourists start to realise that this problem exists in South African bed and breakfasts (B&B's) and guest houses, establishments operating in this way will start to lose more and more reservations.

Accidents can, and do happen bed and breakfast (B&B) and guest house owners need to be certain that, in the event of a guest becoming the victim of an unfortunate accident where the owner of the establishment is at fault and the guest seeks compensation, the property has the correct and adequate insurances to provide protection to the establishment owner. Sadly, many of the bed and breakfast (B&B) and guest house establishments in South Africa do not have either correct or adequate insurances, and many have insurance policies containing clauses, rendering some insurance's useless. An accident to a guest, the fault or negligence of the owner, involving major costs, may result in the guest being able to recover very little from the owner whose assets are limited. A relatively small claim in Pounds would probably be more than most bed and breakfast (B&B) / guest houses are worth in South African Rands. For this reason it is important that when making a reservation at a bed and breakfast (B&B) or guest house in South Africa, the traveller confirms that they are adequately insured.

We have many beautiful and quaint bed and breakfasts (B&B) / guest houses in South Africa - many of whom I have had the pleasure of enjoying. This article is not meant to deter any national or international travellers, it is meant to help you be more aware and selective when making your choices. We want you to have the most pleasurable stay with us as possible so that you can come back and enjoy even more. Thank you for reading this article.

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Comments

Oct 16, 2011 11:50pm

Megan_tweet
Hi Elouise, you are a hitting the hammer on the nail. Tourists coming to SA need to be made aware of the dangers and can use every recommendation to get around the problem of safety in SA. Tourists shouldn't be deterred in any way to visit our beautiful country.