January 2023

Tourism is on the up 

Dear Property Owner

Sure, we are all so tired of the electricity crisis happening in South Africa at the moment, but the way I get round it is to think of a generator or solar panels in the same way I think of roofing.

The government will never supply it, one absolutely needs it – so let’s just get it. Sure, it costs a pretty penny, and we will have to pass on the costs to guests, but that is how the world is today – from the cost of petrol and diesel through to the price of a lettuce.

It just is what it is, to use a simple but often frustrating expression.

So my suggestion – lower your expectations from our government, buckle up, work hard, offer great service – and do you absolute best.

The fittest will survive – and thrive – and that is what we are all about at GHASA. Trying to help wherever we can.

Have a great start to the year.

Regards,

Richard Lendrum & the GHASA team

PREFERRED SUPPLIERS

Mobipaid offer to GHASA members

Mobipaid builds payments infrastructure for the internet to help businesses digitise and grow their operations. We use payment links and QR codes to scale payment acceptance points and there is no card terminal requirement for the merchant. We make it simple for the end-customer to pay and there is no app for either merchant or customer as everything is built in the Cloud. We are a fully PCI DSS Level 1 compliant solution and are PASA registered.
 

The solution is a simple pay-as-you-go model with no set-up or monthly fees. Cardholders typically pay directly from their cell phones or any internet-enabled device and there is an opportunity to securely tokenize (save) cards for speedy checkouts. We offer businesses an intuitive Merchant Portal and developer API for those wishing to integrate to an ERP software. We also offer 3rd party integrations to existing technologies, the most important of which for your industry is Oracles Opera PMS solution as used by many of the larger hotels.
 

The deal for GHASA members

• ZAR processing for GHASA members only: 2.75% and then settled locally for free. 
• EUR & GBP processing is charged at 2.65% but the guesthouse needs to have settlement instructions for EUR or GBP. 
• USD (and all non- EEA cards) charged at 3.5% (USD settlement details wld be required if the customer wishes to receive settlement in USD).

We will shortly launch a European company formation service for those customers looking for a European presence and multi-currency bank accounts, which we will provide. While our customers will pay local taxes, they will benefit from low-to-no cost banking fees and lower processing and settlement costs. 

Product Features for the Travel Industry

• Cloud-based Merchant portal which you can use from any internet browser and from which you can send payment requests, issue refunds, eliminate cart abandonment at online checkout etc.
• Fully integrated online checkout and/or choice of payment plugins - takes minutes to set up a checkout - copy/paste!
• QR based technology to pay at the POS. E-invoice platform. Scan to pay with no app. Seamlessly scale acceptance point with no hardware requirement
• Payment links delivered using global SMS provider, email (business can use their own domain address) and instant messenger (WhatsApp, Telegram etc)
• Multi-currency with single, scheduled, recurring payments, Pre-Auth offered
• From Q1 '23 customers will be able to automate reconciliation and settlement. Suppliers will be settled according to preloaded instructions which will dramatically cut admin/human error rates.
• Like for like processing/settlement - charge your customers in USD, EUR or GBP and get settled in USD, EUR, GBP. Cheaper for the cardholder to pay in his home currency (saves 5%!) and often easier and cheaper to pay suppliers in USD for example.
• Virtual Terminal to capture OTA bookings and other virtual cards or if you need to take card details (though we would advise against this unless the customer is present)
• Instant payment confirmations to customer and business - full/partial refund abilities 
• O2O (online to offline) Buy Online, collect offline option using the Mobipaid Scanner to validate purchases. Purchases can be validated offline.
• Acceptance of all cards and alternative payment forms e.g. EFT, BNPL (buy now pay later) pending. Technicals done, just waiting for commercials that make sense to us
• SEPA, SWIFT settlement options. FX and IBAN facility available to customers with EEA presence
• Fully PCI compliant solution - the business will never come into contact with sensitive card data
• Complete visibility and control of the checkout to avoid cart abandonment and 
• Developer sandbox environment: https://developer.mobipaid.com/
• Marketplace offer https://mobipaid-marketplace.com/ - we will list and and sell package holidays and direct bookings to closed loop targets from next year. All MP customers can list for free.
• A choice of integrations relevant to travel e.g. Oracles Opera (PMS - demo attached) RoomCloud (booking engine/channel manager). 

Discounts for GHASA members from Penmark

Ready to revive your rooms for 2023? Get high-quality towels, linens, blankets and more at excellent prices. Penmark Hospitality offers the following products:

200TC 100% Cotton Percale Linen: white, pebble stone and duck egg
ssorted Towels
Throws & Scatters
Beds & Mattresses
Cotton Cellular Blankets
MicroFibre Duvet Inners & Pillows
200T 50/50 Polycotton Percale Linen
Waterproof Mattress and Pillow Protectors: Terry Towel & Quilted
Wooden Hangers
Duck-Down Duvet Inners & Pillows
Gowns & Slippers
Electric Blankets
Assorted Bath Mats
Mattress Converters - Waterproof Quilted
Faux Suede Base Wraps

Whatever you need – we will do our best to supply.

Beautiful gowns from Jenev