Hospitality Market Research
South African hospitality has recovered from the 2020-2022 collapse but recovery is uneven — Cape Town and the Garden Route are trading at or above 2019 RevPAR, while Johannesburg is still catching up and secondary leisure destinations remain choppy. Inbound tourism has shifted in composition (stronger German, UK, and South African flows, weaker Chinese than pre-pandemic, rising African business traveller share), and domestic leisure has become structurally more price-sensitive. Operators are simultaneously managing labour-cost pressure, load-shedding resilience investment, and the rise of short-term rental (Airbnb, Vrbo) as a true competitive channel rather than a peripheral one.
Why Hospitality Research Matters
- Inbound tourism composition has shifted meaningfully since 2019 — understanding origin-market mix, length-of-stay, and spend-per-night at granular level shapes pricing and distribution strategy.
- Short-term rental (Airbnb, Vrbo) has moved from peripheral to material share in several SA destinations — competitive-set research that excludes short-term rental systematically understates the challenge.
- Domestic leisure has become price-sensitive and promotion-responsive, but also increasingly experience-hungry — research surfaces the nuance between value-seeking and value-offering behaviour.
- Business and MICE travel recovery is uneven, and corporate-travel-buyer research is needed to understand hybrid meeting culture and its impact on mid-week occupancy.
- Labour intensity and front-of-house experience are what differentiate SA hospitality globally, and guest-experience research linked to operational KPIs directly shapes commercial performance.
Our Hospitality Research Services
Guest experience and satisfaction research
Post-stay surveys, GSS tracking, and qualitative guest-journey research linked to operational KPIs.
Brand and proposition research
Brand equity, positioning, and proposition research across luxury, premium, and mid-market hospitality segments.
Pricing and distribution research
Research into rate sensitivity, channel mix, OTA versus direct, and dynamic pricing acceptance.
Competitive and short-term rental audits
Structured competitive-set audits including Airbnb and Vrbo benchmarking alongside traditional hospitality.
Source-market and inbound tourism research
Quantitative and qualitative research with inbound tourist segments and corporate travel buyers.
Restaurant and F&B concept research
Concept, menu, and experience research for in-property F&B outlets and stand-alone hospitality brands.
How We Approach Research in This Sector
Hospitality research has to respect the operational reality of the property — guests cannot be interrupted mid-stay without damaging the experience, and post-stay research has to be designed around concierge and front-office workflows. We run our guest-experience work in close collaboration with operations and GM teams, and for source-market research we combine in-market research (Germany, UK, US, rest of Africa) with on-property intercept in Cape Town, Sandton, and key game-lodge properties. Short-term rental benchmarking uses structured supply-side scrapes alongside guest-side qualitative.
Why Choose Meraki Research for Hospitality?
- We have run guest-experience, brand, and pricing research across luxury lodge, urban premium, mid-market, and MICE-focused hospitality properties in South Africa.
- Our inbound tourism research uses in-market partners in Germany, UK, US, and rest-of-Africa rather than relying solely on on-property intercept, which systematically under-samples less-frequent guests.
- Our competitive-audit methodology includes short-term rental (Airbnb, Vrbo) supply-side scrapes and guest-experience benchmarks alongside traditional competitive-set analysis.
- Our senior team includes researchers with direct hospitality operations background, so findings connect to operational reality rather than idealised service blueprints.
What We Deliver
| Deliverable | Format | Typical Timeline |
|---|---|---|
| Guest experience tracker wave | Monthly or quarterly dashboard plus written wave commentary | 4-6 weeks per wave |
| Brand and proposition study | Positioning report with competitive diagnostics and recommendations | 8-10 weeks |
| Pricing and distribution study | Rate-sensitivity and channel-mix recommendations | 6-8 weeks |
| Competitive and STR audit | Scorecard benchmarking versus named competitors and STR | 4-6 weeks |
| Source-market study | In-market research report with commercial and distribution implications | 8-10 weeks |