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International rental opportunity for SA home owners

Announcement

19 November 2009

Jawitz Properties has partnered with iStopOver to give south africans access to foreign visitors.

Jawitz Properties has partnered with Canadian-based company iStopOver to enable South African homeowners to access foreign visitors looking for rental accommodation during the World Cup and beyond.

The World Cup will see between 250 000 and 400 000 visitors arriving in South Africa during June/July next year. There are just 75 000 beds available in traditional hotels. According to SA Tourism, there could be a shortfall of around 65 000 beds during peak times of the World Cup giving many South African homeowners the opportunity to either rent out their homes or host visitors in their homes.

CE Herschel Jawitz says: "What really excites us about this partnership is that iStopOver is a leading provider of rental accommodation in North America, whose reach extends well into the Americas, the UK and Europe. This immediately gives us and our clients' access to these markets. iStopOver's technology and website is specifically geared to short term accommodation which is ideal for the world cup rental opportunity.

In addition Jawitz Properties will be offering clients a variety of options to match all budgets including a full service, which includes negotiating on behalf of the client and the guest, assisting with the inspection of the properties, key hand-overs and ensuring that upon departure a full inspection takes place. "We are also investigating a top-up insurance product that will cover breakages, losses, theft and any other unforeseen incidences," he says.

While there is no doubt that there is going to be a strong demand for accommodation on a short term basis it is important that the rental procedure is handled professionally and smoothly. iStopOver's international experience coupled with its technology and marketing experience will manage the rental-listings as well as attracting guest bookings and, more importantly, provide a secure payment process which will bring peace of mind to local homeowners as well international guests.

‘From a branding point of view, it is important that the World Cup is successful and that guests feel welcome in South Africa. It is a tremendous opportunity for South Africa to show the world what it has to offer. This means that homeowners should see the World Cup as an opportunity to showcase the country but should guard against unrealistic pricing. We want our guests to have a great experience and not feel ripped off especially if they are going to visit here again. Part of our role will be to manage those expectations," he says

South Africans should not only think about renting out their entire homes but rather hosting visitors in their homes. The experience for both the guests and the hosts could be fantastic and may be what makes our World Cup experience different from others. We should see ourselves as ambassadors and not only room providers.

Jawitz has already signed up a ‘lifestyle style of the rich and famous' 133 foot boat with five cabins as well as jet skis and zodiacs on board. The rate is $12000 per day before food and fuel.

Mark Skapinker, co-founder of iStopOver says: "It is a tremendous honour and responsibility for the people of South Africa to be hosting such a prestigious event as the FIFA World Cup in 2010. Working with Jawitz, with their local presence and reputation, has enabled us to provide the premier housing opportunity for South African homeowners and World Cup visitors."

iStopOver is part of Brightspark 3.0 Inc that has been creating and running software and Internet businesses for over 25 years.

The views expressed here are those of the contributors and not necessarily shared by Realestateweb. This announcement is published in the interests of the Realestateweb community of readers. Submit a media release or blog by sending an email to news@realestateweb.co.za.

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