A core part of our staff is our wonderful short-term rentals team, Samantha, Cailin and Chuma. They look after the portfolio of short-term rental properties, which extends not only to taking care of the properties and all it entails, but also liaising closely with the owners and looking after the myriad needs of the guests who choose to stay in them. We chatted with the three ladies.
Samantha Muller
I am originally from Johannesburg, but I have been in Cape Town since the age of 9, so I feel very Capetonian and have no memory of living anywhere else. What brought me into this line of work was an absolute passion for customer service. With a background in hotels and restaurants and a degree in Hotel Management, I have worked in a fascinating range of settings - Florida golf courses, the magnificent Cellars-Hohenort in Constantia, some beautiful boutique hotels in central London and small, niche hotels back in Cape Town. I have a fascination for planning and coordinating, and for offering the very best service to our customers, who, in the short-term holiday rentals business, are both owners and guests.
My day-to-day - which changes day-to-day! - involves moving swiftly from property to property, dealing with emails and phone calls, having meetings and responding very quickly and calmly to issues and problems. I deal with suppliers, house staff, owners and guests. It involves an enormous amount of planning and co-ordinating, and moving around the pieces of what sometimes feels like the world’s most enormous puzzle. Every now and again, things come together, progress is made, guests are happy and owners are really proud of their properties. That feels so rewarding.
To turn a bad day into a good one, I try to take a step away. I take a deep breath, get some input from somebody else and shift my perspective. Often when you look again, you find a new solution. I also try to remember friends, family and the small joys in life.
My favourite part of Camps Bay is definitely Bakoven beach - the lovely water and sheltered spots. In Cape Town, I love basically everything that is nature - the mountain, the ocean, hiking, walking. Everywhere feels so different and it is all amazing.
My favourite past-time is a trip to Babylonstoren with my family - delicious food and wine, l nature and the gardens, seeing my kids playing in the trees. Bliss.
Do I have a role model? Not a particular role model, per se, but I am constantly trying to learn new things about every aspect of my life - how to be best partner and mom, best business runner and colleague, and in that sense there are many different people that I look to. I constantly try to learn and strive to be the very best that I can.
Finally, if I had a superpower, it would be to slow time down and multiply it! We are pulled in so many different directions and I do wish we were able to truly allocate quality time to everything we do.
Chuma Gwenxa
I am Capetonian, born and bred. I am the eldest of three and the pleaser and overthinker, wanting to make people happy! Which works well in our industry as I am very driven to please our owners and guests. I get very emotional when I feel strongly about something, and am the member of the team who really cannot stop talking, which means I always end up taking an hour to do a check-in - even if it’s a one-bed apartment…
My studies in Hospitality Management, which I completed at the Cape Technikon, brought me into this line of work. I started off in five-star hotels and in 2009 worked at a short-term rentals agency, and have never looked back.
Day to day, I am the first point of contact with guests during the booking process, and I arrange and co-ordinate other things such as flights, the activities they would like to undertake during their stay, and all manner of things. I love to meet and greet guests when they arrive and maintain that relationship as the point of contact during their holiday. I also schedule housekeeping and any other services, such as a private chef or babysitter, that they may require.
It is a job that has its challenges - you can try and plan, but there will always be an unforeseen situation which will need to be dealt with immediately. Our response time to our guests is really important to us, particularly when they are in-house and something needs to be fixed or replaced - we rely on suppliers and other stakeholders who are not just working with us, so that can be tricky.
How do I turn a bad day into a good one? I have a good old laugh with my team about a certain situation and how we dealt with it.
The bit of the job I love most is seeing happy guests, knowing they feel welcome and cared for during their stay. I also love being part of a team and trying together to come up with a solution to a particular challenge.
When I am not at work, and if I have the time, I like to try out new restaurants.
I don’t have a role model, really, I am my own role model. I accept my strengths and weaknesses and I embrace them both. And my super-power would be to make people kinder to one another.
Cailin Wilmore
I was born and raised in Cape Town, the baby of my family, the straightforward one in the team! In my book, it is what it is - once I have made up my mind about something, there is no turning back, no grey area! I love planning and organizing, but if this job has taught me one thing, it is that you have to adapt to every situation you are thrown into. Whilst completing my Tourism Management studies, I had the opportunity in 2014 to complete an internship at a short-term rental and property management company. I had no idea there was a property industry within tourism and hospitality, but I have been working in this industry ever since, and I could not be happier.
Day to day, I manage the reservations system, the online portals such as Airbnb and Booking.com, and update the listing information - availability, rates and so on. I liaise with owners and guests, and deal with the important aspect of the accounts, such as owner property payments, collecting booking funds, and property account reconciliation. As much as I love what I do, it is certainly a demanding job and there are times when I do realise that I am spending hardly any time with my close family and friends.
I love meeting new people and I love the fact that every day is a different day and brings new challenges. It is fast-paced but making a guest experience memorable - in a nice way! - is wonderful. I also love working with my team. And to turn a bad day into a good day, I just have a laugh with my lovely team-mates, Chuma and Sam.
My favourite part of Camps Bay is the view as I arrive for work, and working so close to the beach - not that we ever get to spend any time there! My favourite part of Cape Town is the wonderful nature and the scenic drives.
When I am not at work, I love hanging out with my family and friends, and watching a movie or a series on TV.
And as far as a role models go… well, my role model is me! My husband and my mom, though, are my biggest motivators. Finally, if I could choose a superpower, it would be the ability to read minds - oh, and to not get tired!
