Wines2Whales luxury tent option

[milky4130]

popcorn time... this will soon become the whines to whails...

 

If its too expensive for you, then don't book it. I for one am considering it

surely you are so close to home from the race village dropping 5k will just be a waste?

[flymango]

I have inquired about availability, especially after last year's debacle where tents were "first come, first serve" after lots of rain meant some tents were submerged under 2 inches of water ... that's my story and I'm sticking to it!

[Sarnicoview]

I have inquired about availability, especially after last year's debacle where tents were "first come, first serve" after lots of rain meant some tents were submerged under 2 inches of water ... that's my story and I'm sticking to it!

So should we add bricks to our bags to raise us off the ground??

[flymango]

So should we add bricks to our bags to raise us off the ground??

 

Only if you believe in the Tokoloshe!!

[flymango]

To put things into perspectivce. We have booked a four roomed lodge for 4 cyclists and their wives for R4,720 in total for two nights. This includes access to the pool as well.

 

I have a different perspective because I'm doing the event together with my wife. Will be expensive, but hope I get a tent.

[Skubarra]

I think it's a good idea, you still get to be part of vibe for the whole day, no travelling between the hotel & venue in mornings & evenings, I can see this catching on for other races as well..

[GLuvsMtb]

surely you are so close to home from the race village dropping 5k will just be a waste?

You get the race vibe without needing a back massage after a long night sleeping on the ground even with dropping another R2500 it still works out way cheaper than Sani2C.

[Skubarra]

I do agree with you. However I think the price is a little high.

But there are people who can easily afford it so why not. Some people stay at the Holiday Inn and some people stay at the Sheraton.

 

Yep, personally I'll take that R5k and spend it on another stage race, but if you can afford it why not?

[TDK]

I did my first W2W in the form of the Adventure last year, and opted for the tented accommodation (we wanted to experience this at least once). What we couldn't foretell was the storm that came through, making a massive mud pit out of the rugby field the tent village was situated on. At least we were able to choose our tents early on (close-ish to the start and most importantly, on dry ground), but they were situated almost directly across from the two guys who won the luxury tents in the lucky draw (can't say we weren't a bit jealous at the time).

 

Would it be worth it to fork that amount out to stay in the luxury tents? If you can afford it, why not, but they had to walk through the same mud to get to the showers etc. For me, I'd either stay in the basic tents, or opt for a guest house.

 

Having the privilege of living in Hermanus, this year we're opting to drive through rather.

[Gideondv]

I did my first W2W in the form of the Adventure last year, and opted for the tented accommodation (we wanted to experience this at least once). What we couldn't foretell was the storm that came through, making a massive mud pit out of the rugby field the tent village was situated on. At least we were able to choose our tents early on (close-ish to the start and most importantly, on dry ground), but they were situated almost directly across from the two guys who won the luxury tents in the lucky draw (can't say we weren't a bit jealous at the time).

 

 

 

The tents had number tags on the same as your race / bag number. Not sure how you got to choose your tent...

[TDK]

The tents had number tags on the same as your race / bag number. Not sure how you got to choose your tent...

 

Thats true, but when we arrived at our demarcated area, we found that there were no number tags on any of the tents. When we queried this, they advised that for our section they hadn't been able to number the tents, so we could choose which tent we wanted. Lucky us

[Francois Pienaar]

How do you activate the luxury tented option?

[Francois Pienaar]

Never mind, found it on the website. #FacePalm.

[GLuvsMtb]

I think the luxury tents is a good business model:

1. Get the demand for tents upfront, ie. 100 race, 120 adventure and 80 ride

2. Calculate revenue = R1 500 000

3. Buy 120 tents and equipment = (estimate) R 1 200 000

4. Rent nice loo's and showers and store tents for 12 months = (estimate) R300 000

5. Re-use tents in 2015 (option to expand on the 120 tents bought) in a revised "luxury entry" option, i.e. fix the number of luxury entries to get 100% utilisation)

 

The event is working hard to create its own brand and need items that is unique to it. The luxury tent option is a good way to re invest in higher end equipment. The alternative would have been to do what the Cape Epic do and pre-book all available guest houses and sell it on at a profit. This has its own shortcomings, ie:

- rider transport to and from accommodation

- variance in accommodation standards and service experience from various service providers

- no re-investment to acquire race village hardware, pure profit taking on re-sale margin

 

Note that they may be renting the tents from a service provider, but that would be short-sighted.

[GLuvsMtb]

I would think the sponsors will provide them. Let's see if they have branding on them!

That would depend on how long the sponsorship deal runs for. I would not exclude some sponsorship branding for an additional contribution from the likes of RMB Private bank. It would fit their profile nicely.

[ValeYellow]

these luxury tented camps are not as "cut n dry" as they may seem. a shyte load of work goes on behind the scenes at an operational level which the "guest" does not get to see - warehousing, transporting approx. 100 tons of equipment to and from locations, water, etc..... lots and lots of hard graft.

 

personally, if you can afford it, why the hell not, although I think that a massage tent or two, bike wash area and perhaps a basic service area which is included in the price and only available to those riders staying in the lux camp would really seal the deal?

 

watch this space....

Edited August 6, 2014 by ValeYellow