The Kruger Gate Hotel is ideally situated along the Sabie River, just a minute’s drive from the Paul Kruger Gate, the secure entrance to Kruger National Park near Skukuza Airport. Nestled in a serene riverine forest with towering African trees, the hotel offers luxurious accommodations in Mpumalanga for couples, families, and groups.
Guests can choose from Deluxe, Deluxe Family, and Luxury rooms, as well as Executive Suites and the exclusive Nkanyi Suite for private gatherings. Each room is elegantly decorated with African safari-inspired decor and modern furnishings, featuring private bathrooms, air conditioning, free Wi-Fi, and Smart TVs for a comfortable, memorable stay. FrontRowSociety editor Andreas Conrad finds the hotel’s approach very interesting and therefore conducted an interview with the CEO Anton Gills.
Exclusive Interview with CEO of Kruger Gate Hotel Anton Gills
Andreas Conrad: Speaking of your guests, generally speaking people staying in exclusive hotels, do you have the feeling that they look for sustainable arrivals to their destination?
Anton Gills: Yes, definitely. Sustainable travel is high on the agenda of many – if not most – travellers. They understand the nuances of sustainability and that not every aspect of travel is sustainable but that, for example, supporting sustainability initiatives or community upliftment programmes is a positive way of contributing to sustainability. In many ways, South Africa leads the charge in terms of sustainable travel options, combining cultural diversity with environmental protection.
Andreas Conrad: So would you agree that sustainable travelling starts with the actual travel itself or at the hotel?
Anton Gills: We need to think about sustainability in a holistic way and do what we can, where we can. This is true for individual travellers but also for businesses operating in the tourism space. Ultimately, sustainability is about everyone in this process, from a guest deciding where to stay and how to travel to a hotel implementing systems and procedures, making mindful decisions.
Andreas Conrad: In common sense most people connect luxury with wastefulness, of course we know and agree that’s not always the case. So how would you reconcile luxury and sustainability?
Anton Gills: It need not be mutually exclusive. It has a lot to do with an expanded notion of what luxury is. At Kruger Gate Hotel, luxury could mean a neck massage in the spa, overlooking the spectacular Sabie River, by a masseuse from the local community (for whom this means employment), or it could mean stargazing at night from the comfort of a pool deck.
Andreas Conrad: Speaking of those refinements and ideas, does your resort have for example a two-year plan to operate more eco- friendly or sustainable? If so, are you comfortable sharing some with us?
Anton Gills: At Kruger Gate Hotel we’re constantly working to refine and improve our facilities and our offering in line with current best practices as far as sustainability is concerned. In fact, our business model aligns economic success with ecological consciousness, and thus sustainability. Our location, less than a minute’s drive from the world famous Kruger National Park, means our success is linked to the health of the Park’s ecosystems. So, for us, conservation and concern for the environment is not an abstract concept but a concrete, business imperative. And sustainability is at the heart of that.
Andreas Conrad: In order to reach your goal, to what extent do you involve the local population in your sustainability strategies and is there government support for sustainability programs?
Anton Gills: The Kruger Gate Hotel Water Initiative is a project that’s very important to us, and is our way of supporting the community around the hotel with access to fresh water.
Andreas Conrad: Due to our profession we are at multiple exclusive resorts of the world. Sometimes we have the feeling that the thought of sustainability is only important for European / German speaking guests. Would you agree?
Anton Gills: Definitely not. At Kruger Gate Hotel we welcome guests from all over the world. From China to Chile, Namibia to Norway and many in between. And especially local (South African) travellers too. Sustainability is an almost universal concern. Guests are interested to learn more about sustainable efforts in the region. We’re on the doorstep of the Kruger National Park, which is a natural world wonder and visitors to the Park are almost immediately enraptured by nature’s beauty and bounty, and so sustainability almost naturally comes to mind.
Andreas Conrad: Speaking of your personal opinion, how do you think travelling and staying at luxurious destinations will change in the future? And where do you see the limits of sustainability in the luxury hospitality industry?
Anton Gills: Travel is aspirational, and will alway be. It also piques our curiosity, which is something very fundamental to being human so I don’t think the desire to travel will change in the future. As a society, and particularly in more affluent circles, people are thinking differently – more critically – about sustainability, and that’s a good thing. As travellers demand more sustainability options, it encourages stakeholders in the tourism and hospitality space to think more creatively, more critically and more innovatively about sustainability.
Andreas Conrad: There are lots of environmentally conscious trends, which ones have you noticed in recent years?
Anton Gills: It is hard to pinpoint a particular trend but we’re encouraged by a growing mindfulness about sustainability. Guests are interested in learning more about the community, the environment and are also keen to support local initiatives that positively impact the community and sustainability efforts in the Kruger National Park and that is very encouraging.
Andreas Conrad: Lastly, we are curious! There’s a current boom of luxurious hospitality facilities all over the world. Everybody wants to go higher, further, faster, chasing the sky. What does a luxury resort or hotel need to survive the tough competition?
Anton Gills: Ensure that the guest experience is of the highest quality. It’s not about gimmicks or gadgets, or elaborate gestures. The guest wants a world-class experience and delivering on that, consistently, is what sets any good hotel apart from the competition.
Andreas Conrad: Finally, we would like to know what unique selling point your resort has in terms of environmentally friendly tourism?
Anton Gills: Our location! As mentioned above, Kruger Gate Hotel is less than a minute’s drive from one of the main entrances to the magnificent, highly lauded Kruger National Park. The Park boasts world-class conservation efforts and tourism is critical to the Park’s survival because tourist spending helps to fund many of the initiatives that keep the Park healthy.
More information:
Kruger Gate Hotel
On the Sabie River at the Paul Kruger Gate, R536, Kruger National Park
1350
Skukuza, Mpumalanga
South Africa
