Visionary Mind - John de Canha

Author: Kasia Yoko
Date: 2014-09-05

Tanned and well-rested John de Canha, the charismatic General Manager of Beverly Hills hotel in uMhlanga Rocks, has just returned from a magical holiday in Portugal with his wife and children. Mr. de Canha is originally from Portugal, where he took his children to show them their heritage.

Mr. de Canha was brought out of retirement to manage the Beverly Hills hotel and to convey his iconic brand of grandeur to the treasured splendour of this fifty-year-old Dame.Without giving anything away he assured me that he was ready to make space for the new generation of hoteliers.

When asked about thestatusof the Beverly Hills hotel, Mr. de Canha spoke frankly and openly, "Beverly Hills is very significant for this region." He said, "I was privileged to sit down with Sol Kerzner three months ago, he is such an important entity as he revolutionised the hospitality industry in this country. When you look at where the hospitality industry is today you have to understand that Kerzner is the man that made it happen."

"Sol Kerzner's ability to think bigger and do more always holds an element of surprise. I asked him how did this development come about. This is where it all started for Mr. Kerzner," Mr de Canha related his story, "At the time Mr Kerzner was a qualified accountant, his dad had the Astra Hotels and it was an industry that had caught his eyehe took a drive from downtown Marine Parade to Umhlanga, it took forty minutes to get here, he remembers the little road that led to the lighthousewhen he finally arrived he loved it and decided that this was the place where he would build his first graded five star hotel."

Mr. de Canha added that the hotel industry is a huge contributor to the welfare of the local community. To him the glass is always half full, "You have to get excited when you see the amount of development that is happening on the North Coast and the uMhlanga Ridge. We need to get the right role players to set the ball rolling and create a strategic way forward for KZN tourism."

Mr. de Canha continued, "We have to realise that the tourism industry in this country needs to be a partnership between government and the private sector and we all have to contribute to that cause, and be able tochallenge each other."

"I look at my life and from hotels I have run in Pebble Beach, California, in Toronto, in Miami, San Diego, Dubai, London, it doesn't changeit really doesn't change. The hospitality industry is an amazing platform to make a difference. When I speak to young South Africans I often say, it is a privilege to be in this industry, but your heart must be in the right place as long as first and foremost you are here to add value to people's lives as a hotelierthe business will come and you will make the money."

When asked how he sees the future of SA's hotel industry, Mr. de Canha responded, "We have to make sure that we continue to integrate with the leadership of this country, that we continue to remind them of the role of the hospitality industry. After all we are the biggest employer of human beings in the world."

"What a privilege to be involved in enriching people's lives." Mr. de Canha concluded.

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