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Camps Bay (Jenni Evans, News24)
- The LGBTQI + collective that occupied an Airbnb property in Camps Bay has until Thursday to register.
- The property manager said he understands your cause but cannot facilitate or negotiate an extension.
- The group reiterated their request to speak directly to the owner about their vision of creating a safe space.
An LGBTQI + collective has until 5:00 p.m. on Thursday to leave an Airbnb house that they have occupied in Camps Bay.
Turnkey365, which is the company that manages the property for the owner, pleaded with the group to leave by then to make way for guests arriving on Friday.
“The guise under which guests secured the reservation has not only been dishonest, but their ‘indefinite’ occupancy and refusal to allow staff to enter the property has led many employees to not being able to perform their duties, which has resulted in a greater commitment to their livelihoods and ability to support their families, “said Turnkey365 CEO Gaby van Wyk in a statement.
She called the action a setback for the small business that is trying to get business back on track after the Covid-19 shutdown.
The hospitality industry is among the companies that were unable to operate during the strictest phases of the lockdown to manage Covid-19 cases.
“It is in this regard, and in a fervent effort to protect our staff and their families and subsequent livelihoods, that Turnkey365 requests current guests to vacate the Camps Bay property by September 24, 2020 at 5:00 p.m. 00 and no later, to accommodate an upcoming reservation from September 25, 2020. “
The application comes before the Heritage Day holiday on Thursday, and a long weekend for some.
READ | Camps Bay Airbnb taken over by a Cape Town group looking for a safe space
Van Wyk said the company understood and respected the group’s cause, but was no longer in a position to negotiate or facilitate its permanence.
He added that the stay would have a severe impact on employees who were just as vulnerable as the #weseeyou group currently occupying the house.
Van Wyk denied a claim that the group had threatened to call the police, as reported in a post, saying the communication had been amicable.
“We just got out of six horrible months,” he said of the effect the Covid-19 shutdown had on the property management business.
Some owners had already called to say they were scared by the occupancy and wondering if it was safe to rent to South African guests.
His colleague Philip Meyer said the hotel industry in Cape Town had been struggling since the drought, followed by a landslide, and now had to recover from losses caused by the closures.
He added that his was a small company, not a foreign-owned company as suggested.
Meyer said it had already paid the salaries of 14 domestic workers during the shutdown and employed mainly women of diverse backgrounds.
The owner of the occupied home was also dependent on rental income and did not have a portfolio of properties as expected, he added.
We ask that you also look at our case and the lives that are impacting.
Turnkey365 did not reveal the identity of the owner, but said the group had paid around R15,000 when they booked a family stay.
Kelly-Lee Koopman, who is part of the collective, said Wednesday by text message that they were exhausted and could not receive News24 for a visit immediately.
They also did not want to reveal the location.
However, if asked if they would leave as requested, she said they would like to speak directly with the property owner.
They also reached out to the incoming guests via Facebook to speak with them about the situation.
The collective, under the umbrella of LGBTQI + activists and artists, said they would like to discuss their vision of turning the property into a place of healing and safety, through care and art.
They booked a short stay at the house raising funds from friends, family and supporters to gain entry to the property and highlight their cause.
It includes providing a safe haven for people who have been brutalized through eviction or non-acceptance of their gender.
They also want to highlight the generational accumulation of wealth by some along the Atlantic coast in comparison to the dispossession and inequality that others have brought over the centuries.
In an update on the Facebook page #weseeyou, they said: “Our work has been mined during colonization, slavery, apartheid and in the present moment.
“Camps Bay, as one area in particular, has a very controversial and deeply painful history. The indigenous peoples here were forcibly removed from their vast grazing lands and placed in a settlement in Oudekraal where they encountered violence and death through the measles and smallpox.
“The dangerous mountain roads here were built using unpaid prison labor, often by mentally ill prisoners. There is no memory of this in the area.
“Many of the properties in the area are listed as national heritage sites, but they are used for profit and completely inaccessible, even though these are our painful stories.
“Before you say that the land belongs to those who ‘worked for it’ or ‘earned it’, consider that we have worked and continue to work. How much more do we need to work before we can have a decent space and time for rest? “
