Knysna loses another icon
Article by Fran Kirsten, Knysna-Plett Herald reporter
First Knysna lost its much-loved icon, the Outeniqua Choo-Tjoe, and now a second icon, Lightley’s Holiday Houseboats has shut its doors.
“Lightley’s Holiday Houseboats, Knysna is closed till further notice,” reads the opening paragraph on this 35-year-old Knysna business’ website.
Several members of the public contacted the Knysna-Plett Herald saying that they had paid thousands of Rand in deposits within the past ten days to this company and were afraid that they had lost this money.
Owen Groenenveld, owner of this iconic business, explained that the business had been struggling for the past three years, and that he and his wife, Hester took “the difficult decision to liquidate the company on Monday (October 29)”.
He further explained that his company has become just another statistic of the struggling economy, “Of all the tourist regions in the country, the Garden Route appears to have been hardest hit by the downturn, and we were simply not getting enough traffic to justify the company’s continued existence.”
Asked whether the many December tourists who had paid thousands of Rand into his account as deposits for their annual leave, would be refunded, he said that the business was not in a position to pay back any of the deposits.
“I am one of the people that Owen (Groenenstein) at Lightley’s took for R9 000.
This is a case of fraud; he took payments in full knowing that he would not honour anything. People should be warned,” reads one of the many emails received from disgruntled readers.
Readers were still paying deposits into the Lightley’s Holiday Houseboats account on November 1. “I was nagged for my balance of payment due 90 days before booking date, just to pay it on November 1 – while they had decided to go into liquidation on October 29. We have to scramble and pay out more money for our holidays now and hope that we get our money back,” reads a comment on the Knysna-Plett Herald facebook page.
Knysna Tourism CEO Shaun van Eck expressed his disappointment at the closure of Lightley’s Holiday Houseboats, saying that Knysna Tourism would be working with the liquidators to establish whether it was possible to keep the business open over the season period.
“This just reinforces the fact that Lightley’s dominant market, the South African market outside of the school holidays and major events, is severely depressed,” said van Eck.
“At the moment we are dealing with all calls received on the matter and assisting those customers who have lost their bookings to find alternative accommodation,” van Eck continued.
A press release issued on behalf of Groenenstein, reads: “We’re desperately sorry for our staff and loyal customers,” and continues, “Lightley’s has been an iconic attraction for Knysna for more than 35 years, and through various ownerships came to personify the Knysna lifestyle – but the current trading conditions, and an apparent lack of marketing of the region have drastically affected all the businesses in our area.”
To this comment Van Eck responded: “Knysna Tourism has led the call for a more focused strategy to boost awareness of the Garden Route. We have made the various parties involved aware of the difficulty facing products such as Lightley’s and have worked closely with Owen [Groenenveld] to try and keep this iconic attraction running. Sadly, their main market, being the South African local market, are travelling much less between school holidays and this will affect many products in our area.”
Groenenstein said that the company’s staff had been laid off and that he and his wife were doing whatever they could to help them find alternative employment.
“We also express our sympathy for the staff who have found themselves out of work at this time of year,” added Van Eck.
“While we are concerned about icon products such as Lightley’s Holiday Houseboats and the Outeniqua Choo-Tjoe, we take comfort in the fact that the essence of Knysna that first attracted visitors to Knysna, is as relevant as ever” Van Eck explained. “Our age-old indigenous forests, the estuary, unspoilt beaches and the warm hearts of the people within our local tourism industry will ensure that Knysna remains the preferred vacation destinations.”
Groenenstein expresses that he and his wife were devastated by what they were forced to do: “Our entire estate, was tied up in the business; we’ve lost everything, and we have seriously disappointed an enormous number of people. We can only hope that the liquidators find a buyer who will be able to get Lightley’s Holiday Houseboats onto the water as soon as possible,” he said.
Groenenstein could not furnish details of the liquidator saying that “the liquidator was in the process of appointing a curator.”
In closing Van Eck said, “We will be in contact with the liquidator once appointed, and will try to negotiate that customers who have paid for their summer holidays will still be able to enjoy this unique experience.”
Source: Knysna-Plett Herald
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