Tebello Polisane-Casper, executive director of the South African College for Tourism and the Drostdy Hotel, said her 20-year hospitality career began as a housekeeping coordinator before she rose to executive housekeeper and later held several senior management roles, including general manager of the Drostdy Hotel.
“Hospitality is a calling, not just a career, and definitely not for the faint hearted,” Polisane-Casper said.
The Drostdy Hotel, a five-star property in Graaff-Reinet, also known as Robert Sobukwe Town, in South Africa’s Eastern Cape, occupies buildings with Cape Dutch architecture dating to the 1800s. Polisane-Casper described the restoration as respectful of the original historical elements, positioning the hotel as a base for exploring the Eastern Cape and Camdeboo National Park.
The South African College for Tourism, a registered non-profit founded in 2001 by the late Dr Anton Rupert, trains marginalised, unemployed, rural and peri-urban youth, with a focus on women entering the hospitality sector. The college runs two training divisions, hospitality and tracking, aimed at economic empowerment in local communities across South Africa.
Students work directly with international guests during training, an approach Polisane-Casper said builds confidence and operational discipline before graduates enter the job market. She said modern luxury travellers expect personalisation, empathy and storytelling alongside prompt service, requiring training that prioritises soft skills and cultural adaptability across hotel departments.
Training programmes also incorporate sustainable practices, local sourcing and cultural preservation into daily hotel operations, according to Polisane-Casper, who said social impact and five-star commercial standards can reinforce each other rather than compete.
“Being at the helm of this role, guiding and mentoring the young minds, especially the women from disadvantaged backgrounds, gives me such fulfilment that I’m impacting the lives and making a difference in people’s lives,” Polisane-Casper said.