IN IT TOGETHER: The Mantis Collection’s Adrian Gardiner is putting staff first during the national lockdown
Image: EUGENE COETZEE
As he watches everything he spent most of his life building teeter on the brink of destruction, Mantis Collection founder and chair Adrian Gardiner is not shaken.

The tourism and hospitality industry has been one of the biggest casualties since Covid-19 reared its ugly head late in 2019 and Gardiner’s offerings are not immune.

Just before the 21-day lockdown in SA, the group had to close most of its 35 hotels worldwide, including seven in the Eastern Cape.

These include Founders Lodge, Intle Lodge and Oceana.

“As far as our industry is concerned, it is finished. It is gone for now,” Gardiner said matter of factly.

“We have closed all our hotels for the 21 days and that means we have no revenue.”

Lack of revenue and uncertainty would overwhelm and devastate any ordinary businessman.

But Gardiner is no ordinary man.

“I believe every problem has an opportunity.

“So in 1979, when I lost everything and I had to start again, what was the opportunity?

“And there was an opportunity and we bounced back quite quickly.

During an interview with the entrepreneur who put the Eastern Cape on the map with the founding of Shamwari Private Game Reserve, he was cool, calm and collected.

Perhaps it was the valuable lesson he learnt during the 1970s when he lost everything and had to start again that has prepared him for a time such as this.So if we are strong enough to maintain my team there are going to be — in our industry, certainly — a lot of opportunities that will come.

“I am telling everybody to use this time as a positive.

“There are lots of things we can do now.

“We have a lot of time to think about where we are going, what are we going to do, what is the strategy for the future.”

Nearly 800 people worldwide work for Mantis and top of mind for Gardiner is protecting his staff, who are family to him.

“I have a philosophy in life.

“I wouldn’t be where I am today if it wasn’t for the people who helped me get there.

“First, we are trying to protect our staff and the people who have worked for me.

“We are working on every measure possible to see how long we can sustain them so we have a future when it comes back.

“Thankfully, I did this deal with Accor where we sold 50% of our management company so we have a few funds to sustain staff.

“Sadly for me, I have worked for 70-odd years of my life and will probably have to give most of it back, but I wouldn’t have it if it wasn’t for them so one has to be exceptionally understanding.

“We have told all our employees they are on leave and everyone is getting paid full salaries.

“We have paid everyone for April.

“We are keeping our expenses as low as possible.

“We don’t need to advertise now, we have put on hold all our marketing initiatives and have banned travel,” he said.Gardiner is in constant contact with his team.

“We are looking at opportunities.

“I am pleased with our team and their ideas … we have a ‘war room’ trying to give a positive message and ask them for input.

“We have great morale and [that] shows we are a team. We are losing, but we want to win.”

Gardiner is spending the lockdown at home in Port Elizabeth with his wife, Shirleyann.

“The place is quite big so my wife and I can separate for a while so we don’t get on each other’s nerves,” he quipped.

Gardiner is not resting on his laurels though.

“We created a letter asking for my permission to travel because I need to travel to my properties in the Eastern Cape to make sure the people who are looking after them are all right.

“My major concern is Founders Lodge for poaching and thieving.

“Security is becoming one of our major issues with empty properties.”

When asked how much he thought the company stood to lose during the pandemic and when they will reopen the hotels, he said figuring that out was trying “to shoot a moving target”.

“We are busy with that at the moment.

“If you think about it, we have so many products.

“We are pretty confident that we have … about six months’ capital but we are keeping our expenses as low as possible to sustain us for as long as possible.”

Despite the financial losses, Gardiner said the lockdown was a crucial measure and that he was concerned about the virus spreading to the poor and vulnerable in townships.

“We are very proud of our president and the team involved with him in giving us the message quickly to take action.

“We have to behave and understand the message of lockdown.

“My major concern is our townships, so we have stopped all our staff from the townships from coming to work.

“We have asked our landlords for rental holidays.

“We are taking this thing very seriously.

“I think out of this, hopefully, the whole world will realise this pandemic has not come to just make it a problem.

“It has come to tell us that this world cannot be taken for granted and that we have to understand that nature will protect us if we protect it.”