Guest House Association of South Africa

16/09/2026

THE BRIEF | Wednesday 16 September

SARS closes the individual filing season on 23 October 2026. That is 37 days. Whether that date is yours, or whether you have until January, turns on one word that most guest house owners have never had explained to them.

THE DATES

From SARS's own Filing Season 2026 page:

"Non-provisional individuals: 13 July to 23 October 2026"
"Provisional taxpayers: 13 July 2026 to 22 January 2027"
"Trusts: 19 September 2026 to 22 January 2027"

WHICH ONE ARE YOU

SARS puts it plainly on its provisional tax page. "Any person who receives income (or to whom income accrues) other than remuneration, is a provisional taxpayer." And: "Most salary earners are therefore not-provisional taxpayers, if they have no other sources of income."

Remuneration means pay from an employer who deducts PAYE. Room income is not remuneration.

So if guest house income comes to you in your own name, your date is 22 January 2027. If your only income is a salary and nothing else, October is yours. If you have both, check, because October arrives first and it does not wait.

SARS also says there is no registration or deregistration process for provisional tax, and the onus is on you to work out whether you are liable.

WHAT LATE COSTS

From SARS's admin penalty page, the penalty "comprises fixed amount penalties based on a taxpayer's taxable income and can range from R250 up to R16 000 a month" "for each month that the non-compliance continues."

It repeats. "Administrative penalties recur each month that the taxpayer is non-compliant, up to a maximum of 35 months."

And it reaches backwards. SARS has raised these since 1 December 2022 "if a natural person failed to submit an income tax return for years of assessment from 2007 onwards" "when that person has one or more income tax returns outstanding."

SARS does not publish, on that page, the income bands that decide where between R250 and R16 000 you land. We are not going to guess them for you.

WHY THIS MATTERS TO YOU

Two things.

One. A tax clearance certificate needs your returns up to date. The Department of Tourism's Tourism Grading Support Programme, which in its own words gives "80% discount on their grading assessment fees" to all qualifying applicants, lists a valid tax clearance certificate among its supporting documents. A 2019 return you had forgotten about stops you at the first page of that application, and at the first page of most corporate and government accommodation work.

Two. This is the first year SARS can auto assess a provisional taxpayer. Its Changes for Filing Season 2026 page says a provisional taxpayer who receives an auto assessment and disagrees may amend and submit by 22 January 2027. Read that as a warning. An auto assessment is built from what third parties reported to SARS. It will not contain the expenses nobody reports on your behalf, which for a guest house is most of them. Left alone, it stands.

THE ONE THING TO DO TODAY

Open eFiling and look at your returns list. Not this year. All of them. Any year showing as outstanding is a monthly penalty running whether a letter ever reached you or not.

SARS's contact centre is 0800 00 7277. Its own page gives the hours as weekdays 8:00 to 16:00, "Except Wednesdays 9:00-16:00". Today is a Wednesday, so nine o'clock.

Sources:
https://www.sars.gov.za/latest-news/get-ready-for-filing-season-2026/
https://www.sars.gov.za/types-of-tax/provisional-tax/
https://www.sars.gov.za/individuals/what-if-i-do-not-agree/admin-penalty/
https://www.tourism.gov.za/CurrentProjects/TIP/Tourism_Grading_Support_Programme/Pages/Tourism_Grading_Support_Programme.aspx

1 June 2026 - Now is the time to update your personal and banking details online.

15/09/2026

15/09/2026

On 27 August, Google announced that people can book a hotel without ever leaving its AI search.

You describe the trip you want. The AI comes back with a short list of places, with guest reviews and the things worth comparing. You pick one and book it right there.

Ten booking partners are in at launch. Booking.com, Expedia, Hotels.com, Priceline, Trip.com, Choice, Hilton, IHG, Marriott and Wyndham. It has started rolling out in the United States, in English. South Africa is not first in that queue.

Look at that list again though. Booking.com and Expedia are on it. The channels you already pay commission on are the way into that answer. This is not a new competitor. It is a new front door onto the same shelf.

Here is the part that matters for you.

A person browsing Booking.com looks at your photos and gets a feeling about the place. A machine cannot do that. It reads the fields. Photo count. Bed sizes. Room amenities. Directions to your door. What is around you. Languages you speak. How fast you reply.

That is what it has to work with. That is all it has to work with.

So if those fields are half filled in, you are not being marked down. You are just thin. There is not enough there for anything to be said about you.

That is no reflection on your guest house. You have been doing the real work for years. Clean rooms, a proper breakfast, a name that people pass on to their friends. Nobody sent a letter to say part of the marking would one day be done by software.

And it is closer than it sounds. Google brought AI Overviews and AI Mode into Afrikaans, isiZulu, Setswana and Southern Sotho back in March.

The useful move now is boring, and free. Fill in the fields. Get the photos up. Answer faster.

We built a free check so you can see where you stand. Fifteen questions, all multiple choice, under a minute. Nothing to look up and no report to wait for.

https://survey.zohopublic.com/zs/bjBnLN?Lead_Source=Facebook

The booking sites are not the enemy here. They send you real guests and they charge real commission for it. This is about earning more from the money you are already paying them.

Open to any guest house or B and B in South Africa, member or not.

The GHASA team

15/09/2026

THE BRIEF | Tuesday 15 September

The rules that decide how your electricity bill is built are being rewritten, and the public comment window closes on 20 September. That is five days.

WHAT IS OPEN

The Department of Electricity and Energy has published a draft Revised Electricity Pricing Policy for public comment. Cabinet approved its release on 30 July 2026. Engineering News reported on 18 August that it was due in the Government Gazette of 21 August.

The policy it replaces was approved in 2008.

In the department's words, the revised policy is government's "overarching policy framework for electricity pricing and tariff design in South Africa".

Electricity and Energy Minister Dr Kgosientsho Ramokgopa, briefing on the draft, acknowledged tariffs "that had increased by over 900% since 2007".

WHAT IS IN IT

Engineering News lists the following among the draft's elements.

A five year transition to cost-reflective tariffs.

Bills that show a breakdown of energy, network and ancillary service charges, with municipal surcharges as a separate line.

Moves to eliminate discriminatory tariffs, meaning the differences between municipalities and between customer categories.

Compensation of prosumers through net billing credits. A prosumer is anyone who both buys power and generates it.

NERSA to publish a ten year price forecast as a planning tool.

Benchmarks for acceptable technical losses, above which consumers should not be charged, and theft losses not passed on to paying customers.

Rationalising and standardising municipal tariffs to eliminate historical inconsistencies.

The department also lists protection of vulnerable consumers, the treatment of cross subsidies "where these are explicitly authorised or required", and negotiated pricing arrangements for distressed industries.

WHY THIS MATTERS TO YOU

Two reasons, and the second is the real one.

One. Electricity is one of your biggest fixed costs and you cannot pass it straight on the way a factory can. Three things in this draft land on a guest house directly. If your power comes from the municipality, the surcharge you currently pay inside one unexplained number becomes a line you can see. If you have solar and you export, net billing credits decide whether that export is worth anything to you. And a five year march to cost-reflective tariffs is five years of your budget.

Two. Look at who the department invited to comment: "electricity consumers, municipalities, organised labour, business, industry participants, civil society organisations, academic institutions". Then look at what the business relief in the draft actually is. It is a Negotiated Pricing Agreement framework for electricity-intensive industry. Two ferrochrome producers recently secured 62c/kWh from Eskom.

None of the reporting we read says anything about how a small commercial customer is treated. Not one line on a guest house sitting on a municipal commercial tariff.

That is the gap, and it closes on Sunday.

HOW TO COMMENT

Email [email protected]
Post to Private Bag X96, Pretoria, 0001
By hand at House 192 Visagie Street, corner Paul Kruger Street, Pretoria

The department asks for comment "particularly on the practicality, clarity and anticipated implications of the proposed policy measures". You do not need a lawyer for that. What your bill looks like, and what it does to a small business that cannot shut down in winter, is exactly what they asked for.

TWO THINGS TO WATCH

The closing date, 20 September 2026, is a Sunday. Send it on Friday 18 September and do not test it.

The draft sits at www.gpw.gov.za under Government Gazettes. We could not confirm a gazette notice number from any source we read, so we are not printing one. The email above is the faster route anyway.

https://www.sanews.gov.za/south-africa/have-your-say-draft-revised-electricity-pricing-policy

14/09/2026

THE BRIEF | Monday 14 September

If your guest house runs on solar, Eskom's free registration window shuts on 30 September. That is 16 days. After it, the same paperwork costs about R10,825.93 plus VAT.

THE DEADLINE

Eskom's media statement of Thursday 26 March 2026 says it is "extending its registration fee waiver from 31 March 2026 to 30 September 2026" for systems up to 50kW.

Agnes Mlambo, Eskom's Acting Group Executive for Distribution, in that statement: all registration and connection fees are waived, "including a free smart meter (up to R10k for urban/ residential customers and R36k for rural customers)", for "Eskom customer solar systems up to 50kVA".

Eskom's Small-Scale Embedded Generation page gives the unwaived cost. "The quotation, connection and smart meter fees are about R10,825.93 plus vat."

YOU ARE INCLUDED, EVEN IF YOU EXPORT NOTHING

From the same Eskom page: "All households and small businesses with systems below 100kVA must register with Eskom, even if they do not export electricity."

Eskom's reason: "Any generator that is connected to the grid affects power flows."

So a setup that only ever runs your own lights still counts, as long as you are connected to the grid. Fully off grid properties are exempt, but Eskom still asks you to declare the system and prove it is independent.

THREE THINGS WE CANNOT PIN DOWN

One. Eskom's page also says "Non-residential customers continue to benefit from reduced connection charges." Reduced is not the same word as waived. Whether Eskom treats your guest house as residential or non-residential decides what you actually pay.

Two. That same page still carries an older line saying the campaign runs until 31 March 2026, and a banner reading "Register before March 2026". Both contradict the 30 September date.

Three. Eskom writes 50kW in some places and 50kVA in others.

Phone Eskom on 08600 37566 and get your own answer.

IF YOUR POWER COMES FROM THE MUNICIPALITY

Eskom's statement says registration is with "the customer's electricity supplier, which is either Eskom or the local municipality". This waiver is an Eskom waiver. If your town bills you, phone the municipality.

WHAT YOU HAND IN

Three documents, per Eskom. A valid Certificate of Compliance. An NRS097-2-1 type test certificate for the inverter, from your supplier. A basic Embedded Generation Installation test report.

One change worth money. That test report is "no more limited to only the ECSA registered professionals". It can now be signed by an Installation Electrician or Master Installation Electrician registered with the Department of Employment and Labour. An engineer's signature is no longer required.

Register at connect.eskom.co.za or phone 08600 37566.

ON FINES

Eskom's own FAQ, on whether it fines customers for not registering: "No. Eskom has not fined customers for non-registration." It adds that "Unauthorised grid-tie connections may be disconnected."

In Daily Maverick on 9 September 2026, Chris Yelland, OUTA's energy advisor, reports that at a meeting on 2 September Eskom "insisted that the current 30 September 2026 deadline stands". That is an opinion piece by a party to the dispute. The deadline itself is not disputed.

WHY THIS MATTERS TO YOU

A lot of guest houses put in solar during the load shedding years. The installer did the job, handed over a CoC, and nobody said a word about registering.

Right now that is an afternoon of admin. On 1 October it becomes a bill. Nothing about your system changes on 30 September. Only the price of the paperwork does.

Get the CoC and the inverter certificate out of the file today. If you cannot find the CoC, phone the installer this week, not in the last week of September.

Sources:
https://www.eskom.co.za/distribution/small-scale-embedded-generators/
https://www.eskom.co.za/eskom-extends-rooftop-solar-registration-fee-waiver-by-six-months-and-advances-prepaid-residential-option/

Eskom complies to POPIA and will not share your information with anyone else without your permission.The information will be saved and secured and will only be saved for a maximum of 30 calendar days from initial date of application. Click this link for full information

14/09/2026

13/09/2026

THE BRIEF | Sunday 13 September

Cape Town wants every property listed on a booking platform to carry a City registration number, and platforms would have to delete the listings that do not. Comment closes in three weeks. Guest houses are named in it.

THE DOCUMENT

The City of Cape Town published its draft Short-Term Letting By-Law for public comment on 5 August 2026. The advert is signed by City Manager Lungelo Mbandazayo, reference CTA171/2026.

What it would require, in the City's words:

"All properties listed on any booking platform to be registered with the City"

"That a City-issued STL registration number be displayed on all listings advertised on a booking platform"

"Booking platforms, owners and operators to remove any listing that does not display a City-issued STL registration number."

THE PART AIMED AT YOU

FAQ 8 on the City's own fact sheet: "We will implement a mandatory, simple registration system for all properties listed on an online booking platform, including hotels, guesthouses and BnBs."

That is you. Registration is not just for the flat with a lock box on the gate.

Now read FAQ 5, because that is the good news. Under the list of property uses not affected by the rates change, the City puts "Hotels, guest houses, BnBs" and says: "These properties are already considered commercial and will remain on the commercial rate."

So the rates story in the papers, where a property let for more than 50 percent of its annual room nights moves to commercial rates from 1 July 2027, is not your story. You are already on commercial rates.

Registration, and the number on your listing, is the part that lands on your desk.

TWO CLOSING DATES, AND THEY DO NOT MATCH

The City's own advert says two different things.

Its opening line invites comment "between 4 August 2026 and 4 October 2026".

Its formal notice under section 17 of the Local Government: Municipal Systems Act, further down the same page, says comments may be submitted "from 5 August 2026 to 5 October 2026".

The City's media release of 6 August gives 5 August to 5 October. We are not going to pick one. Work to Friday 2 October and you are safe either way. If you need certainty, phone the City on 0800 220 441.

WHY THIS MATTERS TO YOU

Two things, neither of them long.

One. Comment. This is the round where the detail gets fixed, and the detail is whether getting a registration number is quick and free or slow and expensive. Nothing in the City's advert, media release or fact sheet mentions a registration fee at all. Silence now is a number later. Submissions go to [email protected] or through the form at capetown.gov.za/haveyoursay.

It is being read. On 7 September the Cape Town Collective Ratepayers' Association put out its position, and its chairman Bas Zuidberg said: "We hope the City will engage seriously with the comments submitted by residents and civic organisations." Be one of the people who wrote in.

Two. If you are not in Cape Town, read it anyway. Government gazetted a draft national Code of Good Practice for short-term rentals on 13 March 2026 and that comment period closed on 12 May, so the live action has moved to city level. Whatever Cape Town settles on is the template the next metro reaches for.

CLOSING TODAY

FlySafair's Travel Booster entries close today, 13 September 2026. SA National Parks Week and Sho't Left Travel Week both end today.

Sources:
https://www.capetown.gov.za/City-Connect/Have-your-say/Issues-open-for-public-comment/draft-short-term-letting-by-law
https://www.capetown.gov.za/Media-and-news/Short-Term%20Letting%20By-Law%20open%20for%20public%20comment
https://www.capetown.gov.za/_documents/resource.capetown.gov.za/cityassets/Media%20Centre%20Assets/CCT-short-term-letting-FAQs.pdf
https://iol.co.za/capeargus/news/2026-09-07-cape-town-airbnb-style-letting-rules-face-test-over-long-term-housing-supply/

Sharing a City of Cape Town Page...

12/09/2026

THE BRIEF | Saturday 12 September

CapeNature opens its reserve gates for free from next Saturday, and there is one rule in it that will cost your guests money if nobody tells them.

CAPENATURE ACCESS WEEK, 19 TO 25 SEPTEMBER 2026

CapeNature published this on 3 September 2026. It is the 12th annual Access Week. Day visitors pay no conservation entry fee at participating reserves.

The reserves, as CapeNature lists them:

West Coast: Groot Winterhoek, Bird Island, Rocherpan
Central: Kogelberg, Hottentots Holland, Jonkershoek, Assegaaibosch, Limietberg, Stony Point
South: Walker Bay, De Mond, De Hoop, Marloth, Grootvadersbosch, Geelkrans, Vrolijkheid
Garden Route: Robberg, Keurbooms River, Goukamma, Outeniqua
Karoo: Swartberg, Gamkaberg, Anysberg

THE RULE THAT CATCHES PEOPLE

In CapeNature's words: "Free day entry is available only to walk-in visitors during normal reserve operating hours." And: "Visitors who make a booking through the CapeNature Contact Centre or online booking platform will be charged the applicable entry fee."

Read that twice. Booking is what loses you the free entry, which is the opposite of what a careful person would do.

Also: "No pre-booking is required for free Access Week entry, but entry remains subject to the maximum visitor capacity of each reserve." CapeNature asks visitors to check operating hours and availability before travelling, since some areas may be closed.

Free entry does not apply to the Whale Trail, concessions or commercial activities.

One difference from last week. SA National Parks Week required a South African ID at the gate. The CapeNature page says nothing about identification at all.

OCTOBER FUEL, AND WHY WE ARE NOT GIVING YOU ONE NUMBER

Early Central Energy Fund data points to a large petrol and diesel increase in October, possibly a record. Three reports published on 9 September disagree on the size.

IOL has 95 unleaded up "in the region of R2.00", reaching up to R28.05 at the coast and R28.92 in Gauteng, beating June's all-time highs of R27.19 and R28.05. The Citizen and The Witness have 95 up R1.93 to about R28.85, against a June 2026 record of R28.06. Diesel is put at between R1.50 and R2.03 depending on the grade and on which report you read.

Those do not reconcile, and all are forecasts. IOL says the prediction rests on early month data, "which is a moving target". The Witness says "The latest projections remain subject to change before the official October adjustment is announced". None of the three gives the date the change takes effect. Wait for the official figure at the end of September before you quote anything to a guest.

WHY THIS MATTERS TO YOU

If your door is near one of those gates, you have a free day trip on your doorstep for seven days, across two weekends. Put the nearest reserve and the drive time from your gate into the first two lines of your listing, and into every enquiry reply this week.

Then put one sentence in writing to every guest. Walk in, do not book. A guest who phones CapeNature and books pays the fee. You have saved them money and you sound like someone who knows the area.

On fuel, the move is not panic. It is your October rates. Most of your domestic guests drive, and somebody deciding in late September whether to do four hours in the car is doing arithmetic. If you were going to lift October rates, do it before the number lands.

One reminder. FlySafair's Travel Booster entries close tomorrow, 13 September 2026. We carried it on 5 September.

Sources:
https://www.capenature.co.za/news/2026/explore-the-western-cape-for-free-this-access-week-nature-is-for-everyone
https://iol.co.za/business/economy/2026-09-09-record-petrol-prices-predicted-for-south-africa-in-october/
https://www.citizen.co.za/motoring/fuel-shock-looms-october-set-to-smash-south-africas-price-records/
https://witness.co.za/news/2026/09/09/petrol-diesel-set-for-record-breaking-october-price-hikes/

A week of free access to some of the Western Cape’s most spectacular natural spaces is on offer this September, as CapeNature opens the gates to selected nature reserves for its 12th annual Access Week. Taking place from 19–25 September 2026 under the theme “Nature is for Everyone”, Access W...

11/09/2026