Monday, 20 April, 2020
Business Insider US, Stephanie Vermillion
Employees at the wine farm helped Punke-Dresen and nearly 100 other guests book travel home before the lockdown went into effect at midnight on March 26. Punke-Dresen's family booked a return flight, and could finally breathe easily knowing they'd get out just in time. But then, their flight was abruptly cancelled.
This young family was suddenly stuck at the wine farm, alongside an 80-year-old couple from the UK — all the other guests had left.
At the same time, the wine farm was going through its own internal crisis. Cancelled reservations, weeks of running the hotel at a third of its capacity, and a shuttered wine revenue (the lockdown meant no alcohol sales) had the wine farm losing money by the minute. But that didn't stop its general manager, Joep Schoof, from stepping up and doing what he felt was right.
"We woke up in a lockdown on Friday, and that's when we started to transition from being an operating hotel to more of a scenario where our guests were becoming our family members," Schoof said.
"It's not a normal economic situation, and at some point you have to stop charging," said the hotel manager.
Schoof let the Punke-Dresens and the British couple stay free of charge in exchange for donations to the Solidarity Response Fund. He and two staff members, a chef and maintenance crew member, stayed in vacant guest rooms to help them while keeping the hotel and dining facilities ready for life post-lockdown. Additional staff members also stayed onsite to maintain the 400 hectare property, which includes expansive vineyards and vegetable gardens.
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