Peter Venison

"For a few years, at least to all outward appearances, the marriage stayed on track. But Sol was not cut out to be a devoted family man. His appetite for a bigger and more successful life was far greater. With his rudimentary insight into the hospitality industry, he realised that there was an opportunity just waiting to be exploited. He was tired of auditing others’ books; he wanted his own business, and he believed he knew how to get it."

"did not take long for Sol to figure out that the planned critical path to construction work was often flawed. He would spot men tiling bathrooms when the plumbing work had not been finished, or painters daubing away at surfaces that would be covered up and did not need paint. He would see men doing nothing because they were waiting for others to finish something before they could start. Although he complained angrily to the general contractor, things rarely improved for long and he would soon be prowling the site again, demanding more efficiency and, of course, at less cost. With a supply of rand notes in the back pocket of his jeans, he would frequently cajole a…"

"Sol, time was money. From those early days at The Beverly Hills to the day that he stopped creating dream destinations, he never started a construction job without projecting when it would be completed. Overruns can be costly, and, in the…"

"Much to the satisfaction of his investors, Sol worked hard at every operational aspect of The Beverly Hills. Just like Ben Novack, his mentor at the Fontainebleau, he was everywhere. He was just as likely to pop up in the laundry or the boiler room as he was to be found at the front desk. He wanted to know what was going on at all times. He knew exactly how many people had visited the Copa or dined in the restaurant the night before. He knew how many check-ins and check-outs there had been and whether he had too many or too few staff on hand. He met his guests frequently and observed his staff while doing so."

"The first hotel to open that year was the Malibu. It was also the first project for which I would be operationally responsible. The dynamics of the situation played into Gordon’s hands. He had to deliver a completed building for me to operate. All sorts of things could therefore go wrong between the cup and the lip – things under Gordon’s control that would make life difficult for me (and it was already difficult enough)."

"The Beacon Isle was the first of its kind in the world of tourism – and, due to its unique placement on a rock against one of the most beautiful backdrops in the world, it could never be copied. The size and shape of the building contrasted spectacularly with the natural setting that it bisected. Whether from the Robberg Peninsula to the west or the mountain road to the east, the Beacon Isle stood out, a gleaming piece of modern art in an exquisite seascape setting. The striking design was not confined to the exterior. Inside, the floor-to-ceiling atrium was replete with live palm trees that waved gently in the breeze. The floor glistened with aqua-blue glass tiles. The slightly uneven beach-coloured walls of the balcony walkways to the hotel rooms curved around the lobby like an elegant, multitiered cake. As much as people were impressed by the striking building from the outside, the interior took their breath away when they entered through the sliding glass doors for the first time. South Africans were proud to say that this unique building had been created by one of their own, and everybody wanted to see it. Not only were December and January fully booked, but full occupancy soon extended to the rest of the year. The success of the Beacon Isle was secured."

"“We’re going to reorganise,” he announced as he called me into his office one morning. “I think we should divide the operations into three geographical areas, with three regional operational managers reporting to you. What I have in mind is the Cape, the Transvaal, and Natal and the Indian Ocean. I think you need to find these people soon. If you don’t, we will not have the firepower"

"This was also the project where Sol developed his life-long belief that landscaping was the secret to successful resort design. Clever landscaping can obscure an ugly or boring building."

"He was not ashamed to copy the decor of the original clubs in Paris, Monte Carlo or New York, but he always added a personal twist to make it even better. The “buzz” he created in his hotels made them vastly different from their competitors. It had kickstarted his first hotel, The Beverly Hills, with its Copacabana club, and it allowed him to charge more. The concept, now widely copied and cloned, transformed the hotel scene in South Africa and beyond, and it later helped him expand his international empire."

"It also highlighted Sol’s talent for and obsession with siting his buildings in exactly the right spot. In this case, as you arrived at the hotel, the view through the long lobby was straight onto the bluest stretch of ocean water along the beach. A few metres one way or the other, and the view would not have been that good."

"For most of our staff, particularly on the lower rungs of the business, Sol was a legend – a leader they looked up to and were proud to work for. He was not a snob by any means, nor was his head turned by the levels of luxury that he sought to provide for others."

"Why were Southern Sun hotels so successful? How were they different from the hotels that had gone before them? First, there was Sol’s belief that a hotel had be more than just a place to sleep and to satisfy your hunger. Those were just the basics to provide – the things that guests expected but which did not necessarily bring them satisfaction."

"Once, while the two of us had stopped for a meal break, I asked him why he worked so hard at the expense of spending time with his family. His instant reply was, “Money.”"

"Regarding the management of his hotels and resorts, Sol was a great proponent of the “management by walking around” method. “If you walk around enough,” he would tell his managers, “you will…"

"Sol also knew that almost all hotel supplies were things that his staff needed too. Whether it was bedsheets or the food in the kitchen, the hotel storerooms and bedrooms were full of items that the employees could use in their own homes. Therefore, we needed proper control and inventory procedures – but the best control of all was managing it by walking around. Sol drummed this into his managers and got angry if they did not practise it. He hated it when they sat in their offices. He wanted them to be out and about, witnessing what was going on…"

"That’s the problem with value engineering. It’s easy to cut a bit here and there, but you just never know when you have cut too far and lost the impact.’” To Sol, every decision on detail was important. He preached it and demanded it, and he hated being lied to by his managers. He could spot a lie a mile off. He could smell a lie. And once he had caught you lying, he…"

"frustrated working for a demanding and ill-tempered boss. One day, just over a year after I had taken control of the South African Sun International company, I received a phone call from Bacon. He was at his lowest ebb and could not take the abuse from Sol any longer. He wanted out, and he wondered if I would be interested in taking him on as deputy managing director in the South African company. He knew, of course, that Sol was a director of Sun International, but at least it would put distance between him and his soon-to-be ex-boss. I had no objection, but I had to consult Sol. He agreed in a flash. What he had in mind was to swap Bacon for me. He told me he was more confident that he would make international deals with me at his side. To me, however, the deal was not that attractive. I would have been happy to have the other Peter as my deputy and remain in South Africa, but I did not relish the idea of relinquishing my role and returning to the UK just as we had settled down. The thought of telling Diana that we would never move into the house in Bryanston that she had just finished furnishing was not one to relish. The poor woman had been through so many changes already, and she deserved a break. But to my surprise, my wife, the trooper that she was, somewhat reluctantly agreed. Once again, we were on the move."

"When I moved back into the corner office in Henley, once again working for Sol, I soon got a call from an old friend who advised me that the Greek government was about to launch a tender process to build and operate a casino in Athens. I had previously looked at acquiring the old casino on Mount Parnitha outside the great city. Despite being exceptionally difficult to access from downtown Athens, the place did very well. To get there, you either drove up a narrow and precarious road from the city or took a jerky old cable car. Now the Greek government apparently saw dollar signs in allowing a modern casino much closer to the city, on the site of an old air-force station abutting the Mediterranean between Athens and the Port of Piraeus. It seemed that for the privilege of building and operating a large casino for a term of 50 years, the government would charge $50 million in key money. It was about to launch a request for candidates to design, build, operate and pay for the casino. I practically salivated at the idea. A casino so close to Athens and with such easy access was a no-brainer. Coupled with the Greeks’ love of gambling, it could be the proverbial licence to print money. I went to tell Sol. “There is no fucking way we are going to operate in Greece,” he muttered. “They are all a bunch of crooks.”"

"I was duly dispatched to Florida’s SeaWorld Orlando. They had plenty of fish there. I found my way to the general manager, and before long, I had the man sufficiently excited about the Paradise Island concept to agree to fly over to meet Sol."

"Sol strongly believed in giving his customers more than they expected."

"Sol hated not being in control. Throughout his life and career, he was a control freak of note, and so, while others were encouraging him to start the project, he examined every line on the architect’s drawings with a microscopic lens and asked a thousand questions."