A Mandela hotel, Gandhi cushion, Diana tat
Brand monetisation is both an art and a craft
News of the Sanctuary Mandela boutique hotel had me thinking about my Mahatma Gandhi cushion. More on that soon but first, the nine-room hotel in Mandela’s former home in Houghton, a nice part of Johannesburg.
The Mandela brand is being monetised by the Nelson Mandela Foundation, which he founded. The rooms in Sanctuary Mandela, which opened to guests in September, bear names that evoke Mandela’s life and times. There is the “Madiba” room, for the clan to which South Africa’s first democratically elected president belonged. The “Rolihlahla” room recalls Mandela’s forename at birth. And the “46664” room is a nod to his prison number on Robben Island.
What do you if someone else is hawking a $5-Mandela Shiraz?
The hotel proudly advertises the fact that it was the venue for Mandela’s meetings with many famous people, including Michael Jackson and Oprah Winfrey. And the great man’s long-time chef, Xoliswa Ndoyiya, has created a menu st…
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