What can a luxury safari lodge teach a shopping centre about winning people’s hearts? More than you might think. For New Africa Developments (NAD), the answer lies in a simple principle: successful properties are about more than buildings. They are about the people who use them, the experiences they have and the reasons they choose to return.
At first glance, a neighbourhood shopping centre and a luxury safari lodge appear worlds apart. One brings together shoppers, essential services and local communities. The other welcomes guests seeking a luxury safari experience.
Yet both depend on understanding people.
New Africa Developments, whose interests span shopping centres and Cheetah Plains Private Game Reserve within the Sabi Sand Nature Reserve, believes its experience across retail and hospitality offers valuable lessons for the future of property.
The focus is shifting beyond the physical asset. How do people arrive? Can they move around comfortably? Do they feel safe and welcome? And what makes a place memorable enough to visit again?
“Whether someone is visiting a shopping centre for groceries or travelling across the world for a luxury safari, they are looking for an experience that feels welcoming and effortless,” says Japie van Niekerk, CEO of NAD.
“The settings and expectations may be very different, but both require attention to detail, thoughtful design and a real understanding of how people behave and what they value.”
Hospitality Is More Than a Place to Stay
Hospitality offers a useful way to rethink customer experience. At its best, every detail has a purpose, from the moment a guest arrives to the service they receive and the atmosphere surrounding them.
For NAD, however, applying a hospitality mindset does not mean turning shopping centres into luxury resorts. It means approaching the needs of customers with the same level of care and intention.
“Hospitality is not limited to hotels or lodges. It is an attitude,” says van Niekerk. “It is about making people feel welcome, comfortable, safe and valued every time they interact with one of our properties.”
In a shopping centre, that philosophy can begin with everyday details. Clean surroundings, thoughtful landscaping, clear signage and effective security all contribute to the experience. So do helpful frontline staff, easy navigation and comfortable places to pause.
These details may seem small, but together they influence how people experience a destination.
The approach also changes the questions property owners ask. Footfall, trading performance and tenant mix remain fundamental to successful retail property. Yet understanding the customer requires looking beyond those measures.
How does someone feel when they arrive? Where do families naturally gather? Can visitors find their way around easily? What might encourage them to stay longer?
For NAD, these questions matter as shopping centres develop beyond places of transaction. Community spaces, events, children’s activities and other activations can offer additional reasons for people to visit, spend time together and connect.
At Cheetah Plains, the experience takes a different form. Personalised service and conservation storytelling contribute to a carefully considered guest journey that offers more than accommodation.
The environments differ, as do their purposes and customer expectations. Yet the principle remains consistent: understand the people a place serves, then shape the experience around their needs.
What Retail Can Teach Hospitality
The exchange between retail and hospitality works both ways.
Hospitality encourages close attention to detail and emotional connection. Retail, meanwhile, offers lessons in agility and responsiveness.
Shopping centres must adapt to changing customer behaviour, seasonal patterns and evolving tenant mixes. Owners and managers need to listen, respond and refine their offerings to remain relevant.
The same applies to hospitality. Guest expectations change, and yesterday’s definition of excellence may not meet tomorrow’s needs.
“Both businesses teach us that excellence is never static,” says van Niekerk. “You have to keep listening, observing and refining what you do. Hospitality has sharpened our thinking about the experience of a place, while retail continually reminds us how important it is to remain responsive to the people we serve.”
That process starts with understanding how people actually behave.
NAD draws on customer insights, retailer engagement, operational feedback and guest feedback across its properties. It also recognises the value of spending time on the ground and observing how people use a space.
Where do visitors gather naturally? Which routes do they follow? Where do they stop? What works differently in practice from what was originally planned?
These observations can reveal opportunities that data alone may not uncover. They help property owners respond to real behaviour instead of relying on assumptions about their customers.
There is no universal formula for a successful experience. What matters to an international guest at Cheetah Plains will not necessarily match the priorities of someone visiting a local shopping centre every week.
Understanding that difference is essential.
Across both sectors, however, NAD identifies shared fundamentals: convenience, safety, quality, authenticity and the feeling of being welcomed and understood.
From Property to Place
The relationship between retail and hospitality could become increasingly important as the boundaries between property sectors continue to blur.
Shopping destinations are incorporating more leisure, food, entertainment and social experiences. At the same time, customers increasingly expect physical spaces to offer convenient, seamless interactions.
Technology can help make these experiences better. NAD believes, however, that it should enhance the human element rather than replace it.
For property owners, this means thinking beyond what a building offers. It means understanding how that property fits into people’s everyday lives.
It also means recognising the importance of social relevance and community connection. A property provides the physical setting, but its lasting value also depends on what happens there and the memories people build over time.
Visitors may not remember every shop they entered, every meal they ate or every design detail they noticed. They are more likely to remember how a place made them feel.
Did they feel comfortable? Were they welcomed? Did the experience inspire them or help them feel connected?
Those impressions can influence whether they return.
The Experience Is the Lasting Value
For New Africa Developments, experience across retail and luxury hospitality reinforces a clear message: property success involves more than creating and managing physical spaces. It also requires understanding the people whose lives those spaces touch.
The same attention to detail that shapes a guest’s journey at a safari lodge can inform the way a shopping centre welcomes families, supports convenience and connects with its community. In return, retail’s need to adapt offers hospitality a reminder to keep listening and evolving.
“The future of property lies as much in what we build as it does in how people experience what we build,” says van Niekerk.
“Whether someone visits one of our shopping centres every week or travels from another continent to stay at Cheetah Plains, our aspiration is the same: to create places that people remember, recommend and return to.”
Ultimately, a building may bring people through its doors. The experience it creates can give them a reason to come back.
