From a travel shelter to work-life balance space

Curiocity Joburg is situated in the creative hub of Maboneng. It captures Johannesburg's vibrant urban culture with its bike-friendly outdoor spaces, a pool, a bar, a rooftop and a spacious common area for creative and engaging experiences.

The flagship hotel for Curiocity Africa provides a hybrid offering to appeal to digital nomads, the local startup scene and local and international tourists alike.

Yet, when founder Bheki Dube created Curiocity Africa, hybrid hotels were virtually unheard of on the continent. These are hotels that blend the traditional hotel model with co-living and co-working spaces, as well as cultural immersion. Guests can live, work, eat, drink and socialise all in one space. 

Such spaces were an anomaly. Thanks to his early work as a guide, telling the story of the area, Dube knew there was an opening.

His experience-led hotels blend those beginnings as a walking tour guide, inspired by his grandmother’s love of storytelling, with an intent to highlighting significant spaces and people within the cities where the hotels are located.

“As far as I can remember, my grandma would tell all these stories of Africa. And it's about continuing with that legacy and saying, 'How do I use Curiocity as a vehicle to share the innate stories of Africa?'” Dube said.

This vision is reflected in the experiences offered at Curiocity locations. Whether in Johannesburg or Cape Town, guests can expect curated activities, such as sunrise power hikes, adventure outings and sound journeys.

These experiences are designed to ensure that each stay is unique and immersive.

TEETHING PROBLEMS

After launching the first Curiocity in 2013 in Johannesburg at only 21, Dube faced significant challenges due to his limited business knowledge and foundational support.

“We're not typically born into a wealth of intellectual property, where our parents are discussing business and deals. I wasn't born into that,” he said.

"Rising above the status quo and developing this intellectual property to engage at a high level is a challenge in itself. It requires studying and applying knowledge systems that inform you on that.

"Negotiating your terms and existence in such spaces is intellectually challenging. Eventually, when you succeed in those conversations with developers, funders and others you pitch your concept to, you ask, 'How do we then fund these ideas and concepts?’"

Since the Curiocity business model was unique in South Africa at the time, Dube struggled to convince risk-averse funders that it was a worthwhile investment.

“Funding instruments are very narrow-minded. They only want to fund mature products, brands or markets that have already reached maturity. Raising capital for new markets in hospitality and travel was quite a challenge," he said.

Ultimately, the standout quality that attracted investors to Dube was his passion. The lessons he gained in his foundational years from his grandmother helped him overcome the initial stumbling blocks to establish a growing business.

These lessons included hard work and showing up, attracting the right investors with his passion, having the right mentors to guide him, and establishing a strong corporate governance structure within his team. 

A decade later, Curiocity has grown to include seven hybrid hotels under its umbrella, including Curiocity Joburg and Green Point, along with five managed properties.

In Johannesburg, these properties include Fox Street Studios and The Urban Fox, while in Cape Town, they feature Salts and Salty Cracks. All these spaces are centrally located and emphasise the Curiocity brand ethos of experiential stays.

Additionally, Dube and his team opened another branded hotel in Cape Town's trendy hub Kloof Street last month, along with their new head office, which is also located in Cape Town.

STORYTELLING ART

Central to Curiocity’s approach is a storytelling element that comes through guided tours, dynamic in-person and virtual experiences, as well as collaborations with creatives that are fused into the experiences and the spaces.

Reflecting on that creative synergy, Dube pointed out a mural in the Green Point space, titled Far from Home.

“If you look at the mural on the first side [of the property], we worked with a prominent South African artist, Atang Chikare," he said.

"At face value, you’ll see beautiful artwork, but when you start to read between the lines, the parts you see on the facade represent the roads that lead us home since Curiocity is home to many global citizens who stay with us. It was fitting for such a prominent artist to create meaningful murals with us."

The work looks like a map of the London underground or the subway in the US. Different places that have different types of transport systems that connect them together from one neighbourhood to the other. It also looks like a neighbourhood itself.

"It's meant for people to feel like they're in their own neighbourhood in some way or the other,” Chikare said of his work.

Believing that we are all descendants of African griot storytellers, writers and poets, Dube's calling is to connect South Africa and the African continent through experiences, using Curiocity as his vehicle. Thus, the storytelling in Curiocity's spaces, reflected in the art, literature and decor, represents the African experience.

“In some of our common areas and rooms, we source literature from Chimurenga in Woodstock. We could have gone to any bookstore but we chose to highlight significant spaces and people within Cape Town, especially from the Black perspective," he said.

"When guests pick up a book, they might wonder where it’s from, and we tell them about Chimurenga, encouraging them to visit, buy souvenirs or take part in their programmes. Even our furniture is sourced from local makers to make each Curiocity experience unique.”

Additionally, the brand recently collaborated with the 2024 International Public Art Festival hosted by BAZ-ART to host 20 artists in Cape Town. Dube’s team also participated in activating street art tours for the week-long event.

“These collaborations are key to Curiocity’s success. Any hotel can be a hotel, but our partnerships with local creatives and storytellers make us stand out," Dube said.

"Curiocity is very experience-led, meaning guests don’t just stay in a hotel room; they immerse themselves in the neighbourhood, guided by local storytellers who share the narrative of the area and the country.”

The upcoming Curiocity Kloof Street will tell the story of its area through murals and artwork, with plans to collaborate with South African graffiti artist Dekor One.

It will feature a variety of room types, including deluxe suites, family units, female-only dorms, mixed dormitories, gender-neutral dorms, and single units, catering to a wide range of guests, from young travellers to executives.

The new space will also have communal areas, continuing Curiocity’s tradition of offering unique, experience-led stays.

Having experienced his own challenges connected to limited knowledge of the industry, he believes tourism in South Africa has often been undervalued as a subject in the education system.

He aims to change that narrative by highlighting its potential for social change and entrepreneurship.

Looking ahead, Curiocity plans to expand within South Africa over the next five years, with the long-term goal of establishing spaces across the continent.

Dube envisions Curiocity connecting key African cities, offering hospitality from Cape to Cairo and Morocco to Madagascar, partnering with like-minded entrepreneurs to unlock regional potential. Focus and strategic growth are crucial for Dube, aiming to position Curiocity as a robust and leading travel brand in Africa.

By emphasising storytelling and meaningful experiences, Curiocity has carved out a unique niche in the hospitality industry, driven by a vision of connecting people and places through the power of curiosity.

As Curiocity's philosophy states, "Every great journey begins with curiosity."